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You'll need to get a cuppa before reading this lengthy blog. So, assuming tea/coffee in hand read on ...
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Not wanting to grumble about the weather ... our first two days in Redon were really humid, hot and very uncomfortable (there's no pleasing some!). Just trying to keep cool was hard work. However, it was shorted lived and before we knew it we were back with a mixture of sun, showers, cloud and much cooler temperatures.

Redon is a place that grows on you. Underneath the background traffic noise we found the town quite attractive with several stone half-timbered buildings down the 'Grande Rue', colourful hanging baskets, flower troughs and window boxes throughout the town and along the locks. The Nantes-Brest canal crosses the Vilaine here and the regions of Ille-et-Vilaine, Morbihan and
Loire-Atlantique also meet.



The abbey of 'St-Sauveurs' and alongside the 'Mairie' both dominate the square along with several bars, the tourist office and the SNCF railway running close by. The town has a number of supermarkets; E'leclerc (being our favourite), SuperU, Dia, Lidl and Carrefour so we really were spoilt for choice and two reasonably priced laundrettes (hurray!).



To date, we've been fortunate to have free access to Wi-Fi included in our berthing fee, however the port in Redon does not have this facility. Having asked at the tourist office, we eventually found Wi-Fi at an Irish bar named O'Shannon where we purchased a couple of half pints of Guinness which went down a treat. This followed with another couple of half pints. We couldn't help but notice that the owner was rubbing his hands together whilst asking if we
'liked' his Wi-Fi connection. In response, we just nodded in agreement whilst enjoying our Guinness. It wasn't until we came to pay that we truly appreciated the reason why the owner was busy rubbing his hands together; these two pints cost us a whopping 14 euro. Never again! Afterwards, we concluded that it was a decent Guinness and kind of worth the money given that it allowed us to speak for a few hours to our family and friends (which we hadn't done for several weeks).

We found a slight floor in the design of our mozzy nets in that when the wind blew, the elastic stretched allowing gaps underneath. Bruce wasn't a happy man, saying that he would be unable to sleep unless the netting was a snug fit as just one mozzy can 'do' an awful lot of damage. So we purchased a small domestic sewing machine and modified the nets by replacing the elastic with velcro all around - nothing's going to get through these nets now.

We also spent a really enjoyable few days catching up with my sister, Jo and her partner, Kev who earlier in the week said they were coming to visit. They came with loads of goodies - everything that we've been missing; several packets of McVities Chocolate biscuits, English mustard, Cheddar cheese, womans magazines, an up-to-date newspaper and tea bags by the hundred (just in the nick of time too as we had to resort to Carrefour's breakfast tea, which is as weak as dish water). Now we have a tea bag stock that should last us for approx. 6 months and a biscuit supply that will last ... err ... dare I say it, a few weeks!



Those of you who have known Bruce for a while will be aware that he received treatment for a Rodent Ulser on his nose a couple of years ago and was advised that further Rodent Ulsers may form given that he is now susceptible to them. What started out as a small spot/insect bite on the tip of his nose has failed to heal after four weeks so we thought it prudent for him to return home to see the doctor whilst I remained onboard. He therefore caught a lift back to La Rochelle airport with Jo and Kev. A further meeting with the consultant has now been arranged for mid August so we are modifying our plans slightly to be in or close to La Rochelle earlier than originally planned.

So whilst the captain's away ...

Shortly after Bruce left, I had a surprise visit from Dom and John (off HT Tapestry) who were passing through Redon before returning home for a few weeks. I spent the week catching up on some 'chores' and had several very long walks around Redon, including a visit to the 'Musee de la Batellerie' which was quite informative as the video (in English and French) explained the
history of the canal network right to present day usage.

Being in a foreign country on your own is quite an experience and highlighted the fact that I really should have taken more interest in french lessons at school as I couldn't really hold any french conversations given that my conversation french is limited to 'hello', 'how are you', and 'I'm fine thank you'. A couple of british yachts arrived and subsequently left without even an 'hello' (mind you the weather was pretty awful so not many people were sat out in their cockpits) however a few days later I met David and Sally, owners of a Hunter Horizon 30 named 'Namaste' who invited me onboard for evening drinks and shared their experiences of the canals along with recommending a french listening tutorial which they found inspiring. They also kindly offered me a lift to 'Europcar' when I needed to collect Bruce back from La Rochelle airport - thank you both.

With Bruce now back, we decided to stay in Redon to part-take in the 'Bastille Day/Fête nationale ' evening celebrations of fireworks. We were convinced that the display would be cancelled due to the continuous rainfall but at 11.45pm, slightly later than scheduled the night sky was alight with colourful fireworks - very nice too.

Today we met Judith and Mark, owners of 'Wizard of Paget'. Judith is the Biscay Section Secretary of the Cruising Association (CA) and extremely knowledgeable about this area. Although brief it was nice to meet them both and we walked away with a few ideas on berthing as we continue our way south - thanks Judith.