Taste of Bordeaux July 2

No baby this moring... but soon. Noah Lee Wakeman was born July 2, 2024 @4:48a weighing 7 lbs. 11 oz. Welcome to the world! This was 1:48p my time. T

Dragan, the cruise manager had the bar open a bottle of champagne for us! Even the bartender George toasted with us. Welcome Noah! I got hugs and well wishes all day. What a great day it is!!!

Now a bit about the rivers we have been sailing: Gironde, Dordogne, and the Garonne. The tides of the rivers have been very interesting. The Garonne is one of the few rivers in the workd that exhibit a tidal bore. The Garonne rises in the Pyrenees and drains a large part of the Aquitaine basin. It is navigable as a tidal river, and also in two short sections. It has been quite the experience adjusting our sailing each day due to the tides. Today we had to go back to Bordeaux and take tours bussed to Cadillac. The ship waited until the opportune time to go under a couple specific bridges. We were able to come back on the right tide, back to Bordeaux as scheduled in the evening. Why is the river brown? By converging with the Dordogne and Garonne Rivers to create Europe's largest estuary, the salty Atlantic seawater turns the tides on the river's clay sediment to create a cloudy ochre-colored appearance. 

Along the way we saw a lot of signs of preparation for the Olympics. The Tour de France will come through Bordeaux. 

Dinner, as always was enjoyable. We ate with Colin and Mary, a fun couple from the UK. They have lived many places and are interesting to talk to. Alana came in and joined us. She is traveling alone, a non-stop talker who is a bit hard to be around. She has some weird habits but it all went well. 

Music, drinks, dancing ... all to access tonight (Celebrating, right?) So happy Noah is here and all are well and happy. By the way, he is a beautiful baby but no posting on social media and I completely understand!