Southwark

Friday was our last full day on Le Boat. Thursday we moored over- nighted in Capestang. Steph and I set our alarms and took our bikes out early to line up at the boulangerie for some warm croissants and pain chocolat. A big hit with the crew. Our Captain had us untying the lines well before 9 . The crew's decision was to get ahead of the rental boat crowd and get at the front of the line for the 9 locks near Bezier called The Fonserannes Staircase - which has a complex schedule for boats going in each direction. Fiona was clear that we could not afford to miss the 1300 downstream operations if we hoped to make our scheduled distance. Such a whip our Navigator. I think she's sleeping with the Captain - is that allowed??

Along the way on Friday morning we passed through many vineyards and a number of small towns including Colombiers. Mac and Steph hopped off with bikes and toured around some of the area. The rest of us tied up at the locks and took a 1 hour tourist train ride around Bezier. Bezier seems like a lovely Languedoc town with shaded squares, some interesting ancient sites and lovely gardens. It was also the birthplace and home town of Pierre Paul Riquet - the master planner of the Canal du Midi. We would like to have stayed longer to look at some of the historical sites but, alors, it was time for the 9 locks. We descended 6 times - so that's 7 gates. Then did a sharp right turn to sail over the beautiful Pont Canal du Bezier aqueduct high above the Orb River. Great fun. It was the. Down another 2 locks. Fortunately, the only other boat packed into the locks with us on this sequence was crewed by a friendly Scottish family.

During our final lock of the series of 9 everything stopped. We were stuck due to something about water pressure. Never did get the technical explanation - that's why you bring an engineer on these journeys. After
Much yelling and hand-waving (in both official languages) Steph and I helpfully suggested it was perhaps wine time and broke out the white. The men grabbed a beer and miraculously just as the caps came off, the lock started to operate again. Admittedly, given this is France and half of everything is closed at any one time , I wondered if the lock- keepers had simply gone on break and left us stuck there. In fact we've run into so many "fermé " signs that it has become a standing joke with the group - we came to France for a holiday but it was closed.

After a short stop for water fill up and some local charcuterie, we sailed through the last couple of locks and moored along the canal in a beautiful spot. We are only 1 km from the Med and there is a large marsh on our starboard side. We can see lots of waterbirds in the distance.
Last night we enjoyed our left-overs which Helen adeptly cooked into a lovely pasta meal. We were originally concerned about the amount of wine left, but by 930 we had finished it all. Mike pulled out his speaker and we used Spotify to play some great tunes. Our trip theme song is now "Pontoon" by Little Big Town.
It certainly has been a blast doing this with our family. We sure have some memories and stories. No one will miss the bunks and small spaces - you pretty much had to leave the cabin to change your mind - but we all managed very well. Fortunately, everyone was great about pitching in and doing what they could.

This morning we finish packing up as we are due to return this beast at 9. Plans are to take a hired van at 11 which Mike has arranged. Then we will try to see a bit of Montpellier before 5 of us fly to Corsica later this evening.
Mac and Steph split off and stay in Montpellier for a few nights before starting a tour of some of the Dordogne area with a rental car. Helen, Fiona, Jiggs , Mike and I will have a week touring Corsica.

More from there.
Signing off from the Canal du Midi.
Au Revoir,
Heather. XxRead more