Still in Cherbourg

When we arrived here, we paid for a week in advance. At the time, we thought that we’d go from here to Le Havre and take a train to Paris. Since then we’ve learned a lot about the prices of things here and have changed our plans. Next we’ll go on to Nieuwpoort, Belgium, and save our trip to Paris for the off-season.

The public market in front of the theater

Umbrellas of Cherbourg for sale here

This statue of Napoleon survived the WWII bombing

But first, we have to have a repair completed. Last week the wind in the harbor kicked up, and we needed to adjust our dock lines, so we tried to start the engine to back off the dock a little. But it wouldn’t start. It had been difficult to start since somewhere between Florida and the Azores, and we thought it was the battery. This time John checked the battery and it was good, so it must be the starter. We’ve been carrying a spare starter, so it wasn’t that big a deal when the mechanic told us the astronomical price to replace the one that died. We said use the spare. Pleased that the labor costs for the mechanic were very reasonable, John turned on the engine yesterday to warm the oil prior to changing it, and smoke started coming out of the engine instrument panel. Nothing burned, but some wires melted, so we got a mechanic back to the boat to fix it. It was their error that caused the problem, so there was no charge to us. However, as they were running the engine to be sure that everything was OK this time, they noticed a small fuel leak. The high-pressure fuel hose had chafed through in a spot. So now we’re going to replace that, but the shop is closed Sunday and Monday, so we’re here until Wednesday. (John still has to change the oil after the repair is complete.)

Since our last post we’ve been to the public market, had dinner in a nice restaurant, and visited the museum of the liberation. We’re walking a lot to make up for all the baguettes and Camembert we’ve been eating. The weather has turned a little rainy, so we’re hanging out on the boat at the moment. Nothing very exciting to report, but maybe John will get another photo page or two put together soon.