St Gilles to Agde

Jun 11

The St Gilles ecluse had dropped us off the Petite Rhone on to the Canal Rhone a Sete heading west. Moorings remained sparse and we were still mixing it with commercials heading to and from Aigues Mortes and Sete.  Suddenly though we were getting our first taste of the Camargue wild life.  Our first sight of the wild horses.

We could have been on the Fens as rush cutters were busy at work

We ended up moored to the bank at Gallician near the Port - massed stakes as the commercials weren't taking much notice of the speed limits.  Our first hire boats for about a month sped through. We managed to find a Boulangerie and a Bar but the mosquitoes were both large and voracious so we were pleased to move on towards Aigues Mortes.  Aigues Mortes wasn't very Plaisancier friendly with minimal moorings for passers by so we pushed onwards after a little shopping.

Aigues Mortes

In the end we found a tatty wooden pontoon near the River Vidourie - very atmospheric but very isolated.

Camargue at sunset

For the first time since Cyprus we found sheep and goats co-pastured - I certainly wouldn't argue with those horns.

Then it was a long push on through little fishing villages to the west - Angie was busy checking out the birds - mostly old favourites like Stilts, Terns, Egrets, Herons and sundry gulls but also a new one,  the European Bee-Eater.

Then it was into Frontignan where we spent the night, after waiting for the lift bridge which only opens twice a day.

Frontignan Lift Bridge

We set off early through Sete to our first semi-maritime crossing on the Etang de Thau - luckily the wind was fairly subdued and the  GPS was working OK to keep us on track.

Leaving Sete

A fellow traveller

Nearly there

Made it - but where is the Canal du Midi?

We found the Canal entrance, fought our way through massed boat moorings and still on salt water pushed on to the first Midi lock, where we felt the Canal du Midi really started. The first 'oval' lock since our early days in Flanders, then to Agde where the three way 'round' lock is really peculiar eg Brugge Ring sluis.  After the flog from Avignon on the rivers and some not very pleasant canals our first views of the Midi looked good.

Canal du Midi nr Agde

Rhone - Valence to St Gilles

As we went south the moorings were getting sparse and 'green bank' wasn't possible - so an early start from Valence and a longish run to Viviers - we grabbed the last pontoon finger next to a new 18m gin palace - the Dutch owner alternatively swore or sobbed when we got closer than 2m to him.  Quite windy so we had to run ropes to all possible mooring points.  Viviers was a nice little town so we spent two nights (mooring and electricity were free which may have contributed).

Viviers

Viviers Street Scene

Viviers 18C chateau

The trip onwards from Viviers was a long slog as the nearest good mooring was Avignon - the weather was great though.

Rhone cutting

But by midday the wind built up  - from a distance we thought this commercial was a hovercraft

Sand blasted

The problem with the big locks was the eclusiers kept you waiting till they had more than one boat so we were averaging an hour a lock.   The deepest ecluse in Europe was passed.

Bolloene Ecluse - 23m

Then it was just a slog past various towers ruined or otherwise.

Tour de l'Hers

Tour de Phillipe du Bel

Then after nearly 10 hours into Avignon - which we have somehow missed in our past travels (again we squeezed into the last mooring).

Palais des Papes

Congress building

Avignon mooring

Our feet worn to the bone from sightseeing after two days we headed south  past the Benezet Bridge.

Avignon - Benezet Bridge

It was another long run as we planned to turn before Arles onto the Petit Rhone.  The current at Tarrascon whisked us quite quickly through the bridges and down to the junction.

Tarrascon - Castle du la Roi Rene

Kes was determined to keep Angie awake and resorted to tongue in ear tactics.

Then on to the Petit Rhone - very African Queen-ish with thick vegetation down to the mud brown water and no buildings - it reminded us of the Daintree River in Queensland (we kept waiting for the crocodiles to splash in from the sides looking for a snack).  After a couple of hours we arrived at the St Gilles lock into the Canal Rhone au Sete - a smiling Eclusier and a drop of 40cms!

River Rhone - Lyon to Valence

Jun 11

We joined the Rhone at Lyon but actually moored before the junction at Quai Tilsit near the VNF office. Not particularly salubrious but very central.

Lyon - old fort

French tenements look better than English ones

Lyon Notre Dame - from the mooring

As expected the Roman ruins were high on Angie's 'must do list'.

Amphitheatre

Then it was off on the actual Rhone - the office blocks were 'different'!

Lyon - office block

Then our first Rhone ecluse (quite small)

And then it was slip sliding away down 'la chute' doing 11 kms/hr at 1200 revs - not a good sign for the return trip against the current. Plenty of commercials.

Kes dreaming of poodles

Moving into a better class of wine but not sure I can afford Hermitage by the dozen.

Rhone vineyard

and more swans

A Rhone junction - decisions?

Then it was into Vienne

Vienne

If I had known I was going to be dragged around my second Gallo-roman museum and set of ruins in two days I might have moved on (though the museums in Lyon and Vienne are excellent).

Temple - Augustus and Livia

Another Roman road

and a tadge later historically.

Tower de Valois (Vienne)

and to be really up to date - we moored at Chavanay near the Nuclear Power station (Kes may glow in the dark if he goes swimming).

Chavanay

It was a nice spot but the commercials and hotel boats bounced us about a bit so we had an early start and motored on south.  The Rhone looked really peaceful at 07.30

Rhone - peaceful

We stopped at St Vallier for bread and to give Kes a break then pushed on.  Moorings were hard to find - on through Hermitage.  Met the first Dutch boats racing south for the sun

T'ain l'Hermitage

The planned stop at the Valence town quai looked dodgy so we ended up squeezed into the Valence Port du Plaisance - mooring on the fuel pontoon - the first Port stop since Dijon and at 26€ hopefully infrequent - but it allowed us to fuel up and top up the water.  Scratching for food as it is Pentecost weekend and all the shops are closed.  Tomorrow we are heading for Viviers weather permitting.

Valence - steam tug L'Ardeche