It was an exciting moment all round when our Perth, WA-based son Carl, his wife Carrie and granddaughters Mia (9 going on 29) and Holly (5 and a half) arrived in Moissac to spend a couple of days with Captain Granddad, daughter Wendy and me on the boat.

This was nearing the tail end of the girls’ first trip to Europe, seeing the sights of London and visiting friends and family elsewhere in England, followed by several nights in both Paris and Eurodisney. What an adventure!

They’d never seen our Karanja – the 49-foot Dutch barge replica that is our home for roughly four months of the year. And now they’d be with us for just two days: there was a lot to cram in!

Carl and family had taken the TGV from Paris to Montauban, where Roy and daughter Wendy met them along with the driver from the taxi company (cathytaxi82@gmail.com). Cathy would also be picking them up at 7.30 on Tuesday morning to ferry them to Toulouse airport for their Ryanair flights to Stanstead airport.

I’d stayed behind to get lunch ready, a judicious mixture of fresh salads and yummy cold meats and cheese. After more than two weeks on the go, even the children were dying for some real food. (From all accounts, Eurodisney is gruesomely hotdog-rich and nutrient-poor.)

After lunch, we managed to drag two travel-weary shmirls along the canal towpath to the aqueduct at Cacor where the Canal de Garonne crosses high above the River Tarn. This was mainly to show them where we’d be cruising the next day – directly under it.

Fortunately, as the Moissac passenger cruise boat was coming through one of the locks, it was also an opportunity to explain to Holly how these mysterious devices work.

It was nearing the end of summer, and the restaurant scene was already starting to slow down in preparation for the great winter hibernation. Added to that, Sundays and Mondays are favourite nights for restaurateurs in France to close their doors. Fortunately, one of our regulars, L’Uvarium, was open that Sunday.

Bedtime

As Roy and I designed Karanja largely for our own convenience (typically!) with more living space and only one cabin, sleeping arrangements for guests are limited to: (1) a living room sofa that pulls out into a comfortable double; and (2) wheelhouse seating that can be converted into a nine-foot-long and four-foot-wide bed.

But setting up that bed is quite a business, and the padded benches were still long enough for Mia and Holly to sleep on; so that’s what they did – tucked up in new sleeping bags that Roy had ordered for the occasion.

Wendy had joined us from Marseilles, and the sofa was hers. Carl and Carrie stayed at Helen Gough’s B&B at 18 Bassin du Canal (email her at helengough7@gmail.com for bookings), less than a hundred metres from our mooring. I suspect they welcomed some time alone together after nearly three weeks of travelling en famille – and the chance to do some major laundry.

Big Day Out on the Tarn River

Sitting in port is all very well, but that’s not what boats are all about. So, after getting the grand-girls into life-jackets, we cast off and headed for the double lock that would take us down from the canal to the river.

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Once nudged up onto the small, sandy beach opposite the chateau, and after the girls had done some intrepid exploration of the bushy banks, it was time for the promised swim.

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Dinner was pizzas and ice cream at Pizzeria Le Parvis in the main square, with a view of the gorgeous old Abbey.

A 7.30am departure time for Carl, Carrie, Mia and Holly meant an early morning for all of us. Wendy had to drive back to Marseilles for work that afternoon; Roy and I had to pack and close up the boat before driving off to England for a couple of weeks via Orléans and the Eurotunnel at Calais. 

Watch this space, as they say, for more about that great trip!