After a couple of days rest I am feeling much better physically and ready to press on. No other boats have arrived, so today's journey to Motala will just be the two boats. We are all really happy about this as it makes the pace so much more relaxed. The morning is overcast and a little cool, but still very beautiful, with a great sense of tranquility which is highlighted by the amazing grey-blue morning light. By eight o'clock, we are all ready to cast off on the next stage.




I notice that Dennis and Beenie have a different technique to us. As I consider myself to be a complete klutz with no sense of balance or co-ordination, I prefer to be put ashore at a nice, flat, safe place (like a pier), then to walk up to the lock along a path while Lars-Göran drives the boat into the lock, then I catch the ropes that he throws up to me. Ideally, Lars-Göran, who has the surefootedness of a mountain goat really ought to jump off. But that would mean leaving his precious boat in the hands of a woman driver, so we all know that is never going to happen - even if hell freezes over. So I get to play Russian roulette with the locks instead. Beenie obviously is far more confident and co-ordinated than I am, so she hops off at the lock (brave lady!) and leads the boat up with the ropes.




Whichever way we choose, both boats end up in the lock together and we lock up steadily. This lock system was one that I was dreading, but today it is calm and peaceful and actually no problem at all. I decided to stay off the boat and simply walk between the various levels, so I get time to look around, take Lambi for a stroll as well as minimise the risk of me landing flat on my face as I hop off. This picture was taken about two thirds the way up Carl Johan's lock which will raise us twenty metres above the lake below.




On the previous sections of the canal, I left Lambi onboard in her basket. This was partly because I was nervous and didn't want her under my feet while I was still feeling my way but also because it rained so much and I felt she would be better off onboard, safe and dry in her basket. But naturally she had other ideas. She was not happy that I was on land without her, suspecting that I was somehow having a lot of fun and she was missing out. So she spent a lot of the time getting in Lars-Göran's way instead, whining to be let off and be with me. This time I decided to take her with me, keeping her life jacket on just in case she wandered too close to the water. There was nobody around to distract her and she was happy to walk along with me, sniff around and watch quietly. Even Lars-Göran looks happier now that he can work in peace. Is that a smile I see?




Just above this lock, across a small section of water is the four step Oscar's lock. And here to watch every step of the process was a couple of primary school classes out on a field trip. The teachers were delighted as they had not expected to see anyone going up so early in the season. They explained that it was so much better for the children to see the locks in action, rather than simply have the theory of it all explained to them.





The biggest hit for the kids, though, was the small, white, fluffy crew member decked out in her life jacket! Lambi of course charmed them all and lapped up the attention. I laughed as a dozen mobile phones were whipped out of pockets (since when did 8 year olds have mobile phones?) and the cameras aimed at Princess Lambi, who knows how to pose for that ultimate Kodak moment. Con artist!




The children asked a lot of questions about locking that I answered for them. They also asked which flag was on Dennis's boat and were surprised to hear that it was Irish. They also pointed to the Australian flag and asked me what it was and why was it in that spot on the boat. I explained that I was an Australian and that a flag in that position shows that there is a crew member from that particular country is onboard. Then the teacher had to go and spoil her copybook by exclaiming "Australian? You sound more like you come from Stockholm. Do they speak Swedish in Australia?" No comment!

We had to wait at the next lock as one of the lovely old passenger ferries was going in the other direction. We tied up at a small waiting pier about 500m downstream and I thought I'd hop off there and take Lambi for a walk up to the lock where she proceeded to charm all of the old ladies who were on the passenger boat. As the boat, Juno, continued downstream, she dwarfed our boat as they passed each other.




The weather is still overcast, but there hasn't been any rain so far and every now and then the sun peeps out and lights up the pretty, green shore. I am finding this section to be much more relaxing than the one from Söderköping to Norsholm. Perhaps it is the better weather, or perhaps I am feeling more confident now we have worked out a system that functions well. There was a lot of work early on today for the big locks at Berg, with thirteen locks placed close together, but there are also long stretches where you can simply motor along, await a bridge opening and enjoy the passing scene. I was especially charmed by the small yellow wooden homes at the locks. These used to house the canal's lockkeepers when it was first built and they are a lovely reminder of that era. It must have been wonderful to have had such a tranquil view to see out of your window each morning, especially on a day like today when the water is like a mirror.




Just around another leafy bend we saw a group of long horned, shaggy coated highland cows resting on the shore. I commented to Lars-Göran that we could smell them long before we saw them and he told me how much that smell of cattle and manure reminded him of childhood holidays spent on his paternal grandfather's dairy farm in Malax. I had expected the smell to dissipate as we passed them, but it persisted and became stronger. So strong in fact that I nearly gagged. Around the next bend we could see why. A farmer was spraying liquid manure over his fields and the wind was blowing the smell towards us. For the next hour we tried hard not to breathe, though we managed to make some appalling jokes based on the smell.




A little way past Ljungsbro, we passed over a road. Yes, that's right - the canal passed OVER the road via an aqueduct. It felt really funny to be sitting in a boat floating above the traffic. I guess it looked pretty funny from the road as well having a sailing boat overhead. We had talked earlier about stopping off at the guest harbour here for a day or so and checking out the Cloetta chocolate factory. But after talking to a couple of people who have stayed at Ljungsbro before we decided against it. Apparently there is a problem at the guest harbour with a local youth gang, who have been known to board boats, damage property and generally make a nuisance of themselves. That is something we don't really want to experience, so after we heard that, we decided to skip stopping there and continue on to Motala.




This has been somewhat of a revision of our plans. When we read the brochure from the canal company, they waxed lyrical about stopping off at all of their guest harbours along the route, enjoying the atmosphere there with cafés, small communities and lots of activities. But the reality is very different, especially as they force you to travel in convoys and to book the locks at least three working days in advance. The cafés are only open for about six to eight weeks (July to mid-August), everything looks deserted at this time of the year and most of the smaller guest harbours are full of local boats waiting to mast on, so there is no room for visitors anyway. Mind you, they still charge us full price - this is Sweden after all. Still, there are advantages to being out so early as I gather that during the season there are long delays at the locks and crowded, noisy harbours which get wearing after a while. I'm still enjoying the peaceful countryside and the chance to see so much more of my new country.




There really is a strong sensation of gliding silently through the heart of the Swedish countryside. For mile after mile, the canal is only just wide enough for the boat and the water seems to disappear, leaving you floating alternately through dense, leafy woods (where you can reach out and almost touch the tree branches) and wide expanses of open fields laid out like a giant patchwork quilt, punctuated by grazing cattle, sheep, horses and of course the typical red or yellow wooden farmhouses. It is real picture postcard country. There are also some very impressive homes along the canal banks.




In mid afternoon, we reach one of the two manual locks in the canal system. Most of the locks have been electrified, so the lock keeper can easily operate the gates and the water from a simple control panel. At this lock, our keeper, Sara, demonstrates just how all of the locks used to function. It certainly looked like a lot of work and both Lars-Göran and Dennis took over and had a go as well.

I can't speak highly enough of the lock keepers we have had. They are all young people, cheerful, helpful and a pleasure to be with. Sara herself has been studying in Melbourne for the past year and is home in Sweden for the summer holidays. We were able to chat happily at each lock about Australia and Sweden and to swap impressions of each other's countries. It's always interesting to hear what an outsider thinks of your homeland - and I can report that Sara LOVES Australia and can't wait to return, so you all must have been doing something right. As an Adelaidian, I felt honour bound duty to completely rubbish Melbourne and try and convince her that almost anywhere else was better, but she would have none of it, though she did promise that she's visit Adelaide when she went back.




Before we edged out on to the lake at Boren, we passed several homes that were built very close to the canal. This one in particular certainly had a front row seat and I was rather surprised that the owners had received planning approval for it. Or maybe they didn't? I imagine that it is rather pleasant to sit out on the deck on a summer evening and watch the passing boats.




We had an hour and a half motor across Lake Boren to the five step lock at Borenshult. I looked behind us and saw some very dark clouds on the horizon. I wasn't sure where they might be heading, but decided not to take a chance and so I donned my full rain gear. I was praying that we would make it to Motala before the clouds, but that was not to be. Just as we got to the first of the five locks, the heavens opened and it literally bucketed down for about fifteen minutes. I couldn't use an umbrella as I needed both hands for the ropes, so I had to just stand there and get rained on - AGAIN! You can see that we have come up about fifteen metres from the lake surface and that there is a passenger boat a couple of locks behind us, also locking up. It doesn't look that wet, but believe me, everything was drenched. Even the grass was squelchy underfoot. I kept dreaming of a hot shower and bed!




It must have been school outing day as we acquired another class of slightly older school children at the Borenshult locks. See, see! They have umbrellas! It really was raining! I was surprised that the kids came so close as the stone edge is very slippery when wet, but fortunately there were no accidents and we could safely continue on through the last lock towards Motala, where we arrived tired but happy just after 5pm.




Motala is a town on the eastern shore of Lake Vättern and is the half way point between Stockholm and Göteborg, so you could say that we are now half way to the west coast. It's been a long day and we spent the evening aboard Dennis and Beenie's charming boat drinking wine and swapping ideas and recommendations for places to visit.




They are continuing on in the morning, but we have decided to stop here for a few days and look around before we venture out into Sweden's second largest lake. I saw an interesting ice-cream shop that I know Lars-Göran will enjoy and the area around the harbour looks like it may house a surprise or two.