Pilgrims' Progress

“Do I get onto the roof? Do I get onto the roof?” Jgirl18 shouted with a tone of panic growing in her voice.
“Jaala, get on the roof NOW,” MamaBear shouted, or perhaps even screamed. Ordinarily screaming does not help in an emergency, but in order to be heard above the roaring torrent of water cascading into the bow section where Jgirl18 was standing the boat the instruction giver resorted to LOUD. Panic SLOWLY, the boat hire trainer had told us. I am not sure how slow we had been
Jgirl18 has no recollection of asking the questions, but she jumped onto the roof like a scalded cat (giving herself a decent bruise in the process) all the while heroically holding on to the end of the rope that was tethering the bow section, and FadaBear pulled the boat back so that the bow section was no longer under the deluge rushing into the lock. It was all over in less than fifteen seconds, but those seconds had ticked by very slowly, and in the process we gained a first hand lesson in lock safety.

It had all started when we edged our 70 foot boat into what appeared to be a 74 foot lock. There certainly was no room to spare, and to complicate matters further, this lock had flood paddles that were actually in the lock gate themselves. This means that when you open them to flood the lock, the stream of water often bounces off the cill (the flat concrete base at the bottom of the lock gates) and fountains upwards. This lock had been more extreme than the others, and we had even taken pictures of the fountaining streams of water that arced in front of the bow of the boat – safely in front of the boat at first….

This lock we had changed over responsibilities, so the older boys were on paddle duty and the two girls were on rope duties. This subtle change, combined with the high risk lock flood paddles provided just the variables for near disaster. As the lock fills with water, the boat often surges around the lock unless securely roped off around the bollards along the side of the lock, and the people on rope duty need to continually take up the slack from ropes which is introduced as the boat rises with the water in the lock. This time, the inexperienced ropers didn’t manage to keep the ropes taught, and so the boat started to surge forward. This was not really a problem at first as we only had the paddles open a crack, so water was spraying into the bow but not enough to pose any real threat. One of the boys on the paddles was asked to close the paddle completely so that the water spraying into the bow would stop. However, inexperience meant that the paddle was actually opened wider instead of being closed off. Suddenly, the inconvenient spray turned into a rushing torrent of water that was surging directly into the bow section of the boat, buffeting Jgirl18 and threatening to swamp the boat. We were told you have two minutes until the boat sinks in these circumstances – not a statistic we wanted to test. FadaBear jumped on the end of the middle tether rope and managed to pull the boat back in the lock within a few seconds, and the torrent of water stopped coming into the boat. There were some very nervous and shaken-up pilgrims – poor ERgirl6 was a bit frightened by the whole episode and the emergency-toned shouts that were being made! It all gave us a very good object lesson as to why we get everyone off the boat for lock passing, and why we only have one person giving instructions at locks! Thankfully we didn’t end up in any real danger.. and we will certainly be keeping our wits about us for future locks! Given that we typically pass through ten locks a day this will be most of the time .

all smiles in the end!

First impressions are so important, are they not? They often provide a clear insight into new situations and people. This time, our initial impressions of Tahiti, LA and Paris were rendered in a hazy blur due to extreme exhaustion. We had arrived in Paris at 9am local time approximately 34 hours after leaving home.  Full marks to the kids who coped extremely well with the flights, snatching a few hours of sleep in between sustaining themselves on a diet of regular airline meals, movies and video games.
Flight facts:
Number of flights: 3 (AKL – PAPEETE – LA – PARIS)
Travel time: 5 + 8 + 11 (not including transit times)
Number of meals: 5

First impressions that are distinct: Papeete was hot, humid and relaxed as only things can be in the Pacific. The local ukulele troupe welcomed us into the transit lounge after a stringent search-everything-you-are-carrying-and-even-remove-your-belt-and-be-frisked security check. Lots of bronzed holiday go-ers returning back home filled the airport. Los Angeles was another first for the children – vast, dry and flat. Security equally tight but remained friendly even when Fadabear was not able to recall any of the birthdates of the younger children under questioning (hey, if the customs agent had asked me about the older children’s birthdates I could have got full marks!). Thankfully the agents believed all the kids were ours and allowed us to pass. Then being stuck in a small transit lounge with a decidedly dilapidated rest rooms does not lead to glowing first impressions! Smells reminiscent of Cambodia! Sitting in a queue of ten-plus planes waiting for takeoff reminds you just how busy this place is.

Flying in to Paris – glimpses of fields and towns that brought back fond memories of our time in the motorhomes. Charles de Gaulle airport – a rambling and tired terminal that stretched for acres, an arrivals board that was bigger than the large screens at Eden Park and listed dozens of flights due in just a couple of hours. Walking to our hotel/hostel through parts of Paris that don’t make the tourist brochures – graffiti,, rubbish and narrow streets.

Despite extreme tiredness we decided to head into the Basilique du Sacre Coeur to catch a glimpse of the city from the lookout point. The charm of Paris is evident as we walk through Montmartre and Place du Tertre.

However, it soon becomes clear that jetlag has a firm grip on littleBears and enthusiasm quickly wanes for the sights of Paris. Not even the distant view of the Eiffel Tower can raise a smile. No surprise, and given it has been over 48 hours since anyone slept properly we decide to hit the metro back to the hostel. Find Wally in the picture below – he is the one with a smile (ps – he ISN’T there! These are just the six faces of exhaustion. The Eiffel Tower is behind them and they can’t muster energy enough to care).

Bonne nuit Paris et merci bien.

Someone out there thinks we are being irresponsible parents forcing our kids to go on a big walk. We've only heard this second-hand......if we had been told directly we would not have defended our position. We would have thanked them for ... [Continue reading this entry]

It won't be fifteen months like the last one. It won't even be fifteen weeks; it'll be about half that. But it will contain a pilgrimage....of sorts. The first plan was to walk the Camino Frances from St Jean Pied-du-Port in France to ... [Continue reading this entry]

(actually written on 21 January 2010, post-trip....but I've dated it to appear at the top of the blog forever-n-ever....and then reinstated it in its proper chronological home as we kept pilgrim-ing) When we set out we had *a long ... [Continue reading this entry]

by a daughter Berlin, Germany The tulips are blooming in the streets, but the ones in the flower shop across from where we are staying looked a little closed up. So how about a pink posy?

[Continue reading this entry]