It’s a Small, Small World (she said)
by Heather 30 Apr 2014
The marina in Dole, France
First, a big thank you to our readers, friends and family who have enthusiastically greeted the recent publication of A Practical Guide for European Canal Boat Charters, recommending it to friends and helping spread the word about the book! Its publication has put me in touch with lots of old friends, and I just loved the flood of emails from all parts of the globe that allowed me to catch up with folks. All the talk of the book highlighted some interesting connections between people we know and made me realize just how interconnected our world actually is.
While not a marina, the Coyote Cafe, Beaver Creek, CO is definitely a watering spot!
Our friends Audre and Dimitri, who have been traveling continuously since 1995, live in Vail, Colorado during the winter. As members of the local French club (which meets at the lovely La Tour restaurant once a week), they were practicing their French while at a local ski shop. A gentleman approached them (also speaking French), and introduced himself, explaining he had done some canal boating in France. When Audre recommended my book to him, he laughed and said ironically, he’d downloaded it that morning! It turns out we met Peter on Excargot (don’t you love that name?) in Nevers when we docked next to his lovely boat! It’s a small world ….
The marina at Staniel Cay, Bahamas
Later in the week, I heard from my star volunteer editor, Laura, whom we met in Staniel Cay. She and her husband, Bruce, recently reconnected with some old friends, French canal boaters Pete and Lilian along with John and Karen, and discovered that they all know us. Prior to our purchase of Après Ski, John and Karen encouraged us to buy a canal boat, inviting us aboard Château Deux and sharing their cruising wisdom with us. And we met Pete and Lilian and reconnected with John and Karen in St. Jean-de-Losne a couple summers ago. How ironic that they have old ties to one of the book’s editors!
We are delighted to hear that the book has helped our friends around the world connect and reconnect. It’s wonderful to know that nice folks are always able to find one another!
