Agde (Canal Lock): 43°18’54.1″N 3°29’57.1″E

Frontignan Canalside: 43°26’40.3″N 3°45’35.0″E

First of all, let me apologize for being so slow to post each day’s activities. There is so much going on & so many things to see & do that it’s the equivalent of trying to get a drink from a fire hose! By the time we are done with dinner each evening we are happily exhausted & are ready to collapse into bed. I usually start to write my blog when I go to bed but only last about 10 minutes before I start to drift off to sleep!

Today was a big day because we crossed the Etang du Thau!  This body of water is at the end – or the beginning of the Canal du Midi – depending upon which way you are going. It was the end of the canal for us!

The Etang du Thau is a large open, but relatively shallow body of water that is separated from the Mediterranean Sea by a narrow strip of land – essentially making the Etang a lake or pond. There are navigation markers showing the route that boaters must follow to be certain that they will not run aground.

SCREENSHOT ABOVE TAKEN FROM GOOGLE MAPS TO SHOW RELATIVE LOCATION

It only took us about 30 minutes to travel to the entrance to the Etang from the place where we were moored the night before but unfortunately we did not have any idea of where we might moor for the night as we got closer to it. Oh well, maybe next time? (wink, wink).

PHOTO ABOVE – CITY OF MARCEILLAN

The weather was perfect for the crossing which took us about 3 hours. There was a gentle breeze to keep us cool & blue skies overhead.

We had an excellent view of the Etang’s “coastline” off our port side. Lots of well established communities along the water that I would have loved to explore but sadly we did not have enough time to stop. Maybe next time (wink, wink).

PHOTO ABOVE – THE ETANG COASTLINE WITH THE CITY OF MEZE IN THE DISTANCE

About half way through our crossing we noticed a helicopter circling over the water & then a French Coast Guard boat came from shore at high speed. At first we thought that there might be a search & rescue effort going on but it turned out to be a training exercise between the helicopter & the boat. Very entertaining watching the rescue team being lowered from the helicopter to the boat below.  It’s reassuring to know that there are skilled professionals ready to help when needed.

PHOTO ABOVE – HELICOPTER & COAST GUARD BOAT TRAINING EXERCISE

At the far end of the Etang we entered another short canal system that took us to the city of Frontignan. We had to wait until 4:00pm for the lift bridge to operate & let boats on both sides pass through. After passing under the bridge we found a good spot on the canal wall to tie up for the night. Barb had done some research online & found a nice restaurant close by that was on the Mediterranean Sea shoreline so we made reservations for dinner to celebrate our safe passage.

PHOTO ABOVE – VIEW FROM LE POISSON ROUGE RESTAURANT TIKI BAR PATIO OVERLOOKING THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

We had a wonderful meal but by the time we were finished we were unable to find a taxi to take us back to the boat. The restaurant manager felt bad for us so he arranged for the restaurant bartender to drive us “home” in his car. French hospitality at its best!

Cheers!

Villeneuve les Beziers: 43°19’02.6″N 3°16’52.3″E

Agde (Canal Lock): 43°18’54.1″N 3°29’57.1″E

A significant structure on this section of the Canal du Midi is the Ouvrages du Libron.

PHOTO ABOVE – ENTRANCE TO OUVERAGES DU LIBRON

Built in 1855, it is designed to allow the Libron River to traverse the Canal du Midi. At the point of intersection, the Libron is more or less at the same level as the Canal du Midi so a traditional aqueduct was not an option – especially after heavy rains when the volume of water in the River Libron would increase significantly & cause flooding problems in the canal.

Our next stop along the canal after we left Villeneuve des Beziers was a round lock on the outskirts of Agde. When the canals were very active boaters could exit the lock & head straight for the Mediterranean Sea, only a few kilometers away. We only had one choice & that was to stay on the Canal du Midi because charter boats are not allowed access to the sea.

The photo above of the round lock is a panoramic shot I took with my iPhone.  It doesn’t do the lock “justice”. The lock master here had pretty good English & when he saw the Canadian flag on our bow he called out “vive le Canada”. I responded with “vive la France”. I asked the lockmaster where I should tie up because we were the only boat in the lock. He replied that it’s a political decision for you – feel free to go left or right!

I decided to tie up on the left side because I am left handed.

Shortly after we exited the lock we entered the River Herault & followed it upstream for a few kilometers before reentering the final strech of the Canal du Midi.

PHOTO ABOVE – RIVER HERAULT

it was strange being on this river after spending so many days in the narrow Canal du Midi. The water quality was much better & there was plenty of room to maneuver.

We arrived at the final lock on the Canal du Midi at Agde around 3 o’clock in the afternoon and were not sure how far it was before we reached the Etang de Thau so we decided to simply go through the lock and then tied up for the night at that spot.

There wasn’t much around us at the lock other than a canal-side campground for area residents so Bruce and I decided to go for a walk to try and find a grocery store to pick up a few small things, plus some cold drinks and maybe a bottle of wine or two. We had an epic walk through a very busy industrial/commercial area only to find that the store we were interested in only sold fruit, vegetables & raw meat – no wine or carbonated drinks. Oh well, we had a good walk & there’s always another store somewhere along the canal.

Tomorrow we cross the Etang du Thau!

Cheers!

Beziers: 43°19’48.1″N 3°11’50.7″E  to Villeneuve les Beziers: 43°19’02.6″N 3°16’52.3″E

We got up early this morning to take the 7 step locks down to the next level of the canal.

PHOTO SHOWING THE VIEW FROM THE TOP OF THE 7 LOCK STAIRCASE

PHOTO SHOWING THE VIEW UP THE 7 STAIRCASE (COPIED FROM INTERNET SOURCE)

There were only 3 boats waiting to go down (including us) so we all fit into the same lock and descended together. The entire process took less than an hour. The group of locks would lower us a total of 71 feet (21.5 meters) over a distance of 300 meters.

GRAPHIC SHOWING STAIRCASE LOCK ARRANGEMENT COPIED FROM WIKIPEDIA

PHOTO SHOWING REPLICA OF GREEK ROWING SHIP AT LOCKS TAKEN IN 1992 COPIED FROM WIKIPEDIA – THESE GUYS MUST HAVE BEEN TOUGH!

Once we reached the bottom lock we turned to starboard & headed along the Canal du Midi for a few hundred meters & then we tied the boat up there while we headed off on a tour of the city of Beziers.

We started our tour on the local train!  It must be very popular because every time it went by it was full of people – le cash cow!

The train took us through several interesting parts of the city & then dropped people off near the city center where you could explore on foot for awhile & then re-board for a ride back to the starting point.

PHOTO SHOWING CITY ROUNDABOUT 

We had some great views of the old city buildings and parks on our way to the drop off point.

After we disembarked we went to the local market to pick up some fruit & vegetables & then Barb & Bruce headed off in one direction & Cath & I in another – ready to meet up again at the “train station”.

PHOTO CATH & BRUCE SHOPPING AT THE MARKET

Beziers has a very nice park in the city center with a very wide & long boulevard between two streets. This area is very much like La Rambla in Barcelona. While we were there the park area was full of vendors selling crafts, souvenirs, small antiques, etc. There were also several cafes in the park & on the streets on each side of the park.

PHOTO SHOWING CITY BOULEVARD PARK

Cath & I stopped for a rest, a coffee & a crepe at a small cafe in an adjacent park.  This park was interesting because it was full of giant oversized flowers that would light up at night.

PHOTO OF FLOWER PARK

A few minutes later Barb & Bruce found us & also stopped for a drink & a Nutella crepe.

PHOTO OF BARB & BRUCE ENJOYING THEIR CREPES

PHOTO SHOWING MURAL PAINTED ON THE END OF A BUILDING
We wandered back to our train station & waited to re-board. Many more interesting sights to see on the way back.

PHOTO SHOWING DANCERS IN THE FOUNTAIN

Beziers was a ver interesting & attractive city. We would have loved to stay longer but we needed to be moving on. We cast off around 3:00pm & arrived at Villeneuve les Beziers around 6:30pm. The section of the town near the canal was very old & well maintained. We would explore a bit more tomorrow.

Cheers!

Pont de Pigasse: 43°19’00.9″N 2°58’28.5″E to Beziers:  43°19’48.1″N 3°11’50.7″E

We got an early start this morning as we had a fair distance to travel.

PHOTO – MAGNIFICENT TREES LINE THE BANKS OF THE CANAL

Our next stop along the way to Beziers was at the town of Capestang. The visitor center there was very impressive and there were lots of mooring spots along both sides of the canal. If we were traveling this way again we would most certainly stop there for the night.

PHOTO ABOVE – CANAL FROM THE  BRIDGE AT CAPESTANG

The commercial center of the oldest part of the town was only a 10 minute walk from our mooring so we went to the grocery store there and picked up more supplies for our journey.

The next highlight on our journey was the Tunnel de Malpas, a 160 meter long tunnel carved through solid rock. Excavated in 1679 it is very impressive. It was the first canal tunnel of its kind in Europe.

PHOTO ABOVE  – APPROACHING THE TUNNEL ENTRANCE

PHOTO ABOVE  – THE FIRST SEVERAL METERS OF THE TUNNEL ARE LIKE A HONEYCOMB

It was good to see that there was light at the end of the tunnel!

There were many interesting things to look at on this part of our journey but unfortunately we could not spend as much time exploring as we would have liked to because we wanted to take the 6-step locks down at Beziers the next morning and we had no idea as to how busy the locks might be.

We arrived at Beziers around 4:00pm and were able to get a good spot in the lineup for boats going down at 8:00am. Now we can relax for the rest of the evening.

PHOTO ABOVE  – THE VISITOR CENTER AT THE TOP OF THE LOCKS WITH A PROJECTION ON THE END OF THE BUILDING

Tomorrow morning we will be headed downhill. Hopefully it will be a smooth descent.

Cheers!

Roubia: 43°14’53.9″N 2°48’19.3″E to Pont du Pigase: 43°19’00.9″N 2°58’28.5″E

After supper the night before Catherine, Bruce and Barb walked into the little village to check it out. Cath took the photo below of a house close to the canal that had a sundial on it.

We had a peaceful night’s rest at our mooring spot just past the bridge at Roubia. We woke up and found we had a new neighbor – a local fisherman on the bank beside us. He even caught a few fish before we cast off.

Our next stop was at LeSomail, an active little village on the canal with numerous restaurants, a grocery store on a barge, and a very famous bookstore.  There was also a very nice visitors center that showed a short video of the history of the Canal du Midi

PHOTO OF THE BOOKSTORE

PHOTO OF THE CANAL LOOKING TOWARDS THE BRIDGE

PHOTO OF THE CANAL FROM THE BRIDGE LOOKING TOWARDS OUR NEXT DESTINATION 

It was easy to understand why people like to visit this village  It doesn’t matter if you come by boat, car or bicycle there’s lots to see and enjoy

Cheers!!

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