The wind eased a bit in the night, but was already picking
up when we awoke, rather early, this morning. So we decided to set off without
hanging about: just a fill up with water and a cup of coffee, then out into the
lagoon. Our exit was a little dodgy, with the wind pinning us onto the
quayside, and boats moored fore and aft, but we managed without damage.
Our passage down the lagoon was uneventful, and surprisingly
comfortable: no spray over the bows. After an hour or so we came to the Les
Onglous lighthouse, which marks the start of the Canal du Midi.
From earliest times it was a dream to join the Atlantic to
the Mediterranean, bypassing the Iberian peninsula. The Romans tried it, and
Leonardo Da Vinci devoted some thought to it. But the genius who did it was a
Beziers-born tax collector and self-taught engineer called Pierre-Paul Riquet.
Starting in 1666, construction took 14 years, employing more than 11,000 men.
There are 63 locks, 350 bridges, and a tunnel. Sadly Riquet died just six
months before the opening of the canal, which is now a UNESCO world heritage
site.
The entrance to the canal is not particularly impressive.
There are plenty of boats moored up, some wrecked, many apparently
abandoned. Abandoned boats, abandoned dreams. They are also a real problem for the canal authorities.
We passed through our first small lock of this trip in
company with some pleasant Australians in a hire boat. The photo shows the oval
shape of the Canal du Midi locks, which is quite distinctive.
Next up was the round lock of Agde. This is a most unusual
construction with entrance/exits to the River Herault, which the canal crosses
on the level, to a side canal to Agde and the sea, and to the continuation of
the Canal du Midi. Our Australian friends were finding it a bit tricky in the wind, and
managed to clout us in the bows, but without doing any damage. We left ahead of
them and have not seen them again, so far.
One of the glories of the Canal du Midi is (has been) the
42,000 plane trees, planted on either bank. Sadly, they are being attacked by
an incurable canker, and the authorities are having to cut them down and
replant. A major campaign is under way in France to help finance this massive
operation, to which we contribute modestly. Anyway, some of the trees are
still there. The pic also shows one of the many, many little electrically
powered day boats you can hire – without knowing the first thing about water or
waterways. They can be a bit of a hazard.
We saw many tree stumps as we went along, and I suppose
there are many more to come.
We reached Beziers in good time, and found a comfortable
mooring spot. It is just by the bus stop into town, so up we went: two people
for one euro seems reasonable. With some difficulty we made our way to the
cathedral, and found the plaza in front of it with magnificent views over the River
Orb and the surrounding countryside.
Here is the cathedral from outside, though we should get a
better shot from the canal tomorrow.
And from the inside.
This is the town hall.
And, finally, we found many of the narrow shopping streets
had suspended colourful transparent umbrellas over themselves - an initiative called parapluies en folie. Quite why, we
did not discover. But they looked very decorative.
Tomorrow we venture up the seven-lock staircase at
Fonserannes, just outside Beziers, then there is a long stretch without locks,
so I don’t know where we’ll end up. Depends a bit on the traffic, too.
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