UP THE CANAL

10th July 2010 to 31st July 2010

We have had a really lazy 12 days at Castelnaudary where we have stayed longer than planned but as the daily temps have been in the high 30’s and we had a great spot with our mooring right opposite the olympic swimming pool complex, the layover has been great. I have got a number of touch-up jobs completed and we have done some side trips in the car which has been nice.

We visited Revel which is a beaut town and is famous as the Meuble centre of France. We originally thought this must refer to marble work but in fact it is the manufacture of fine furniture so not only are the shops showing great displays of finished products but the factories allow visits so one can see first hand the artisans doing their work. For the woodworker it is something which should not be missed.

While there we visited a large lake which has been built up from its original size by the building of a very large dam wall so the lake not only supplies water to the whole of the Canal du Midi but is used for general water supply to the district and is a very popular leisure centre with yachting, canoeing, and swimming all taking place and while we were there stage settings etc were being erected in readiness for the Tour de France arrival and night stopover in a couple of days. While there are lots of restaurants alongside the road, the early arrival crowds sure made for relaxed seating so parking was at a premium, however, we fluked a park so were able to sit and watch the passing parade and then to enjoy a swim in the lake which was good for Harry too as he has also been feeling the heat despite his very short hair cut.

On the way back to the boat we were able to see the Obelisk which was erected in memory and thanks to Pierre Paul Riquet who was the dreamer and then the designer/ builder of the Canal du Midi which remains the engineering miracle of the 17th century. This canal gave access from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean as an inland waterway rather than having to go via Gibraltar etc. This started in 1667 with up to 12,000 men in service and when you consider the type and difficulty in construction through these mountains you sure can appreciate what an amazing feat it was to complete this 241 km waterway. Completion of the canal allowed shipping of the regions produce including wine and other crops in bulk to ocean ports ready for despatch to all corners of the world.

The other point of interest is the huge paddocks in this area of sunflowers which grow so well. With blooms up to the size of bread and butter plates this is a picture that will stay in our memories forever. Each plant only bears one flower head so it is imperative that the body of the plant is kept undamaged until harvesting when the seed from the flower head is pressed to extract the oil content.

As we were in the area for the Tour de France to pass through we decided to stay put for another day or so to witness the passing or should I say rushing through of the Tour so in readiness for our next move we shifted the car to Le Segala which is some 10ks further on only with 8 locks and returned on the scooter to the boat. It will take us most of one day to make this part of the trip.

We enjoyed getting up to the bridge to see firstly the “Caravan” which heads the Tour and consists of sponsors floats, cars and official vehicles. Some of them sell merchandise others have give-aways which are flung at the hordes waiting along the roadside. It is amazing to see so many vehicles set up in so many configurations in advertising format. I am sure there are more vehicles than there are cyclists who come roaring along about 30mins after the “Caravans”. They go past in about a minute and a half at speeds up to 50 kms and as quick as it started it is all over. We carried up our Kiwi flag and flew it with pride for Julian Dean (the only Kiwi taking part), however, he must have passed in the blur of the mass but we did get some good comments from other visitors including some from Hawaii and from Epsom in Auckland who came along to chat. We then returned to the boat to watch coverage of the mountain climb on TV. No sign of any coverage of our area but it may be in the highlights shown later today.

We are glad to have been able to witness this event but as a result I have hung my bike on the back of the boat, folded away my Lycra (yeah right) and will settle for the car or the motor scooter.

Having had all our energy sapped by the cyclists we waited until the next day before pushing on to the north-west. We pulled into a little village called Le Segala which is just so quiet it is unbelievable. We got a berth right against the pier with free electricity and water so set up “camp” and will stay a few days. We visited the only restaurant in town and had a lovely meal and then wandered the area to see what was what, which was really nothing apart from a very large terracotta pipe works at the rear of the town. It is amazing how these towns exist but as we have said before the French seem to work to live rather than follow as we have seemed to do and that is live to work and amass wealth if at all possible.

There are hundreds of cyclists who pass through each day as the tow paths are ideal cycling and walking tracks and it is not unusual when talking to some of them to find that they have cycled for 30 to 50kms with wife and kids in tow or on small bikes. The use of a towed trailer to carry the tent and supplies is also common. The weather being warm and fine with daylight still being available up to 9.30pm helps make this past-time a favourite among Europeans who have always cycled from when they were children.
We took the opportunity to take the car and visit Port Lauragais which has been redeveloped to become a summer sports centre where families can come to, to take part in almost every imaginable sport going from yachting to archery to boules. It is amazing that when there was money available it was used for all sorts of developments which are magnificent but when you consider that the period of use is little more than 10 weeks a year.

After another couple of (lazy) days which included going to Villefranche-de-Lauragais which services a huge farming area and has a very big market place operating on a Friday and has a huge supermarket where we topped up on all of our grocery needs. Later that day we watched the last main leg of the Tour de France to Bordeaux on TV and was thrilled to see Julian Dean come second in this leg after a brutal sprint to the finish.

In the evening we noticed a hum of sound from outside and upon going out to see what was what, we witnessed many of the towns folk playing Boules all over the street. It was 9.45pm and I suppose there would have been up to a hundred men women and children playing on their own (rinks) and enjoying the late summer sunset. At the local restaurant there was a two piece band adding to the general feeling of wellbeing and companionship which is something we seem to have long ago lost in our own communities. I guess we have been fortunate to witness so many different ways of life, some of which we like, some we don’t but in simple terms the French generally adhere to a way of life we have forgotten about.

Well it became time to move on so off we headed to Gardouch for an overnight stop only to meet up with a nice German couple who we had met briefly in Castelnaudary and Le Segala. They were having a couple of problems with their boat so we took them to Negra where the roving mechanic was based so he came back and fixed the problems and while at Le Segala we had him fix our shower which was giving intermittent problems when pumping out the water and showed me how to change the fuel filters etc so another day passed but we had a very pleasant evening with Ursula and Peter so it was not at all wasted.

Today being the 28th we moved from Gardouch to Negra which took about 3 hours going on the canal and through a few locks. We have tied up right next to the Loca-boat depot and this afternoon off-loaded the scooter and went back to Le Segala to get the car which Rhonda drove back to here. It took about 30 mins tops so this gives you a comparison on travel times for the two modes of transport. It has become really hot again and by 10.00 am you need to be out of the direct sun if possible so our large umbrella comes into great use.

Well as we have come over the top of the mountain, so to speak, we are heading down through the locks which is so much easier than going up hill and we will make it to Toulouse in the next week so I will close for now so Rhonda can add some photos for you to view.
Just a couple of things which may be of interest are a couple of drinks we have found to our taste:-
Panache, which is a light shandy and is bottled in 25 cl or 33 cl cans. It is a very pleasant drink with only 1.2% alcohol so can be consumed at any time.
Another which has become a favourite for me is the Lipton Iced Tea which comes in so many light flavours (mine is Peche ( Peach) and is available in 33 cl cans. So light yet so quenching and hits the right spot for sure.

Ok, take care of each other, we think of you all the time.

Kindest regards
Rhonda Ken and Harry

Kms for season: 851
Locks for season: 107