Hou la la, what rain

Uncharacteristically (we've repeatedly been told) it has been raining pretty much non-stop for the past week or 10 days. These depressions normally pass either further north or south - don't they know that? On a couple of days the rain was so hard that we barely made it off the boat at all. Luckily, Jim had rigged up our tarpaulin vestibule just in time so we had some outside space for leaving wet footwear and jackets and for doing the dishes.

Our tarp vestibule, which can be fully closed with an open brolly

I had questioned the need for taking wellington boots along, but boy are they handy! Another essential on board is the mosquito net. The wet weather brought another outbreak of desperately hungry mosquitoes. Between them, our mosquito coils and the net draped over our bunk deal with those that manage to escape being killed with our bare hands.

Mosquito-proof sleeping arrangements

To keep ourselves entertained, we started a batch of sloe gin with sloes picked from local hedgerows and aguardiente given to us in Pontevedra. This will mature over the winter and be ready for consumption in early spring. The foraging around here has been good. Unfortunately, the fig season is over now, but there are still walnuts and chestnuts.

Sloes, aguardiente and sugar, that's all there is to it

And, of course, the bad weather has been the ideal opportunity to get knitting again. At this rate, I'll be able to knit us a whole new winter wardrobe...

New hats

French country living

Time for the squash harvest

Sadly, the grape harvest is mainly done by machine these days

We are back on board in Mortagne after being away from the boat for more than a night for the first time in 16 months. But it was all for a good cause - to celebrate my father's 70th birthday, in Provence. Now we plan to stay here until early spring before continuing north. We have started to settle in and meet people, including the lovely Hamard family, who are just back from sailing around the world via Antarctica and Newfoundland with four kids (some great pics here). Jim's even managed to pick up some work in an old flour mill that is being converted into flats. We've also bought ourselves a tandem to extend our land range - public transport is not really an option around here.

Our new transport mode

Our first tour was to the nearest big supermarket, 15 km away in Gemozac, and the land was not as flat as it seemed in our friends' auto! We got a good workout on the gentle rolling hills and will have to train up a little before venturing to Cognac (50 km), Rochefort (60 km) or even La Rochelle (90 km). However, already our second tour to the pretty medieval village of Talmont-sur-Gironde involved a lot less muscle pain. Cycling on a tandem is much like sailing on a pretty boat - it generates a lot of goodwill and smiles from people.

Cycling along the Cote de la Beauté

Medieval Talmont sur Gironde

Along the ramparts of Talmont

Eglise Sainte Radegone, Talmont

Jim's new workplace, the old flour mill in Mortagne

Compared with Spain, living costs are higher here - we can't really go to cafes for a daily coffee any more, never mind a weekly meal out. However, the local produce, wine, bread and pastries are very good and cheap and there are also other compensations: It's incredibly calm and peaceful, cats are very amenable to being stroked (in Spain you could hardly get near a cat and here we already have several feline friends, including three chatons) and we can communicate a bit better, with the school French slowly returning.

The weather is still good with temperatures around 18-20C, albeit with occasional rain, but we've already borrowed a fan heater for when it gets colder. There is a major weather divide at the River Loire and we hope that by staying south of it we'll escape the worst of the winter weather.