Marseillian and the Etang de Thau

Marseillian, 2km around the corner from the Canal de Midi, is the first port on the Etang de Thau and a welcome, if expensive, stopover before tackling the 21km to the Canal de Rhone au Sete. Coming in the other direction, particularly if you've made the trek down the Rhone, arriving at the little port is the moment you feel, 'We've made it.'
The bustling quays of the pretty port are lined with small restaurants all serving, amongst other delicacies, oysters from the extensive oyster beds in the etang. They could not be more fresh and if you are a fan of oysters you won't be disappointed. The other speciality of the town is Noilly Prat (vermouth) and you can go and see how that has been made here since 1813 at the Maison Noilly Prat, in the rue Noilly. We didn't go but I understand the manufacture is a rather arcane process involving secret recipes and so on.

Passing one of the oyster beds - Etang de Thau

As well as being a working fishing port the town is popular with holidaymakers taking some time out from the close-by Mediterranean beaches. For us it is a lovely place to relax on deck for a few days and watch the passing parade; a glass of something chilled in hand, a plate of oysters on the table, all against the beautiful backdrop of the etang. Once again we remind ourselves how lucky we are.

Marseillian at night

The etang (lagoon) takes about 2 hours to cross. Navigation is not permitted for pleasure craft if winds are at or above force 4 as large waves can quickly develop and conditions become dangerous. The day we left the Midi and entered the etang the water was mirror-like. The morning we set off on our crossing the skies were still blue but the wind was beginning to blow- not too strongly but enough to make the trip a bit lumpy and for spray to be thrown up.
On the whole it was pleasant enough- much more so than on our way south.  The channel is marked by very few markers and they are far apart and difficult to spot. I am never comfortable on large expanses of water so I was happy when, with a little help from the ipad and GPS we spotted the entrance to the Canal de Rhone a Sete.
This end of the etang near Sete has new developments of apartments along the headland separating the lagoon and the Mediterranean. On entering the canal however, original fisherman's cottages still line the banks. Hopefully these simple homes will remain for many years to come.

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

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

'Le Tour' at Toulouse

The day we arrived in Toulouse the Tour de France was hurtling towards the city. In the hour and a half it took us to cruise the last 5 kilometres and negotiate the 3 locks to the port the cyclists were about 60 km closer.
We have seen the Tour before. Some years ago we were lucky enough to be in Paris for the finish which was exciting - the atmosphere that is. Despite positioning ourselves early, where we thought we'd see plenty of the action, by the time the cyclists appeared the crowds were so thick and comprised of apparent giants that we felt lucky to glimpse the top of a helmet or the flash of a leg. I say we but one of us gave up and repaired to a bar to watch all the action on tv. The best thing about the day was that the roads all remained closed for hours after the race finished and it was quite magical strolling around a Paris bereft of traffic.
Having learned from our previous experience, this time we decided not to try and watch from the finishing line. Instead, we walked a few hundred metres along the canal from our boat and joined the spectators lining the route where it crossed the bridge. Great view, people one or two deep, everyone could see. The busiest and rowdiest spot was across the road at the Irish pub (The Danu - although it seems to be calling itself an English pub at the moment). The gendarmes (loads out all over the city + army) kept trying to calm down the over-exuberant and over-refreshed young lads balancing between the outdoor tables and the railings fearing, I suppose they'd cause an international, televised incident by tumbling in front of the riders but they ignored them. Fortunately for everyone they managed to stay upright.
We had, we guessed, about 20 minutes to wait for the riders. During that time there were loads of  team cars and motorcyclists who all seemed pretty excited to be part of the entourage, hooting horns and waving as they sped past. Helicopters clattering overhead signalled the cyclists' imminent arrival and finally motorcyclists with flashing lights. The crowds a few hundred metres up the slight hill began cheering, the riders appeared round the bend and then there they were! A colourful bolt of pure energy swept past just metres away sweeping up the spectators into a Mexican wave of excitement. The lads on the tables opposite could barely contain themselves. Everyone (us included) cheering and clapping and roaring encouragement. In moments they were gone. Even the stragglers were only seconds behind.
The gendarmes opened up the barriers and we were allowed to cross the road. So, we strolled across to the Irish pub for a well earned pint of beer.

Midi Madness

Castelnaudary

There are 2 directions to navigate a canal- upstream (uphill) or down. A tip for the prospective hire boater - should your choice of canal be heavily locked (e.g. the Midi) then (in my opinion) think about booking your route in the downhill direction. You probably have only a week and you undoubtedly want that to be as relaxing and enjoyable as possible. Downhill is less physical, less stressful and less likely to result in accident, dispute or divorce.
I don't know if hire companies have a price differential according to direction but they certainly do depending on when you hire. I haven't checked for myself but several eclusiers (lock keepers) have told me that prices in September this year were discounted by 50% resulting in almost every boat available being out on the water. One result of this is a lot of waiting around in queues for locks and so, to move everyone through as quickly and with the least use of water as possible, the eclusiers pack as many boats in each lock as possible. Sometimes tempers can become frayed. So, be patient and (Tip 2) go easy on 'le vin' at lunchtime.
Our plan (yes, we had one for a change since we had guests) was to travel as far as Carcassonne where we would drop off our crew before retracing our steps all the way to Castelsarrasin on the Garonne where l'Avenir would spend the winter. Our friends had one week to spend with us so we checked back on our log from 3 years ago, when we last were on this route, and the 105km from Toulouse to Carcassonne was definitely do-able. I don't mark locks on the log- just dates, times and moorings so it was a bit of a shock to look at the charts and remind ourselves just how many there are and not just single locks either - doubles, trebles and even a quadruple. Having the extra help on board would be most welcome although we'd have to do it all again (the hardest section uphill) on our own on the return.
The waterway was relatively tranquil as far as Castelnaudary - one of the Midi's major stops. The town's main claim to fame is as 'the home of cassoulet' - a delicacy I don't find particularly appealing in temps of mid 30s but I am sure would be very welcome in winter. There is a well-run and attractive port popular with a number of cruising liveaboards who return here to spend their winter. Just through a pretty curved stone bridge at the end of the port is an enormous basin with a small island inhabited by ducks, a swan (only one I think) and some coypu (beaver-like animals). A track runs around the basin and is popular as a shady place for a walk or cycle. The basin is also home to one of the major hire boat companies.We now realised a flaw in our 'plan'. Our stop coincided with changeover day when the week's new hirers take over their boats.

Following a hire boat

One criticism some make of the hire companies is that they don't give their customers much in the way of instruction - usually just a quick run through of the controls and a scoot up and down the canal or, in this case, around the basin. To be fair I suppose they only have limited staff - enough to take a couple of boatloads out a time - and lots of customers waiting. On this particular day, in blazing sunshine, those customers were being given a comprehensive lesson in the art of queueing which, admittedly, might be considered good practice for the week ahead. If you've ever had to wait in an airport car rental office after the arrival of an busy plane you'll be familiar with the scene. Tired, glum holidaymakers slumped on top of their suitcases (which is probably about as much use as a large suitcase and its contents will be all week on a boat with half a dozen others all with their bags as well). Perhaps their time might be more usefully spent viewing a video of what to expect going through a lock (maybe they do have one once they actually get inside the building. I don't know). Next morning we were all jockeying for position at the lock to take us out of the basin. and it's a zinger - a quadruple. That's 4 locks in a staircase. When the gates open after the lock operates you move through them into the next lock and so on.

Coming down the quadruple

As everyone travels at much the same pace we were with the same cohort of boaters all the way to Carcassonne, a crossing point for hirers travelling the other direction - the unfortunate 'uphillers'. The port was jam packed with hire boats and chaotic at times with boats coming and going through the lock and the trip boats trying to run their business through the melee. The Carcassonne lock is reputedly the second most popular visitor attraction in town after the the Citadel.
We said goodbye to our friends and then spent a couple of days gathering our energy for
the long climb back up throught the locks. We visited the old city last time in Carcassonne but I felt I couldn't not go again even though, to me, it's much more alluring from a distance. I had a quick walk through the crowds inside the city and after a rest in the cool shade of the church where I was lucky to hear part of a recital I wandered around the ramparts. Most visitors stick to the tourist shops and cafes leaving the ramparts relatively peaceful and so not completely devoid of atmosphere. 
(Sadly, I don't have any new photos since my brand new camera was dropped (not by me) into the canal whilst we were waiting in a queue for a lock. Most disasters occur in or around locks. The 'dropper' quickly and bravely (or in fear of my ire) followed the camera into the murk and, amazingly, managed to retrieve it. At the time of writing it remains in a bag of rice as no one is game to try it out.)
The return journey (undocumented pictorially by me) was extremely hard work in hot weather. The bow thruster gave up the ghost half way. 

A hot day spent cramped in a tiny locker - fixing the bow thruster

We had to share nearly all the locks (usually with 2 other boats) as far as Castelnaudary which was sometimes stressful, a couple of times damaging and, on occasion, hilarious (or should that be hysterical). We remain, as yet, undivorced.

Now for the lift out.

Back on the peaceful Garonne

Back on the Midi

Most people, if asked to name one canal in France, would answer the Canal du Midi. There are about 8500km of navigable canals and rivers in France and the Midi is only 241km so why is it so well known? Perhaps because it has been a setting in many a TV programme or film.We see it in paintings, postcards, posters and calendars. In short it is photogenic. Most canals are straight but the Midi has curves, not only in its course but also in the shapes of its ancient (350 year old) hand-hewn, stone locks and low bridges. As it winds its way through the south of France it flows close to Mediterranean beaches, passing quaint villages, and then the medieval, fairytale-like  citadel of Carcassonne. Fields of sunflowers follow the sun, grapes ripen in the vineyards and a boat drifts through the dappled shade cast by the stands of old plane trees lining the banks.

Oval lock Canal du Midi

Low bridge - Canal du Midi

 Ok I'll stop there. You get the picture. It's the one they put in the brochures for the hire boat companies. The one with one boat (or maybe 2 because you'll be wanting to make some friends won't you?). The one with empty locks and smiling boaters. It's the same picture I had in my head many years ago when we first bought l'Avenir in the Netherlands. I wanted to come straight to France and make for the Midi. We didn't as it happens (I'm happy to say) but many do.
The Midi is undeniably a most interesting and scenic waterway. It dates from the mid 1600 s and is a marvellous feat of imagination, engineering and sheer hard work. Its UNESCO World Hertiage status is well deserved. Sadly, one of the main features of the picture I just described to you is disappearing year by year - the plane trees. 3 years ago when we last were on the Midi there were long stretches of canal denuded of plane trees; they were being cut down and burned in huge bonfires beside the canal. Many of the remaining trees were daubed with red paint which meant they too were condemned. It was distressing to see and I'm sorry to say this continues. The trees are infected with a fungus which  kills them and they were and are being removed in an attempt to prevent it spreading. This seems not to have been possible. More and more trees are being removed and replaced with different varieties of saplings. These will take many years to reach maturity. In the meantime (and probably forever) the character of the canal is changing. There are still stands of plane trees but less each year.
Constructing the canal was a monumental project designed and overseen by Pierre Paul Riquet. It took 12000 workers (many of whom were women) 15 years of hard manual work. Sadly Riquet died before its completion. It is hard to imagine how difficult life must have been toiling on the construction or, later, working on one of the man/horse hauled boats through non mechanised locks. Believe me, it is exhausting enough travelling on it nowadays particularly in the summer heat and with the added ingredient of the hire boats. Yes, unsurprisingly, the photos in the brochures are not entirely accurate. There are more than one or two boats. There are hundreds.

Leaving Toulouse

We picked up our guests/crew from Toulouse which is where the Midi begins. From there it's all uphill (always harder) to the summit. On this stretch the locks can be quite deep and most are self operated so someone needs to get off the boat on approach in order to press the buttons and take the ropes. There is only one hire base in operation at Negra so it is relatively quiet.

Negra - Chapel

Boatman's Chapel - Negra

Negra has a nice little boatman's chapel beside its lock which is worth a look. There were once 6 chapels along the Midi but now only 2 remain consecrated. This one was the half way mark for the mail boat which also carried passengers between Castelnaudary and Toulouse. The building next door was once an inn but is now the hire base office.
We made the mistake of stopping at the the village of La Seragla on the summit of the canal. The mooring was completely taken up by a peniche turned gite (named 'Avenir') and an abandoned ancient cruiser so we were forced to try and moor against a broken down bank where it was shallow and rocky and we needed a gangplank to get off. To to all the motorhome holidaymakers seated in a row along the canal in your fold up chairs, watching, arms firmly folded - thanks for your offers of help (not one). What is it with these people? They always look so bloody miserable.
The small bar/restaurant in the village had no free tables, there was no boulangerie and overnight the water level dropped leaving us aground. So altogether not a successful stop. With much scraping and screeching of metal we finally got underway. At least it would be downhill from now on. Into the first lock. Press the button. Gates close and then nothing. Was this an omen?

First downhill lock - Canal du Midi

Coming soon ( I hope) -Midi Madness