Return to Lady Mary

After a lovely ten days in Italy we were looking forward to getting back to Lady Mary, it took four trains and a bus and we arrived in Agde at 11.30 p.m. which felt like quite feat in one day. However the painting has not started yet and a whole lot of things that need to be fixed have been discovered. She has rust holes in hull and a leaky rudder. Simon is being an apprentice chantier in hopes that this may speed up the work. Madame in the office, who is very friendly and speaks good English says she has booked LM in until mid July.

As we can’t get power at the moment and no water we decided to rent a cheap apartment at Cap d’Agde for a few days which should be about a 25 minute bike ride. We managed to get a bus half way back to the boat yesterday, then walked. But both, individually, got lost biking back. Everything was, predictably, shut by 8 p.m. and we were lucky to get takeaway pizza and the kind pizzeria sold us rose in a plastic bottle under the counter.  Cap d’Agde is a sprawling mass of blocks of holiday apartments that all look the same. The apartment is truly tacky but there is a small washing machine and I have now found my way to the supermarche. When we got back yesterday we were too tired to swim and it’s a bit chilly and cold to-day.

Hopefully we can get the power sorted and camp in Lady Mary by next week. At the moment the floor is up and everything dismantled in the back cabin so that the holes can be examined but she has been moved to a nice river front spot and there is a boat next door owned by friendly americans who we met earlier this year.

The highlight of our time in Italy, for me, was the four days we spent in Portovenere with my brother Dan. It is incredibly beautiful and we did some amazing walks up the hills and on the island of Palmyria. wonderful old churches and fortifications and we stayed in a castle run by three generations of an Italian family with a tiny baby and two semi hairless dogs. The tiny streets were filled with pot plants and cats and elderly residents sitting outside. At the week-end there was a medieval festival complete with canons, sword fighting, drumming (accompanied by amazing displays with flags), dancing and falconry.

So what next? It all depends on how the work proceeds. We are so hoping to be in the water by the time that Siobhan and David join us on 14th July. We had planned to go to the Etang before meeting them in Narbonne but it seems that will not happen now.