Decize to Digoin-the Canal Lateral a la Loire August 10-13

It turned out we were in Decize just in time for the "Comice," a kind of county fair complete with a midway, a hunting dog exhibition, a dinner-dance and a parade. We missed the first day so the hunting dog exhibition and dinner dance were out but we were in time for the parade and midway.
The parade was quite a spectacle. It took over an hour for all of the floats to creep by our spot and after wending it's way through town the marchers had been at it for well over 5 hours!


The Cub Scouts had their float.


There were the stilt walkers in funny costumes.


And of course, the Queen and her court.


They give boat rides on this sailing riverboat, typical of the older craft of the area. Behind us is "Les Troubadors" owned by Tom and Laurel from Bainbridge, Washington.

We had noticed on our way into town that the ever-helpful VNF, along with the shopping center owners, I'm sure, had put a very nice quay right next to a giant supermarket and hardware store. We backtracked a couple of kilometers to stock up and then headed out of town. As we entered our next stretch of water, the Canal Lateral a la Loire, we looked back and saw the ruins of the 12th century fort built by the Comte de Nevers that stood guard over the Loire River.