The End of the Midi

Beziers from the aqueduct over the River Orb

After the excitement of Fonserannes locks we initially planned to stop in Beziers for a few days. 'Stay until next week,' we were encouraged repeatedly. 'For the Feria'  (the festival of the bulls). Since bullfighting has been banned in some parts of Spain the event in Beziers has become even more popular with up to a million people crowding into the city for a week each August. The streets are jam packed every night with competing styles of music and dancing, fireworks, light shows and horse riders. All very noisy, spectacular and enjoyable we were assured. The event does centre around bull fighting however, which remains well supported in this area of France.Whilst we have never been to a bull fight (nor would we go) we have seen bull running in small towns. The young bulls weren't injured but they were teased and seemed very confused and frightened.

The old city (which we'd explored previously and is certainly worth looking around) is a long, uphill walk along very busy roads. The prospect of doing that every evening to join the massive crowds wasn't overly appealing nor was waiting around in the port for a week in the extremely hot and windy conditions. We decided we would give the Feria a miss.
We can recommend the new boutique brewery beside the port though. La Gorge Fraiche - a brave venture in a major wine producing area = brews and sells very good beer. It is located in the old sugar mill; one of the few original buildings in the area not threatened with demolition during the planned redevelopment around the old port i.e. apartments and concrete.

From Beziers to the end of the Midi (or should that be the beginning?) the canal closely follows the Mediterranean coast. No more than a bike ride away, should you be able to find a place to stop.

Busy Portiragnes Plage on the Mediterranean - a 5km bike ride through salt marsh tracks from the canal. I got lost on the way back. The beach was not really worth the effort to be honest.

There are still many hire boaters on this stretch for whom the scenery might be a bit disappointing. No views at all, no remaining plane trees and no replanting until after the second last lock of the canal -round lock at Agde.

Agde round lock. It has 3 sets of gates. We were the only boat this overcast day. 

But then the canal banks flatten out and the vista opens up over the beautiful etang de Thau. When we passed this way 5 years ago these final few kilometres were blighted by abandoned, sinking wrecks and shabby, unregulated liveaboard boats. These have now been cleared away. Any remaining vessels have permits and proper moorings. And what a difference this makes. Instead of the eye been drawn to the banks lined with sad, uncared for boats we look up and out over the beautiful wide and wild lake.

Leaving the Midi. Out onto the etang de Thau

And so, au revoir Canal du Midi; out past the lighthouse and on towards Marseillian - one of our favourite ports.

Approaching Marseillian

Marseillian

Detour to Narbonne

'Roman Bridge' Narbonne

Before we say goodbye to the canal du Midi I need to backtrack a little- almost to Le Someil (the photogenic village with the antiquarian book shop and the narrow arched bridge). A couple of km from the village we turn off onto the Port Nouvelle Junction and descend 8 locks in 5 km onto the River Aude - the river which flooded last year causing such destruction and deaths. This year the Aude is shallow and care has to be taken to keep carefully to the required course to avoid running aground. After 600m we leave the river and enter the Canal de la Robine which leads to the city of Narbonne and then on to Port Nouvelle on the Mediterranean.

Umbrella pines at junction leading to Canal du Robine  and Narbonne

Being in a hurry on our way south in 2015 we had ignored this canal but as it's unlikely we'll be back this way again by boat we decided to make the detour. And we are happy that we did. Narbonne is certainly worth a visit.
There is some disagreement as to the lowest bridge on the Midi. Capestang is usually the one everyone worries about. It is certainly low and, at the same time, like many bridges, at a slightly awkward angle but I think that Carcassonne is lower. Much depends on fluctuating water levels though. As I've previously mentioned we removed our windscreens and lowered our nav frame in order to safely fit under the Midi stone bridges and we expected the Robine bridges to be the same. Little did we know that the water level had been raised by 10cm.

Duck!

Exiting a lock through a little arched bridge we came to a grinding, juddering almost halt half-way through. One of the mounts on top of the nav frame was jamming on the roof. There was nothing for it but for me to hang off the frame as if it were a monkey bar and just keep on scraping through whilst gouging a furrow in the 250 year old limestone (we weren't the first to be caught out - the evidence was clearly to be seen).
Once through we lowered the nav frame further which was just as well as once you reach Narbonne there is an even lower bridge - the medieval "Roman Bridge" which has a complete street of shops and houses on top of it.

The back of the 'Roman Bridge" leading into the port

Narbonne was once the major sea port between Spain and Italy but by the Middle Ages the sea had retreated. The port (Port Nouvelle) is another 20km further down the canal. This section, we were informed, was too shallow for us to navigate which disappointed one of us.

In the last lock into Narbonne

-and out

The port is situated right beside the historic centre dominated by the huge 12th-14th century Bishop's Palace and below the wonderful covered market. Our only quibble was the incessant music blasting through loudspeakers situated all along the quayside and throughout the narrow medieval streets. In the evenings this was replace by assorted (and better) live music from outside the restaurants, bars and the night market. A lively city.

the port 

Via Domitia - Roman road excavated in the centre of Narbonne. Looks difficult to walk on.

Horreum, Narbonne. Roman tunnels possibly used for grain storage.

Cathedral Saint Juste and Saint Pasteur

Bishops Palace/ Hotel de Ville Narbonne

Cathedral cloisters

Down the Midi

Le Someil - village shop inside the green barge

Last year we travelled on the Midi in September which, due to the hire companies offering large end of season discounts, was crazily busy. We expected August this year to be similarly dodgem-like. When we travelled south in 2015 it certainly was; sometimes we'd spend hours queuing for locks. However, whilst there are still many (more than enough) boats, it has been quieter than anticipated.
The first big hire base is at Castelnaudary and nearly all the boats leaving from there choose to travel towards Carcassonne. The hirers are given a quick driving lesson around the large basin, shown how to mediterranean moor (back into a space) and sent on their way. The very first obstacle to confront them is a 4 lock staircase just to get out of the basin. The good news is that it is going downhill and in a sheltered spot and so not as daunting as it would be going the other direction.
As mentioned previously, despite the fewer numbers of boats than expected, we still had to share many locks- sometimes nerve-racking, occasionally funny and now and then, if spending a large part of the day (or even several days) with the same boat, providing an opportunity to strike up a brief friendship.
As we have travelled this route previously we've tried, where possible, to stopover in different ports. In October last year parts of the region between Carcassonne and Trebes were devasted when the river Aude burst its banks; the worst flood for 100 years. 14 people died. The canal and river are close- sometimes side by side- and so the canal suffered major damage. There has been a huge effort to reinstate and repair banks, bridges and some locks and at the same time some villages have had new jetties or bollards providing extra opportunities for visiting. The removal of the diseased plane trees has more or less finished - there are virtually none left now which has affected the ambiance and look of the canal. This is not all bad. Views have been opened up of the beautiful surrounding countryside -with many large, lush vineyards- all the way to distant mountains. There has been an ongoing programme of replanting a variety of young trees but it will be years before they grow to maturity.
A couple of villages new to us that we enjoyed were Le Somail and Colombiers. Both had been full when we passed by in 2015. The 'hameau' of Le Somail, in particular, is very pretty and set around the original stone, hump-backed bridge. This was one of the overnight stops for the post boat from Toulouse to Narbonne and so, like Negra, has a small chapel for the boatmen.
A couple of restaurants overlook the canal and across the bridge is the village shop housed inside a peniche. The most popular place seemed to be the antiquarian bookshop. From the outside it looks to be quite small but it opens out, Tardis-like, into an enormous space. I think the building may once have been a barn.

Le Someil - antiquarian bookshop

Colombiers lies just beyond the Malpas tunnel (160m long and the first navigable canal tunnel ever built).

Passing through the Malpas Tunnel

The village is dominated by a chateau from the 16th century but I was more interested in something a litte older - the Oppidum d'Enserune.

This is the excavated remains of a Romanised Gallic settlement inhabited from the 6th - 2nd century BC. It sits on top of a high hill overlooking a vast plain and whilst it wasn't all that far distance-wise from Colombiers it was a hard slog uphill in 37 degree heat. I nearly gave up when I stopped for a rest and discovered I'd left my water bottle behind. However, I decided it was probably closer to carry on and buy a drink at the museum at the top than go back and have achieved nothing for all the effort. The 360 degree view from the top was worth the climb in itself.

Montady Etang

The Montady etang, which can be seen clearly from the Oppidum, was once a swamp which was drained by monks in the 13th century. The drainage channels radiate like sun rays dividing the area into sections for farming. The channels carry the water to a central drain and thereafter it passes through a 1300m tunnel into a stream and eventually to lakes near Capestang. A marvellous achievement from the middle ages.


Then it was on to the Fonseranes locks at Bezier. No avoiding them. They are listed in all the tourist brochures as one of unmissable sites of the Herault region and so they are crowded with spectators photographing and videoing and whilst I'm sure no-one hopes for a disaster they wouldn't say no to something interesting happening to post online. There's much less scope for things to go wrong when going down and I'm happy to say we passed through unscathed. My previous observation that the lock keepers this year were helpful, pleasant and courteous don't apply to this section though. I realise it may sometimes be a challenge dealing with hire boaters but without them, dear eclusiers, you  probably wouldn't have a job.

Fonserannes Locks

Foodie Faux Pas

La Viande Txoigitxu - an expensive dinner. This plate cost 62 euros

Most people who have eaten restaurant or cafe food in a foreign country will have probably experienced the occasional 'surprise' dish. Perhaps the surprise was in the excellence of the food, perhaps disappointment in the standard or, worst of all, it's an 'oh good grief what the **** is this I've ordered?' And do I really want to know? We've experienced all three over the past couple of months including some truly dire pizzas but then a bad pizza is never really that unexpected; I'm of the opinion now that if it takes more than 10 minutes to make and serve it counts as above average on the pizza edibility scale.
Nowadays, many people unfamiliar with the language on a menu will use their smart phone and Google translate which is sensible. For us, maybe we don't have a phone with us, or there's no internet connection, or we (I) assume we know what the word means. Sometimes we might guess or we just say who knows? - let's be adventurous. Actually the latter is usually me and it has been an effective way of searing some vocabulary into my brain.  I know to steer clear of 'andouillettes de Troyes' for example that 'ris' is not rice (that's 'riz') and that salade de gesiers is best not ordered again.
Of course taste is entirely a personal matter. French cooking doesn't waste any animal parts - it turns them into 'delicacies'. If you don't know what they are perhaps you'll find them delicious too. Incidentally being vegetarian or vegan in regional France might limit your choices but there is generally a variety of salads on offer (or pizza).

 A couple of food words I learned recently:
Bulot. I ordered the set menu as it included the main course I actually wanted and cost only 4 euros more. For that I would got an entree and dessert as well. The entree was Salade de Bulots et crevettes.  I knew crevettes were prawns but what were bulots? A quick check of the a la carte had them as usually costing 13 euro so I thought they can't be bad (so where's the reasoning in that?) When the glass bowl was placed in front of me I had one of those aforementioned  good grief moments. The prawns hung delicately around the lip of the bowl but perched atop the lettuce were what looked like 4 giant snails. It should have been called a gardener's nightmare. I knew already that snails are escargots and I do actually quite like them - hot and in garlic and parsley butter. But these were huge and straight out of a cold fridge. Well, you don't know until you try do you? So I did and you don't need to. They were disgusting (in my opinion). They weren't in fact snails. Bulots are whelks.

Morue. This was on the specials board at a little restaurant beside the canal in the lovely village of Le Someil. This time I asked what it was. The waitress was keen to speak in English and replied that it was cod. I buy cod quite often and know that it is 'cabillaud' so I queried her, repeating both the words and asking if they are the same. Yes, it is cod she insisted. So, I repeated 'morue' again and asked her if I was pronouncing it correctly. She gave me the proper pronunciation and started laughing when I said it again loudly and clearly in my best French accent. 'You must be very careful with this word,' she said. ' It is used for a sad lady.' Fortunately, I have not since gone around describing myself or anyone else as feeling or looking a bit 'morue'. As well as being cod it means a prostitute. The filet de morue was very good I'm happy to report.

Menu at Vinauberge, Poilhes. Photo above.

Toulouse to the Top (of the Midi)

The Canal du Midi begins at Toulouse and ends, 240 km later, at the Etang de Thau close to the Mediterranean. It is, by far, the most popular canal for holidaymakers and there are many, many boat hire bases along its length. At times it can be quite chaotic. Last year we travelled as far as Carcassonne in September and experienced queues at most locks and full ports. According to the capitaine at Carcassonne, September is the busiest month as the hire companies discount their rates and just about every boat is out. That is a lot of boats.To be honest, beautiful as this canal is, we weren't really looking forward to it.
The Canal du Midi is over 300 years old and characterised by curves: picturesque arched (low and narrow) bridges, oval locks and the winding waterway itself. The locks ( sometimes doubles, trebles or more) can be tricky to negotiate and during the summer you will usually need to share with one or two other boats. Going downhill is normally much easier than going up except that the Midi often has strong winds blowing and the lightweight, shallow draft hire boats are difficult to control in these conditions. Over the past week or two we've seen many boats being driven much too fast then bouncing off lock gates and walls and ending up sideways on with some poor crew member ashore hauling desperately on a long rope. Our strategy has been to hang back and just wait- sometimes quite a long time - until people get sorted. Much depends on how helpful the lock keeper is. I think that those we've met this year have, on the whole, been very good. Better than in previous years. Perhaps by September they've just had enough.

Oval lock - Midi

Treble lock

In order to safely pass under the bridges we have had to remove our windscreens, which we did in Toulouse. We still use our canopy but have it secured with elastic hooks which can be undone quickly. A shout of 'curvy bridge!' means get up here, undo the hooks and fold everything back, quick smart.
There aren't many hire boats on the the stretch from Toulouse to the summit and so far this section's plane trees haven't succumbed to the deadly fungus so it was a fairly quiet, shady, pleasant trip. Our only hiccup came after the very last of the uphill locks.
I know it's not like scaling a mountain but there's always a hint of a similar feeling of achievement when you arrive at the summit of a canal. It's been hard work just getting there and how much more difficult it must have been to actually build this in the first place - by hand. There is a monument to Pierre-Paul Riquet, the designer and engineer who conceived and realised the building of the canal, in a park at the summit. The 12 000 workers he employed (600 of them women) deserve our thoughts and thanks as well. A truly awesome achievement.

My hiccup may seem a minor one but not to me. I had left my boat hook at the aforementioned last lock. Some may think that's no big deal in the grand scheme of things but sometimes it's the small things that make a difference and the lowly boat hook is pretty important to me. My job (well, one of them) is chief rope wrangler and lock operator.  I could do without a boat hook but it would make my life that much more difficult. As a friend remarked it's like an extension to your arm.
Years ago, on the canal de Bourgogne someone stole my boathook. I couldn't believe that another boater would do such a thing (and sadly it must have been someone from a boat). Finding somewhere to buy a replacement took a long time (and there are so many locks on that canal). This time it was my own fault.
I didn't discover the loss until we'd arrived at the next lock - 5km away. I was pretty upset and so annoyed at myself. Rob, to his great credit immediately offloaded the small bike (mistake) and peddled off at high (-ish) speed. For anyone considering the long distance cycle route (I won't call it a path) along the Midi I suggest you stock up on padded shorts. From what we've seen of it since Toulouse it is often very rough and sometimes little more than a narrow track. (Tououse to Bordeaux is great). Also, as Rob discovered, the section along the summit was re-routed away from the canal and onto roads entailing quite a few extra kilometres. He wished he had taken the e-velo.
I remembered there was a lock keeper's house at the lock which is used as an office so it occurred to me that maybe I should try calling the keeper. It was almost the lunch break and I thought if the hook lay there for any length of time someone would take it. So, I took a deep breath, attempted to organise my thoughts into semi-coherent French and dialled.
Well, the keeper didn't speak any English at all. So we had a 'conversation' where I explained my problem as best as I could in French and then he replied in very fast French saying... who knows what? So, I did that that annoying thing beloved of politicians and just kept repeating the same statement over again. The keeper replied, probably also repeating much the same thing which, I guessed, was that he'd go and check, as the line went quiet for a minute. Then he came back on, rattled off a few more sentences to which I replied that my husband would arrive on a bike and thank you so much. Then I waited.
Eventually, the triumphant hero returned, aboard his trusty steed, lance in hand. (Sorry, but I was so pleased to see him and the boathook). The lock keeper had been waiting for him at the door of the cottage. So I was doubly pleased. We had the boathook back and I had, apparently, managed to make myself understood on the phone. No mean feat.

A Not So Hidden Gem -Toulouse

Place du Capitole Toulouse

The port in Toulouse is semi-closed this summer in that its pontoons have (mostly) been removed for upgrading. The capitainerie remains open however, so it is possible to reserve a mooring on the wall on the other side of the canal, if access to electricity and/or water is required. The main problem with that side of the canal is that it is in full sunshine for most of the day and this year that's a major drawback. We decided instead to stop just past the port under the trees. There are quite a few bollards and it is free but no services. Not entirely drawback free either - it's right onto the towpath which, in a major city like Toulouse, could be problematic. We try and take sensible precautions by making sure things are put away, locked up and so forth and we also stop where there are other occupied boats. The canal is slightly shallow at the side there so we had to tie up a bit out from the edge which added one layer of difficulty for anyone wanting to board (me included). As it was, the major danger was from speeding cyclists on the towpath. Toulouse has a good cyclepath network and lots of people commute by bike. Priority is supposed to be given to pedestrians on the towpath and the bikes are meant to go slowly (but don't). There are so many of them it pays to be vigilant and whatever you do don't saunter from side to side.
I like Toulouse. It is a handsome, prosperous city and there is plenty for the visitor to see. It also has lots (and I mean lots) of shops. How so many expensive clothing shops remain in business beats me but then I'm still wearing the same shirt in Toulouse that I was wearing in Paris 5 years ago - I know because the photo popped up as a 'memory' on a certain website the other day. The only things we wanted to buy were a couple of new chairs, our previous two having both given up the ghost in the same week when someone sat on them and the canvas split in two. Could I find a shop selling chairs? (I did find out later that there is an Ikea on the outskirts of Toulouse which runs a shuttle bus from the city but at the time of writing, a few cities further on, we are still chairless).
The only major site (and it is the major site) I hadn't visited was the The Capitole. Every time I had passed by there was always a huge queue or there was something on restricting entry. This time, when I walked through the huge square I noticed there was no queue.
What a beautiful building; museum, art gallery, working local government building,  place to get married (amazingvenue),  theatre and more. If you visit Toulouse make sure you go -no ticket required, no cost.

Council Chambers

Salle Gervais - Love at 40 

Salle Gervais - Love at 60

Ceiling - Salle des Illustres

Salle des Illustres - the wedding venue

Salle des Illustres

Great Stairway