Béziers to Marseillan – 34 km

After two days of horrendous heat, it was a relief when a thunderstorm arrived in the night, and the rain certainly cooled things down. It was quite civilized, even chilly, when we walked to the supermarket this morning, mainly to replenish drinking water supplies!

Then it was through the first lock, behind two hire boats who quickly beckoned us to overtake. Sunday morning certainly brings the French to the canal. Many men fishing, lots of keen types running and plenty of families cycling.

For some reason this end of the canal seems to have more abandoned boats, dream projects left unrealized.

Also oddballs, like this organic boat.

It’s worth remembering that sometimes it is we who are the spectacle, not just a question of us observing everyone else. I hope this lot appreciated our lock work!

The amusement park on the banks of the canal did not seem to be doing much business. Perhaps the slogan is not ideal for attracting family parties.

With only the round lock at Agde to go, we found a shady place on the canalside and tied up to a tree for our final lunch on this canal.

After a longish wait, made longer by the difficulties new hirers were having in getting out, we piled into the round lock, positioning ourselves to be the first to leave.

So finally we passed the end of the Canal du Midi and emerged onto the Êtang de Thau again, quickly headed for the most westerly port, Marseillan.

It is busy, but there was a good quayside mooring, just in front of a bar. As soon as we tied up, we went to order some good, cold beer, delaying  the composition of this blog entry somewhat.

But we have some reflections on the Midi experience too: first and foremost, it is wonderful to see such an historic construction in such use. You hear complaints among boaters that it is too busy in July and August, but we were happy to see families or groups of friends evidently having such a good time. Teenagers and preteen children all seemed to enjoy the experience, as did people who have never driven a boat before. We can all laugh about bumper boats, but you have to start somewhere, and maybe some will get a real taste for it. And, of course, it brings lots of money into the waterway authority and the regional economy. That’s not to deny that at times it got a bit stressful, and we have a sense of relief at being out in the open again.

Capestang to Béziers – 19 km

There were really lots and lots of boats moored up at Capestang. I think we were lucky to have found a spot yesterday. On the other hand, it wasn’t so lucky since on the other side of the canal was a big hire boat with some Australians on board who insisted on running their engine all night long to keep the air conditioning going. It has certainly been hot, but this seemed a bit much, and was quite annoying.

Then we had an electrical crisis, having not plugged in, but foolishly leaving a fan on while we slept. In the early hours, the domestic battery gave up. The engine has its own battery for starting, but it did mean having to run the engine to get a shower in the morning and work the pump for the water pressure system. Ironic after grumbling about the Australians.

Anyway, we set off before most of the hire people were stirring, and liked this fishing mannequin on a boat moored out in the wild. Presumably to keep people clear of the boat.

We decided to stop at the village of Colombiers, in the hope of a wine tasting. This is the heart of the Languedoc wine-producing area, with a history going back to Roman times. At one stage, in fact, this region was the prime supplier of wine to ancient Rome.

But in the 19^th century it mostly produced what they call vin de soif – low-quality wine for quenching the thirst, targeted at the workers of the industrial revolution. This led to the region developing a poor reputation for quality, which was only remedied by drastic action in the 1960s. Modern techniques were introduced, involving temperature control, stainless steel, and in many cases, visiting Australian wine makers. Now they reckon to produce vin de plaisir – wine for pleasure. By the way, each of those barrels can hold  35,600 litres of wine but have been disused for decades.

The Colombiers visit proved to be more history than wine – no tasting on offer – so on we went, meeting this full-sized barge in quite a narrow stretch. They always look alarming, but are usually well driven and OK to pass.

In the basin at the top of the Fonsarannes ladder of locks, across the river from Béziers, we were somewhat concerned to spot Alouette yet again, but quickly established that she would not be going down. However, there were plenty of other boats lining up to go down, and more arrived as we waited, using the hour we had to grab some lunch.

The little train of sightseers arrived to watch us descend.

We were in the second group of three, with two hire boats.

The view looking down is quite impressive.

We found ourselves leading the pack from each chamber to the next. Going down is certainly a lot easier and less stressful than going up.

Finally we reached the bottom, only needing to cross the river on a canal bridge, and go down one more deep lock to reach the port of Béziers, where we managed to get the last available mooring place. Now we are plugged in and trying to survive the extreme heat that is afflicting southern Europe. Fans going full blast, the leaves on a few trees are even turning brown and falling, and we're drinking lots of chilled water.

Narbonne to Capestang – 35 km

As planned, we headed for the covered market just across the canal from our mooring. The shopping list included fruit, vegetables, cheese, suppers and lunches. 

It was not particularly crowded and some of the stalls were still setting up. Not all prices were being displayed. At first sight we got excited seeing some cherries, but then found they were imported from the USA at more than 18 euro a kilo. No thanks!

Market workers were doing what they do everywhere, enjoying breakfast at the bar, washed down with a good rose'.

There was quite a queue at the butcher’s counter we decided to patronize: a difficult choice, since there were at least half a dozen competing for our business.

Shopping mission complete, we set off, enjoying a final view of the Cathedral and Archbishop’s Palace. There were some minor technical delays at the first two locks, but soon we were heading north again in the company of a Belgian family in a hire boat.

Once again we had to cross the river Aude, carefully avoiding the sandbank.

The waters of the river are held back by a weir both to feed the Canal de la Robine that goes down to Narbonne, and eventually Port-la-Nouvelle, and also to make sure there is enough water for us to cross.

After lunching at Salleles, we went up the Canal de Jonction alone. Hot (southern France is experiencing a serious heatwave, or canicule), and energetic for Diana who had to go ashore at each lock to set the mechanism in motion and take our mooring line. But quicker that way. Once back on the Canal du Midi, we decided it was too early to stop, so we headed on.

It took a bit over two hours to reach Capestang, where we are now comfortably moored for the night.

Narbonne

There were sounds of activity above us on the quayside early in the morning, and it turned out to be the start of a three-day braderie, or non-food fair. Plenty of bargains, though probably mostly from China.

We set out quite early seeking the tourist office, and also the office of our mobile provider, SFR, after receiving a slightly disturbing sms message saying our data download allowance was nearly exhausted: we use the personal hotspot on the iPhone for uploading this blog, and also browsing e-mails and websites. However, we were reassured by Lionel of SFR that our new monthly allowance of 20 gb starts on Monday, and that they would not cut us off in the meantime.

While I negotiated that, Diana took a picture of Saskia on her mooring through the window. The SFR office turned out to be on the Merchants’ Bridge over the canal.

Then it was serious sightseeing, starting with the Archbishop’s Palace, now the town hall. It has an archeological and a fine arts museum, but we didn’t feel like either today.

However, the courtyard was impressive, though difficult to photograph.

And in the square in front there is a fragment of the ancient Roman Via Domitia, dating from the second century BC. This was the road linking Rome to Spain back then.

We moved through the cathedral cloister, which is being restored, and into the cathedral itself. A strange building, dating to the 13^th century, but never completed. The choir and apse are there, but no nave or transepts. Terrific stained glass.

Diana was taken by this devout chap in a side chapel, who has removed his gloves/gauntlets to pray.

From the cathedral we headed for the ancient Roman horreum, which is a series of underground storage rooms, excavated fairly recently. Quite spooky, and we wondered if we would find out way out, but we did eventually emerge.

We wandered on, discussing our next move, pausing to admire this outdoor hat-making exhibition in the fair.

The decision was to take a bus out to Gruissan, a beach resort,  to see Barbarossa’s Tower, though actually it appears the Barbary pirate Barbarossa never actually set foot here, and the tower was built at the end of the 10th century, several hundred years before his time. Never mind.

It was lunchtime by the time the bus arrived, but fortunately as we walked in the general direction of the tower, we came across the Restaurant l’Estagnet, even though it did not seem very promising from the outside. 

Inside, it turned out to be excellent, serving us marvelous seafood platters for 22 euros, and a carafe of wine for six or so. In fact, we discovered later, it is listed by Michelin and well reviewed.

That gave Diana the energy to climb the many steps up to the top of the tower and admire the views from there. The more idle member of the party sat in a café by the church with another chilled glass of white wine.

Back to the bus stop, which fortuitously was right opposite the Cooperative Wine Cellar. So with 20 minutes to spare, we ventured in, enjoyed the air conditioning, and were tempted into buying two five-litre boxes of Corbieres to replenish supplies aboard.

Tomorrow morning we plan to visit the Halles covered market and stock up on necessities, then head off back towards the Canal du Midi

Le Somail to Narbonne – 18 km

After filling up with water, we set off gingerly through the serried ranks of hire boats in Le Somail this morning, and duly found the fuel dock a few kilometres down the canal. We took on 106 litres, which is what we have used since Avignon – not bad, I think.

Then we turned off onto the Canal de Jonction, which runs dead straight across country, with seven automatic locks. We were following a hire boat with a Swiss family (judging by the flag). Mother and father were the crew, jumping on and off, tying up and activating the lock, while teenage son was the helmsman up on the flying bridge giving the orders.

At one stage there were two handsome British barges tied up opposite each other in a shady village. This one is called the Busted Flush.

The Jonction Canal takes you down to the river Aude, which has to be crossed on the way to Narbonne.

At the last lock there is a dry dock for barges. Some days ago we met a Brit with a very smart barge, who told us he had spent a week here in a heatwave painting its bottom. Not an experience he would like to repeat.

We lunched in the shade on a convenient quay before crossing the Aude. Then it was an easy run down the Canal de la Robine to Narbonne.

We went through the final lock with a tour boat.

And appreciated the flower arrangements on the lock wall.

Then it was under the Merchants Bridge and into the heart of the city. Narbonne dates back to 118 BC, the Romans of course, and the canal was brought through the middle of town in 1787. It continues for another rather featureless 25 km to the modern Port la Nouvelle, and the Mediterranean. We don’t plan to go down there.

The shady spots along the quays were mostly occupied, so we took a spot in the sun. But it has water and electricity, even if fewer customers. Maybe that means it will be more expensive. We’ll find out in due course, no doubt.

Tomorrow we take a break from cruising to sample the sights and delights of Narbonne, including the quite famous Halles covered food market.

Puicheric to Le Somail – 33 km

The first thing to say is that it was a slow day – very slow. There were large numbers of boats going in each direction, which meant a great deal of waiting at the locks. At some stages it seemed we had spent more time waiting than actually cruising. It was also a grey, humid day that felt like thunder. Storms never materialized, but the weather certainly brought out the flies!

All the same, there were some highlights. At one double-chambered lock, the keeper decided two boats should go into the top chamber, including us, and another two into the bottom chamber at the same time. She then equalized the water levels, opened the gates, and directed us through.

Made a lot of sense. I'm surprised more lock-keepers on the Midi don't do the same. Most of the time, though, it was three boats at a time, and we got bumped around quite a bit. We prudently removed the ensign and pole to avoid assault from behind.

Then, suddenly, came the most dramatic news of the day: a phone call from Alex from Le Beausset, while we were waiting to enter another lock, announcing discovery of a large and active hornets’ nest in our garden shed. However, being Alex, he had already dealt swiftly, efficiently and ruthlessly with the situation, finding an exterminator on the internet and summoning him. His only query was whether the man was charging a fair price!

So on we went. Homps didn’t look very inviting, and there were still plenty of hire boats tied up despite it being high season.

We looked at Paraza, where there is a quite well known wine Chateau, and also Ventenac-en-Minervois, which has this church, but the available places to moor did not look comfortable. So we came on to Le Somail, and put ourselves in a convenient marina on the outskirts of town, with the usual facilities.

Tomorrow we plan to take a side trip to Narbonne for a couple of days, after stopping for a diesel top-up at a handy canalside filling station a few kilometres down.