Souterrain de Mont-de-Billy

We left Sillery early in the morning, just as another boat decided to leave. After a brief traffic jam in the marina, we had the canal to ourselves. The other boat headed downstream, returning to Belgium while we continued upstream and further into the Champagne, with only the ducks keeping us company.

The hills started to appear with neat rows of planted grape vines and wine producing structures. Dotted along the slopes of Montagne de Reims are small wine producing villages, famous for centuries.

The route that we had chosen for the day entailed twelve locks and a tunnel. The locks were not as deep and nine of them were the easier down locks. It is the end of the season and we found some of the locks broken, ready for their winter maintenance. A quick call on the VHF had a lock master at the broken lock within ten minutes.

We entered the Souterrain de Mont-de-Billy, a tunnel 2302 metres long. It was opened in 1866 and has a tow path alongside it. It is well lit inside. The lights come on automatically when the tunnel is occupied and sensors regulate the one-way traffic lights at each end. The cost involved in its construction would have been tremendous but serving the Champagne area must have been worth it.

It took half an hour to slowly glide through. It reminded me of the Phantom of the Opera, but rather than through the sewers of Paris, we were gliding beneath the hills of Champagne.

The tunnel was quiet and the water still, with the soft reflections of the light created circles making it took tubular. There were other boats waiting at the other side as we entered day light and the tunnel direction light turned green for them.

Not far from the tunnel was a small boat with three young adults on it. It had Lampedusa to London on it and it looked like they were busy planning their dream.

The next lock we found broken and had to wait for the Lock Master to handle the manual controls. While waiting, I noticed five young fisherman fishing outside the far end of the lock. I suspected they might have had something to do with the jammed lock. The lock master manually opened the lock for us and we slowly maneuvered the barge inside as I took my position at the bow to rope the appropriate bollard. 

I am still nursing my cracked ribs and not very good with throwing the line. I did notice that the five young fishermen were watching me. I tossed the line, it hooked around the bollard the first time and pulled it in snugly as I looked back at five very impressed fishermen.

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims

This is my second visit to Our Lady of Reims Cathedral and I was impressed as I was the first time. 

This cathedral replaces a much older church, which was the site where Clovis, the first King of France was baptized and crowned in AD 496. Before that, that original structure had been erected on the site of some Roman baths.

On July 6, 1210 the cathedral was damaged by fire and reconstruction stated shortly there after. The 1216 records show the acquisition of land to the west of the site, which indicated space for a much larger replacement Cathedral.

In 1233 a long-running dispute between the Cathedral chapter and the townsfolk regarding taxation issues and legal jurisdiction ended in an open revolt. Several clerics were killed or injured during the violence and the entire cathedral chapter fled the city, leaving the church in interdict. With that it effectively banned all public worship and sacraments for the next three years. Following mediation by the King and the Pope, the interdict was lifted and the clergy returned.

The towers which stand 81 metres tall were originally designed to rise 120 metres. The south tower holds just two great bells, with one of them weighing more than 10,000 kilograms. The interior of the Cathedral is 138.75 metres long and 30 metres wide in the nave and 38 metres high in the centre. 

During the Hundred Years' War the Cathedral and Reims fell into English hands and was held until 1429 when it was liberated by Jeanne d' Arc. This allowed the Dauphin Charles to be crowned King.

German shellfire during World War1 destroyed important parts of the Cathedral. Many of the medieval stained glass windows were damaged or destroyed. The high windows were patiently reconstructed others were replaced with a more modern theme. The boldness in colour of  Marc Chagall and the softer tones of Brigit Simon have added to the collection of stained glass.

The smiling angel was damaged during World War 1, when during artillery fire a shell came down and decapitated the angel. Citizens picked-up the pieces and the smiling angel was restored to guard the entrance of the Cathedral.

In 2011, the city of Reims celebrated the Cathedral's 800th anniversary.

Saint Joan

Outside the Cathedral of Reims stands a statue of a petit woman in armour riding a horse. This is Joan of Arc.  She became a folk heroine of France and a Roman Catholic Saint.

Jeanne d'Arc was born around 1412, in Domrémy, Duchy of Bar, now eastern France. She was a peasant girl who claimed divine guidance after her first vision around the age of twelve. She identified the figures in the vision as Saint Michael, Saint Catherine and Saint Margaret, who told her to drive out the English and bring the Dauphin to Reims for his coronation. 

She led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War. These victories paved the way for the coronation of Charles VII of France in the Cathedral of Reims.

She was captured by the Burgundians and handed over to the English for reward money. Jeanne was put on trail by the Bishop of Beauvais, Pierre Cauchon for charges of "insubordination and heterodoxy". She was burned at the stake for heresy on 30 May 1431 at the age of nineteen years. 

Twenty-five years after her execution, an inquisitorial court authorized by Pope Callixtus III examined the trail, pronounced her innocent and declared Jeanne d'Arc a martyr. Along with her martyrdom she was beatified in 1909 and canonized in 1920. Sainte Jeanne had also joined St. Denis, St Martin of Tours, St Louis IX and St Theresa of Lisieux as one of the Patron Saints of France. 

There is a dedication to her in the Cathedral in Reims.

A Day in Reims

After a good cup of coffee we took the local bus and headed to Reims before it got too hot. We had finally reached a city that would be able to accommodate our growing list of needs. 

We are still not accustom to the long line ups, the endless paper work nor the shops and offices closing down for two or three hours for lunch in the middle of the day. We managed to strike a few items of our list and then took our time to wander through the city.

What is apparent is that the area had suffered greatly during the wars, especially World War I. Across the road from were we are moored are some reminders of World War I's front, row upon row of crosses.

About eighty percent of Reims had been destroyed and as we travel trough France we are aware of the slow replacement of the stained glass windows that were broken nearly a century ago. The churches or communities replace the stained glass with modern concepts, as the classic trade of stained glass production and their talented painters are long gone. 

We walked along the streets and through the small arcades that are lined with shops of fine clothing, accessories and foods. During our old world window shopping a colourful array of macaroons, fondant and dark and white chocolate caused us to pause. The window displays are works of art.

This chocolate shop was a Belgian classic and we drooled as we made our selection of pralines and saw them carefully placed in a box. Its label read:

Je croque peu, 

beaucoup à la folie

Je craque pour lui, 

pour elle, pour toi, pour moi.

Je craque le matin, 

le midi le soir, pour 

les Chocolats

Late afternoon we returned to Zonder Zorg and in the evening Chef Michael presented us with a meal of seared coquilles St Jacques with a garnish of mushrooms, shallots and garlic caramelized in butter and Sauvignon Blanc. This was served with basmati rice, haricots fins almandine and sliced roma tomatoes and complemented by a bottle of Champagne Canard Duchesne. After all we are in the Champagne region.

After dinner we carefully followed the instructions on the chocolate box.

Retournez à Reims

About twenty-eights years ago Cannondale Bicycles came up with a cart called the "Bugger". It was made of sturdy plastic and hooked up under the bike saddle.  We thought it was a neat idea and bought one to travel through France.  

Genevieve and Amy attended French play school in Deep Cove and we thought that exposing them to other French speaking children would enhance their language skills.

We checked in our bicycles and the Bugger on our first flight to Amsterdam. Our touring bicycles were Japanese and when they arrived in Amsterdam, one wheel was damaged with a slight buckle. Since we were in the Netherlands, a bicycle repair shop was not far away. The wheel was repaired instantly and we were on our way to France.

Our journey took us through Reims and we stayed in a small hotel with a shed were we could lock up the bikes and the Bugger. One of our interests was to see the Cathedral.

Outside the Cathedral, Genevieve tripped and scrapped her face on the gravel. As she stood up crying, a bird flew over and pooped a perfect hallo on her red hair.

It had not been a good day for Genevieve in Reims.

Huayna Picchu, Peru

Holding the top spot of the list of the "World's Most Dangerous Hikes" is Huayna Picchu, Peru.

I had first seen the peak in the mid-seventies when I travel in Peru. Peter Gelin and I took the narrow gage railway out of Cuzco to Aguas Calientes at the base of Machu Picchu. The train stopped in what seemed the middle of nowhere and we hiked up the muddy road to the only hotel of Aguas Calientes. 

The following morning we took a small bus up the switchback dirt road to Machu Picchu. It was remote and well hidden on the ridge and the site was in the midst of archeological excavation. Dominating the site was was the peak of Huayna Picchu, elevation 2720 metres. It was a very dangerous and risky climb with excavations still taking place..

I was so impressed with Machu Picchu and its excavations that we spent all of our time wandering the ruins. At the time the theory was that it had been a nunnery, as the skeletal remains that were found were mostly those of females. Not wanting to stay another night in Aguas Calientes, we took the train back to Cuzco.

In 2010, while living aboard Yacht Sequitur, moored in La Punts, outside Lima, Peru, we took the opportunity to visit Cusco and Machu Picchu. 

I was curious to see the site again and its development over the years. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has the numbers of its daily and annual visitors controlled. 

I was delighted to see the expansion of the site with areas I had not previously seen. The theory that it had once been a nunnery had also changed through DNA. The skeletal remains were both male and female. Huayna Picchu had become accessible, but with a limited number of visitors per day, an early start was recommended.

We took the first bus up to Machu Picchu, checking in early for our hike up Huayna Picchu. The climb was straight up and because of the altitude it was slow. The seemingly never-ending Inca trail took us higher and higher until we reached the lower levels of the excavations. Steep stairwells and huts began appearing and the trees made way for the view of the valley below.

The view was magnificent and we followed the Inca trail through passageways and a carved stairway to the top. Slightly below the top was a viewing area; a large rock platform.  To reach the platform one has to jump down one metre over a gaping crevice. That was relatively easy, but we discovered that one can not return that way. Unlike the Grouse Grind, there was no cable car down the mountain, but only the Inca steps alongside the cliff. 

The barrel chested Incas were sure-footed and had little trouble running up and down these stairs; at least, there is no record of any that did not make it. The stairs were flat stones sticking out of the wall with no railing and steps too widely spaced for North American standards.  

The last series of steps were on an overhang with the first bounce far below in the Urubamba Valley. Concentration was required; descending is more dangerous than ascending.

The climb was spectacular and we found the ruins there more interesting than those on Machu Picchu. We continued climbing down the trail and then climbed Huchuy Picchu at 2479 metres, a smaller peak which still looks down over Machu Picchu. We saved Machu Picchu for last and spent the next few hours roaming the site in awe. 

Gone are the Fedora hatted ladies that wove their natural dyed wools along the side of the road. They have been replaced by factories and their mass-produced, aniline dyed weavings.

In the past, Machu Picchu had been at the top of my list of favourite places, but it now holds second place to Huayna Picchu.

Apples

Theres is nothing tastier than tree picked fruit that had been ripped on the branch to perfection. We seldom get the opportunity to pick them.

We had picked more than enough for a Dutch appletaart, and the next day I started peeling and slicing them. They were rich in colours and slightly tart; perfect for pie.

I layering the springform with thin crust, I piled the apples up high. Sprinkled with caramelized brown sugar while Michael studied the manual for our oven. Our new European oven is microwave and convection and we found a setting specifically for Apple pie: P06. It automatically preheats the oven and beeps when it is ready, then bakes for an hour.

While the pie was cooling we went for a walk in the town of Siilery, one of the Grand Cru villages in the heart of Champagne. Along the way we keep seeing old champagne racks converted into planters.

Other interesting things are showing up as planters.

The pie turned out well, almost no crust, all apple with a bit of caramel flavour. Of course, we didn't forget a dollop of whipped cream.

The aromas of the pie brought in new friends.