{"id":659,"date":"2007-06-05T19:38:35","date_gmt":"2007-06-05T19:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ifno.info\/blog\/?p=659"},"modified":"2009-12-27T22:44:00","modified_gmt":"2009-12-27T22:44:00","slug":"a-farraginous-collection-of-thoughts-while-traveling-through-the-belgian-and-french-canals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ifno.info\/blog\/?p=659","title":{"rendered":"A farraginous collection of thoughts while traveling through the Belgian and French canals"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_660\" style=\"width: 235px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-660\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-660\" title=\"crew\" src=\"http:\/\/ifno.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/crew.jpg\" alt=\"canal crew\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"http:\/\/ifno.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/crew.jpg 250w, http:\/\/ifno.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/crew-225x300.jpg 225w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-660\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">canal crew<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Having had very little experience with traveling though canals and locks, it was with considerable trepidation that I first entered the Belgian canal system at Nieuwpoort.<\/p>\n<p>Reading several guidebooks did little to instill a sense of confidence. In fact it had just the opposite effect. I am now convinced that good \u201clockmanship&#8221;\u00a0 is not something that can be attained through theoretical study.<\/p>\n<p>Judging by the number of bruised pleasure craft making their way through the inland waterways (and I confess to having had my share of bumps), passing \u201capplied locks 101\u201d is no trivial matter.<\/p>\n<p>Belgium provides a forgiving environment for the inexperienced because relatively few locks partition a days cruise. Moreover, help is always close at hand if things go \u201cpear-shaped\u201d because every lock has an operator.<\/p>\n<p>This proved to be an ideal training ground. The experience fortified me for what was to come in the French waterways, where I traversed as many as 32 locks (near Epinal) in a single day.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_662\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-662\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-662\" title=\"turnhout1\" src=\"http:\/\/ifno.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/turnhout1-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"Turnhout\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"http:\/\/ifno.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/turnhout1-300x225.jpg 300w, http:\/\/ifno.info\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/turnhout1.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-662\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Turnhout<\/p><\/div>\n<p>My route took me through Bruge, Gent, and the outskirts of Antwerp, Turnhout (my registered home port), Hasselt, Liege, Namur and Dinant before reaching France.<\/p>\n<p>There are no official entries in my journal because my original detailed log now resides on a deceased hard drive that despite heroic efforts, has resisted all attempts at resuscitation.<\/p>\n<p>I could still use a professional recovery service but at this point I just can\u2019t justify the expense.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Having had very little experience with traveling though canals and locks, it was with considerable trepidation that I first entered the Belgian canal system at Nieuwpoort. Reading several guidebooks did little to instill a sense of confidence. In fact it &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/ifno.info\/blog\/?p=659\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[247],"tags":[248,128,13,256,249,250,133,123,257],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ifno.info\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ifno.info\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ifno.info\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ifno.info\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ifno.info\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=659"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"http:\/\/ifno.info\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1448,"href":"http:\/\/ifno.info\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/659\/revisions\/1448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ifno.info\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=659"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ifno.info\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=659"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ifno.info\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=659"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}