For once we got up nice and early. The day was promising to be quite a hot one again. There was hardly any traffic on the canal and we cruised quite leisurely through 5 locks and 14 km from Rochefort-sur-Nenon to Ranchot.
On this stretch the winding river Doubs joins the canal every now and then. There is a constant change of quite narrow canal stretches and wide river arms occasionally presenting a little current and the rushing sound of river weirs.
By the time we reached Ranchot the midday sun was upon us and it was hot,hot,hot! We moored behind a beautiful English barge and met Frank and Penny from Devon. Another lovely New Zealand barge joined us later. Michelle and Craig from Wellington decided it was time to cool down and went for a swim to the near-by river loop. They told us of the scenic spot they had discovered and we followed their instructions and reached a beautiful weir, covered with a carpet of soft, non-slimy moss-like reeds. We sat down and let the cool water bubble over our shoulders and heads.