It just had to be the Canal du Midi - no other canal was good enough for RPN and ever since we arrived in Balma, we have made several detours to capture a stretch of the canal here or there. DVD's have been purchased and viewed (several times I might add!), the internet has been trawled and other peoples' diaries have been read and re-read.
Emily, owner of Minervois Cruisers, giving us a test run....
Thus it was that the 4 of us arrived in Le Somail full of anticipation and eager to get on the way last Saturday afternoon.
photo of Le Somail, the cutest little canal side village.
Le Somail is a wee village that began in the 18th century when passenger boats along the canal stopped here as a staging post. It is delightfully pretty with ivy covered buildings, an old curcular tower which was used to keep the ice cold in summer, a narrow bridge which spans the canal affording a perfect vista of boats travelling underneath and an Antique bookshop crammed to the ceiling of its 2 storeys with everything from rare editions to paperbacks to DVD's to 19th century photo albums. Locals and visitors flock here on weekends and public holidays to watch the passing parade of boats or to enjoy a day of exercise along the canal tow path with their bicycles. A floating shop provides the boat people with supplies of essentials varying from wine, to duck confit, to jams to sun hats. Very useful and very lucrative since there is no shop in the village at all, merely a couple of restaurants.
photo of floating shop
Minervois Crusiers...
Our boat called the "Narbonne" was 15 metres or nearly 50 feet in length, weighed 20,000 kgs (or 13.5 tons) and was made of steel. Almost indestructible (which was lucky since it certainly faced a week of hard knocks as we bounced off bridges, acquaducts and locks at various times!!), it was a very heavy boat and in my opinion had the manouverability of a slug - incredibly slow to respond to wheel turning.
Russ got off to take this photo of Nossie taking us over a huge viaduct. Shows how large Narbonne is!!All of us over corrected and hence veered from one side of the canal to the other. Very frustrating and scary for the uninitiated ( and I was the worst!). It had 3 double bedrooms, one of which also had 2 bunks in it, and another with an ensuite, a central bathroom, a huge dining table and a galley kitchen. For the 4 of us it was very, very comortable and just a tad indulgent!
photo of us at the table, with Russ on the steps
Boat protocol was an interesting lesson for at least 3 of us. Toilet procedure had us all a smidge uncomfortable as the walls were paper thin, one was only allowed to use precisely 2 squares of toilet paper at any one sitting and the residue was munched or mascerated into the canal directly under the boat. Apparently the fish love this feast of goodies but we saw several dead fish during our travels so became a little circumspect about ordering fish at our Canal-side restaurants!!?? However, Nossie reckoned his oysters at le Somail were superb!!
Nossie and his half dozen oysters!
The Canal du Midi is almst entirely lined with a bank of Plane trees planted ages and ages ago if their extensive, curled roots are any indication. The trees shade the tow path along which people cucle, jog or walk or even stop to have a picnic. The roots overhang the canal edges and provide excellent moorings for boats such as ours while the huge trunks of the Plane trees frame photo opportunities of castles or palaces or churches.
The Locks
There is no getting away from the fact that the locks we encountered between Le Somail and Homps provided a challenge for the four sixty year olds. We heaved and strained and clamboured and climbed and jumped and pulled and yelled our way through them! We were a bit of a noisy bunch I must admit!! And we did feel the effects of over strained muscles on occasions; in fact neurofen became one of my best friends on the journey!! Over all we only navigated 14 locks (4 of them double); travelled 134 kms between La Redorte in the west to Beziers in the east, and used 81 litres of diesel costing $A223 .
Jan taking her turn at helming...and loving it all!!Our first lock was hilarious (in retrospect) as we valiantly attempted to do what our skipper told us...badly....and there was more than one impatient and more experienced boatie who threw out a few choice words. With subsequent locks our confusion and nervousness dissipated and we got better and better at the procedure. In fact at the end of the week we reckon we would have starred in the 7 locks at Beziers where mini tidal waves of water cascade onto the bow of each boat in the lock, creating enormous force to be held in check by the front rope -person and the engine in forward. The meaning of the word "brace" takes on a new dimension after one has faced such an onslaught of water.
the locks at Beziers, with the crowds of onlookers
The locks themselves were in fact the highlight of the trip for us because this was where the adrenalin kicked in especially for our first 2 or 3 experiences. The boat was so heavy and slow that Russ, who navigated all of the locks for us, had trouble getting the tail into position against the bulbous lock walls. Each lock holds 4 large boats and lock keepers take an hour off for lunch so one often has to wait for a queue of traffic for one's turn. This can make the day a much longer one but it is also the most interesting part of the day's travelling - to talk to others in french or english or a combination of the two about their experiences. There weren't many people who gave us exact advice so it was by trial and error that we managed.... and by watching others. By day 5 Russ had the manoeuvre down pat and we literally glided into each night's position against the canal edge. We all got a bit cocky about our excellent team work!!
The Lock Keepers are a unique breed. Often positioned way out of any village, their homes are often the sole building in the landscape and so their lock and the people who pass through it become their "visitors". It is not unusual for the family to get together and make a table or stall of goodies to sell to the passing boats both to supplement their income and to provide some point of interest for waiting boaties. Home made jams and chutneys, wines, artifacts that have been home painted or crafted, cards, key rings and pottery memorabilia abounded while pots of coloured flowers decorated the very dusty and dry landscape. This was their interaction with the world of travellers and the lock keepers took pride in how their individual lock and its space appeared.
the lock stalls and little gardens of flowers
On the way to Beziers the Malpas tunnel provided another challenge to both the builders and to us as sailors. We had to sound our horn as we approached and if there was a reply from another boat, we had to back off and allow the oncoming traffic to pass through. There was about 1 metre clearance on each side of our boat. The tunnel is one of the impressive engineering works that border Pierre-Paul Riquet's canal (1667- 1681) - it marks the first time that a canal was dug through a hill, using techniques that were far in advance of their time.
A roman road at ground level is 10m above the canal tunnel, a train track is 10 m below it (constructed between 1854- 1856) and under again that is a drainage system dating back to the 1200s! Quite remarkable in fact!
the Malpas Tunnel approach. The light at the end of the tunnel...and some spectators!
There is still lots to tell because this was a week full of experiences. Please stay posted for further writings later this week! We need time to revel in our luxurious home in Balma (and do some food shopping!!)
Thinking of you all and so pleased to hear you are enjoying following our adventures.
Take care! Shirl and Russ
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