Day 11

We helped as we could packing up for every one and said our good-byes. We  headed up the sloped ramp to get our taxi. It wasn't there, so someone loaned us their phone to call. They were there in ten minutes and we were off to the ferry. Despite the late pick up we were on the ferry exactly at the 10a time. After the quick ferry ride we were on the Plymouth side of the harbor. No taxis were at the stand so we walked over to the only little café in the area to sit and try to call. There was a group of about 5 couples sitting inside the café chatting and having coffee. We had the card to call the taxi and asked for help. The help was overwhelming! They called for us, joked with us, and were so friendly. I will say, everywhere we go we are met with lovely and friendly people. No worries with this huge suitcase because one look at us and some young man insists on taking it for us! But I digress…

So we arrive at the smaller train station and check our tickets with an agent. All is well and she even gives us a print out for each stop and the timing. We have the option to take an earlier train but we do have reserved seats already and we would need to rush to make the earlier train. We bought lunch to eat on the train and made our way to the correct platform. We are on our way! We actually have 2 changes to make, but the train is running late and we got off at an earlier stop and took a taxi to Galleon Marine. The taxi driver let us use his phone to call ahead and let them know we were on our way. I will say, it was funny on the train from Reading to Basingstoke this man insisted, even came back before the train stopped and took the big suitcase from John. He put us on the lift and met us at the bottom of the stairs, then pulled it to the taxi stand! Mind you, it was all level and smooth, we could have managed easily, but he was so nice. I actually think he wanted too chat as he asked where we were from, spoke of his trip to CA, etc. Obviously, we are the ones with an accent and people like to talk and ask about our journey here. Others like to boast of the highlights in their area! Why not? There is a lot to be proud of.

At Galleon Marine we are met by smiling Karen and Arthur who assure us we are not running that late. Arthur gives us an overwhelming amount of information and we watch a lock video, the same one we watched 2-3 times at home. We have just one optional lock but we watched intently of course. We thought the grocery was close enough to walk, but they laughed and gave us a ride to and from to pick up what we needed. Now it is time to take the boat out. 

Arthur and our Teasel

Arthur and John manage that and I am putting the cold things in the fridge. The narrow boat is just that - NARROW. It seems much tighter than we expected it to be but it is an adventure. So by now Arthur has trained John how to come along side to moor and he jumps off our boat and says good-bye to us. Wait, what? You're leaving us already? 

We are on our own! 

John says he is confident and it doesn't seem too hard. Some areas are clear like shown above but some are quite narrow with reed, cat tails and all sorts of things to clog up the motor. We know how to clear it if that happens! We immediately cross under our first bridge, Cot Hill Bridge. The plan today is to go west, stay in the middle of the narrow canal and moor at Odiham Castle overnight. Two more bridges to go under (Lodge Copse Bridge and Swan Bridge) and then our first real work. 

Cot Hill Bridge

There is lift bridge. It is totally automated. We have a key and then one follows the instructions. The hard part was finding the keyhole! John brought us along side and then I stepped off taking the key with me. There were a couple men sitting around and I smiled and asked if they wanted to help. One said he was not planning on it because he knew nothing about it. The younger man with a son about 12 said sure. I told him I needed to find the keyhole first. Neither of us could find it but his son saw it down on the side of the box. So we turned that on and then put the barriers manually down on each side, like the arms that come down for railroad tracks. Then back to the box and push a button , the bridge goes up. It would have been fun to film but I had to keep the button down and John was heading under the bridge by now. After he is through I do the reverse process, a car is waiting by now, and we are set to go! John has come along side again and I step back on the boat. It is not a jump or hop but just one big step and sometimes even a small step to get on and off the boat. 

Lift Bridge

I might add, the little map we are given is not to scale. There are white dots indicating each mile but they are sometimes close together and sometimes far apart. Anyway, in just a few minutes we spot the mooring site for Odiham Castle. There is one other boat there, the first we have encountered. We did back up once before mooring because we didn't want to get too close to the other boat. It has gotten darker but it is clouds, not the sun going down. It is close to 8p but sunset is just after 9p. Anyway, phew! We are here!

Mooring

I fixed a plate of snacks & Prosecco to celebrate. 

We are exhausted! We figured out how to make the DVD work but we didn't watch much and decided it was bedtime for us! Today we saw lots of ducks along the way, lovely flora, some cows grazing, a couple fishermen, a sunken barge, and tonight tons of gnats hovering by our lights in the evening.