Castelnaudary to Toulouse

Jun 11

Actually it should be back and forward to Castelnaudary, then to the UK, then Toulouse.  After a quick recce of Castelnaudary we pushed off to the west killing time.  We turned around just beyond Le Segala - a tight squeeze in a stream entrance that was actually 'the Parting of the Waters' ie the Midi watershed.

a typical Midi ecluse

A slightly underpowered peniche

Then we pottered back, getting to Castelnaudary again in mid July.

Angela's sister and brother in law drove down from Bonn to dogsit Kes - a fairly arduous trek that was much appreciated. The guilt was enhanced by the onset of intermittent rain for 10 days.

Angie and Vanessa

Then it was a weeks trip back to the UK for our son's wedding - the first time Peter has worn a tie for about seven years.  Several beers later and suitcases full of shopping it was time for Heathrow.

Once back, it was a few days relaxing in Castelnaudary and Angie's first proper meal out since April - quel horreur!

Castelnaudary Grand Bassin

Castelnaudary Port/Petit Bassin

The tourist season has started - Brit motorists blocking our access.

As an aside, never send two sisters out together or they frequent dodgy looking streets and partake of strong drink, even Kes is hiding his face.

We went to the 'night market' which wasn't particularly special, but was enlivened by a good trad jazz band - so we retreated to the wheelhouse with a few bottles of wine and some good cheese, listened to the music and solved the problems of the world.

Night market

An afternoon's romp to Villeneuve le Comptal  (10km round trip sans Peter) in one of the fine patches. The message has finally sunk in that Angie's average 10 km a day with Kes is keeping her in better trim than my internet surfing.

Villeneuve le Comptal

Castelnaudary Windmill

The changeable weather was giving us good sunsets.

Coypu have become endemic.

To blow away the cobwebs we then had a days canal outing to (you guessed) Le Segala.

New deckcrew

Then the family departed for the Black Forest to finish their holiday and we went to Le Segala again - same old locks but now the holidays have started they are all manned by attractive female university students which improves the scenery.

Nice ecluse steps dated 1766

Still raining, so a short hop next into Port Lauragais where we moored against the restaurant balcony.

Voila, the sun finally came out and we pushed on.  The first automated locks for months but badly designed as a crew member has to go ashore to activate them - I wouldn't want to cruise single handed. Another Thomas Jefferson plaque at an ecluse - what happened to Franco-American amity (must be de Gaulle's fault).

Then it was into Toulouse (St Sauveur) and the end of the Canal du Midi - La Capitaine did a superb job reversing around boats into a difficult temporary berth. Peter then retired to the sofa while the distaff side got on with the washing and cleaning, Kes made friends with a cat on the adjacent boat.

Toulouse Cathedral

It is strange seeing all the street signs in two languages - French and Langue d'Oc (aka Spanish)

Ventenac to Castelnaudary

Jul 11

We are really pottering now as we don't want to get to Castelnaudary till mid July.  We passed through Argens - just avoiding a hotel boat, that was overtaking a hire boat on a bend!!

Argens Abbey

 Homps offered free electricity and water the first night's stay and a good small supermarket with a shelf full of English goodies - so despite the high prices - Gingernuts and Chocolate Hobnobs went into the basket together with Horseradish sauce and  Yorkshire tea bags.  More holiday traffic so we are tending to 'greenbank' a lot, relying on the solar panels (and generator when needed).

We had hoped to meet up with friends in La Redorte but due to health problems they couldn't make it, but after seeing their cottage Angie has firmed up her idea of a 'winter bolthole' down south. 'Peter - make it happen'!  In the interim we checked out the local walks.

Peter recuperating

Some beautiful original aqueducts along the way.

Argentdouble spillway 1694

In Trebes we found a nice little secluded mooring under the weeping willows away from the town noise.and watched a pair of coypu (Rodentin to the French) playing in the water

Trebes

Coypu

Then it was off to Carcassonne to check out our winter mooring - always a nervous moment.  A good intro as 'Stephanie' La Capitaine recognised the boat name as a 'winterer' from a distance, speaks good English and seemed very helpful.  The mooring and ecluse entrance were a bit hectic at this time of year, but November will be a lot quieter.  Angie did a supermarche recce and got a hair appointment (another one?).

The next greenbank mooring looked enticing, but we ended up grounded/tangled in tree roots etc and a major effort to get off - the prop shaft seal is now weeping - out with the spanners for a temporary fix but something else to go on the maintenance list - woe is me.  The countryside is now very colourful with hectares of sunflowers and lavender in full bloom.

Peter is enjoying spotting all the old irrigation pump engines/machinery along the canal bank - it looks fairly vintage even by NZ standards.  On the Friday morning we had a hard run into Castelnaudary and to our surprise managing the 15 ecluses before lunchtime closing (despite sharing with a hire boat) we must be getting used to the oval locks.

Castelnaudary ecluses

Castelnaudary is where we are going to leave Kotare while we go to our son's wedding, but it is expensive at €20 a night so we will potter off and come back for Bastille Day before flying out from Toulouse.

Agde to Ventenac en Minervois

Jun 11

The first reasonable mooring we found on the Midi was at Vias - still close to the coast though.  Angie couldn't resist going to the beach - but Peter got wet encouraging Kes into the waves.

Vias Plage

Vias had one of the more complicated flood gates we have seen - damn clever those 19C engineers

Then a very short run into Villeneuve les Beziers through one of the oval Midi locks.

The Midi (so far) is excellent for green bank moorings - reasonable depth at the sides and very little stone/rock infill. We were also experiencing our first low arched bridges on the Midi - a few buttock clenching moments given the cost of a new wheelhouse (not to mention the embarrassment)..

Whilst food shopping we spotted this painting - fantastic perspective as it is hard to believe it is just the flat end of a blank terrace wall.

Beziers has a dodgy reputation, so we carried on to the Fonserannes ecluse flight (seven ecluses once again filled two at a time which made for a bit of turbulence).

Then through the Malpas tunnel to a green bank mooring at Enserune.

Malpas tunnel

Enserune was carefully selected as it was an Gallo-roman archeological dig - the Oppidum was up a hill of course - with lots of funerary urns and grave goods (if you are into that kind of thing) but more impressive was the view over the drained (13C) Etang de Montady.

Etang de Montady

Enserune - Angie in a food silo

The local resident wasn't much impressed

The light was fantastic so I tried my hand at a still life (now if I could paint like this).

Another short run, into Poilhes to top up with water plus a few beers under the plane trees in the marketplace cafe - very attractive but judging by the beer prices the tourist season is here.

Poilhes

The catfish were hungry

The next day was Capestang bridge - the main Midi height barrier so we stripped down.

It didn't look any worse than all the others

but I can see why wheelhouses get wrecked

Capestang bridge

and another greenfield mooring at a bridge, with a restaurant which seemed permanently full (luckily as it was out of our price bracket).  The next day provisions were low so we stopped in La Somail before lunch to stock up at the floating Epicerie.

and we stuck our heads into the Bookshop Ancienne (xx thousand books) but the English titles were really ancient.

Le Somail

Angie managed to find a mooring in Ventenac en Minervois - adjacent to a wine cave in the local Chateau -which involved wine tasting - followed by a purchase of a doz overpriced Minervois (and she had forgotten her purse again).  I must remind her of the new drinking limits for pensioners - one glass a day I believe!

Angie has spotted a new bird - a Roller - like a blue parrot - but the only photo was of black swans.