What you can catch with a banana

Back to Leitrim Village the other day to the boat on the wall. Sunshine! A glorious evening. Better weather here than in Clare I think.

Pointing in the right direction and ready to go.

It's a few years since we were last on the Shannon-Erne Waterway. It was good to be back. There were swallows nesting behind the lock gates in the first lock (Lock 16). They must spend a good bit of the day worried and frustrated at these pesky boats destroying their peace and changing their landscape as the lock gates closed.

Lovely calm waters as I wait for Joe to empty the lock - set against us. Locks 16 and 15 were open and in I sailed with Winter Solstice (metaphorically of course). How come that is? Where did the boat come from that did that?

Suddenly the waters weren't calm. Rather wished I'd tied up. The boat suddenly wanted to be in the bank on the other side.

But in we went at last. Lock doors closing.

Joe took this one as I came into the lock at Kilclare, just before he cycled back to Leitrim.

I cycled along the tow path (trackway?) for several locks - they're all close together here, then Joe pedalled back to Leitrim for the car and I carried on to Keshcarrigan. We weren't going to stop there - it's always seemed a bit bleak - but in the sunshine it was more promising. We tied up the quay wall (good for the barbecue we were going to have) and made a cup of tea. A Swiss family on a hire boat were trying to catch the evening dinner with string, a hook and a banana as bait. They had a bite! Something down below was coming up! A plastic chair. Yummy.

Later, we cycled into the village - I hadn't realised how pretty it is. A very well cared for place, even though the village shop and the pizza place have closed.

This morning we moved again to the jetty that still had some electricity available - only being tidy using it up. Time to hoover up the dog hairs and charge the devices. Rain.

Here's Winter Solstice in hoovering position. The chair / fish hooked out yesterday takes pride of place in the foreground.

Time to go. The rain has stopped, the boat is hoovered (thank you Joe). Ballinamore next.