Canal Boats, 2003

2003-10-03T11:26:00.000Z

An editted version of the weblog has been posted as DIARY on the main Canal2003 website. This weblog will be removed in the near future.

2003-09-21T12:22:00.000Z

2003-09-21T11:44:00.000Z

Day 15 - Saturday, Sept. 20
Final day in Port Cassefiers

The last day of this unforgettable (in more ways than one) experience. Leaving the boat is a hectic procedure and evrybodyy feels rushed. If you would like a group picture take it early in the cruise and do not leave it till the last day.

We cleared the boats by about 09:30 and then disperessed in different directions. Keith and Carol took a taxi to Beziers, where they will take train to Carcassonne and than a plane on Sunday to UK. van der Lindens drove to Provance where they will spend a week at their cottage. On the way they dropped off Bosko and Carol at Montpellier after a most harrowing experience of driving through this car-unfriednly city and getting stuck in underground parking garages. After a couple of dayas in Montpellier, B and C will visit Canadian Memorial at Vimy ridge before returning home.

On boat #2 John and Connie McCubbin took a taxi to Beziers. From there by train to Paris and fly home. They will be the first to return to Canada. MacArthurs and Masons also took a taxi to Beziers where they will rent a van for another week of touring this region.

So the project Canal Boats, 2003 is over. It was a "ski" holiday as Willem called it (ski = spending kids inheritance).

The previous night we sat down and jotted a number of suggestions that future boaters might wish to consider. After all we did learn something.

Here they are, in no particular order.

- If renting bikes check them out (esp breaks and gears) before leaving CBL base. One is recommended, two are more than enough.

- Rent Friday-Friday rather than Sat-Sat. In that way there is Sat to purchase food and boat supplies and check out the boat. Crusader #17 had a serious problem with a plugged toilet.

- Two weeks felt like too long excursion and ten days may have been a better choice (though we would have seen fewer off-canal sites).

- Strongly recommend one way trip. It would be very boring to repeat the whole trip in return direction.
Goind downstream is preferable as it is a bit easier going through the locks.

- Crew must be healthy and with no physical handicaps. Two weeks on a boat is a strenuous physical experience and requires a degree of stamina. Several members of each crew had had spills and falls.

- Do not be tempted at the begining of the cruise to buy too much cheap wine. Instead buy fresh bread, cheese and wine every day and thus sample regional varieties.

- A barbecue on the boat would be a great help as it gets quite hot cooking dinner in the gulley.

- Tollerate everyone's differences. In confined space there is no room for sulking or bearing grudges.

- It is a great help if someone in the crew has some experience with boats (esp diesel engines), could speak French and knows something about First Aid (not necessarily the same person).

- Do not bring books, cards or any other ammusements as there is no spare time (boat light are too poor for reading and anyway everybody wants to turn in early).

- Time of the year: Avoid July-Aug (expensive and too many peoplr/boats on the canal). First half of Sept seems ideal and we were lucky with sunny skies all the way except for the first 3 days. It would be miserable to be cooped up inside the boat for any length of time if it rained throught a trip.

- Limit the baggage and do not bring too many clothes. The stowage space is very limitted.

- Plan on side trips (Narbonne, Albi, Cathar Castles) by train or rent a car.

- Bring a cork screw (the boat did not provide an efficent one).

- Internet access is available in most places along the canal (and everywhere in France). As already mentioned, French keyboards require patience and persistence.

- Bring at least one good middle size kitchen knife.

[These are Crusader #28 recommendations. The other boat has had a different experience and may have different recommendations. Hope to include them at a later date.]

Day 14 - Friday, Sept. 19
Start in Agde
End in Port Cassfiers

A quite day with the shortest run of the cruise, only about 12 km. It started with the obligatory search for baguettes and croissants for breakfast. After clean up, the last 'run ashore' and then lunch
at "L'Amiral", a riverside restaurant overlooking l'Herault.

We were not too hungry as it was rather soon after breakfast so we negotiated for three servings of boulliabase with plates for six. It took rather long time to cook the fish but when they finally brought it out it was a feast for the eyes. There is no way that a single person could eat one serving and six of us could not finish three. It was delicious.

After lunch, during the run up the canal we passed the Crusader #17 on their way to the end-of-the-line for a quick look at Agde.

Later, when both boats were tied up side by side at the CBL Base we had a first get together in a week to compare notes and polish the last few bottles of vine and eat up all the remaining snacks. Later still, there was a rip-roaring dinner at the base restaurant followed with a loud sing-song.

And that is pretty well how the boat trip ended.

Day 13 - Thursday, Sept. 18
Start in Beziers
End in Agde

Left Beziers as soon as the locks opened with W driving ahaead, to leave his car at the CBL Base at Port Cassefiers.

In one of the locks we met a party of school children on one of the large cruise boats. All the children we had seen looked lean and fit. They are active, constantly running, playing tag or 'King of the Castle'. Some girls around 12 looked a bit plump, buit by the time they are 17-18 they thin out into a beautifull shape. They do not seem to have too many home computers as all "cyber cafes" we have seen are full of teen age boys playing computer games.

In general, people look fit. In middle age they become stout and some may be called over weight, but we saw very few that were obesse.

Stopped for lunch at Cassaferies to take on water and have mediocre pizza from the restaurant at the base. Wathced two heards of Camargue horses walking up and down the opposite shore, accompanied by cattle eggrets.

Continued after lunch for another hour to the "end of the line" at Agde. Finished with engines before 15:00.

Agde differs in appearance from all the other towns we have visited because the principal building material here is volcanic basalt, dark and very hard stone full of small vesicules. The main erruptions took place 740.000 years ago. Because of the hardness of basalt most of the walls have the same appearance as when they were built, hundreds of years ago. The most impressive remaining building is the local cathedral. It was fortified in 1176, 33 years before the Albigensian crusaders hit the region. So obviously there was a lot of unrest in the XIIth C and the chruch was getting reqdy for the wars to come. The church walls are over 3m thick and show no sign of time errosion. They will be there for several thousand years.

There is not too much to see in Agde, so B took one of the bikes to Cap d'Agde, a Mediiterranean resort about 8 km away.

It is a different world. Cap is a modern creation and has the largest nudist colony in Europe. It also has a number of protected and interconnected yacht harbours in one of which there were more than 400 yachts. The shore line is completly built up mostly with appartment buildings (time share ?). There is a large peddestrian precinct lined with bazar-like stalls selling every kind of imaginable trinkets. The general impression is of a rather tacky place.

The beaches are beautifull, and the sea was clear and Mediterranean (pale) blue. B did not get to the nudist beach but that did not make any difference as the tops were strictly optional. It was cool to go swimming with the temperature similar to Nova Scotia Lakes in July.

2003-09-17T16:12:00.000Z

Day 12 - Wednesday, Sept. 17
Day trip to Narbonne

It was another "Dark and stormy nighty ..." on board Crusader #28, concerned with some boys who were hanging around the port as we were warned that several boats had reported brek-ins in Beziers. Once they had disappeared, we worried about a fuel leak as there was a strong smell of diesel in the air. In the morning an oil slick was surounding all the boats on the northern sea wall and port patrol were looking around to discover the source of the "spill".

We made a good use of SNCF today. As a "group" (more than five) of seniors (all over 65) we purchased day return tickets to Narbonne for 6.60€ each. What a bargain! It was nice not to be travelling by boat. The trains are efficient and running on time but not as clean as we might have expected it.

Narbonne (population 48,000) has had a continuous habitation for almost 3,000 years. In 118 B.C. it was made the capital of the Roman province and became an important centre for export of food, wine, wood, etc as well as a junction of roads leading to Spain and Acquitain.

Although it was besieged by Visigoths in the 4-5 century and by the Saracenes in the 8th, it was never totally destroyed (unlike Beziers). It is thuis suprising that there is not much phuysical evidence of the Roman settlement left (A small patch of Roman Road Via .... uncovered in the Main City square looks pathetic.)

The archbishops of Narbonne were powerfull Princes of the church (at least until the Revolution) commanding great resources through their vast land holdings. Income from these estates was used to enlarge the cathedral, build the attached archbishops' palaces ("old" and "new"), and re-enforce the city's defences. In all religeous conflicts of the past 800 years, the archbishops kept their city on the winning side and their citizens prospered. Yet, the cathedral was a disappointment. Its proportions are all wrong; it is too short for the height. The front half seems to have collapsed and is under restoration. It may well take another 100 years to finish it. They measure time in centuries not quarters. The church is very plain and un-decorated and the only thing we remember about the interior was another impressive pipe organ (with a recital schedule for Sunday but we will be a long way from Beziers by then.)

Through the church cloisters (very old, executed with a heavy hand, lacking the grace and serenty of some one can see travel guides), we enter the court yard of the archbishops' palaces. The section directly in front is the City Hall. On two sides are two museums: The art museum is mostly notable for the exhibition rooms which were a part of the Archbishop's appartments (Louis XIII and XIV slept there). Noted a portrait of mathematician Paul Fermat (of "Priniple" fame) and two beautiful Roman floor mosaics.

Most interesting was an attached exhibition of french painings of Algeria scenes done in the second half of the XIXth C. There was a terrific paining of a bedouin village in the evening with the blue sky shading from light to quite dark blue and a light moon. Stunning colours. Also most women in these paintings were not wearing 'burkas'. Hmm!

Among the furniture in these rooms was a dinning room table over 5 m long. It was made of single planks each about 15-20 cm wide.

The archeological museum has the largest number of Roman wall paintings in France. It is difficult to imagine by what means were Romans able to transmitt their culture to far corners of their empire so that mosaics, paintings and statues as well as pottery and utensils were everywehere of the same quality and design. Judging by the sculptures displayed, Greek and Roman men might have benefitted with some Viagra.

Market

Town square and the revolt of 1907

Church of St Paul and the crypt with the IIC 'paleo christian' cemetery.

They are clsoing this cyber-cafe and I have no more time for detailed descriptions.

2003-09-16T16:07:00.000Z

Day 11 - Tuesday, Sept 16
Stay at Beziers

Beziers, the largest town visited so far, is entered by descending seven contiguous locks at Fronsard (sp?). It is a spectacle that attract guided tours to watch greenhorns get their ropes mixed. We are of course old pros and went down without a hitch. After the locks the canal crosses river Aude on a several m long aqueduct. All very scenic.

Events of 1209 at Beziers are one of the turning points of European history. The Albigensian crusade against tha Cathars had arrived before this impregnable fortified city after marching down the Rhone valley for many weeks. Crusaders who signed on for 40 days, had their sins and debts forgiven and were free to return home. What kept them going was the prospect of looting and pillaging, none of which the had had so far. There was grumbling amongst the lower ranks with many intending to head for home as soon as their 40 days was up.

After a few days siege some young townfolk opened the city gates intending to case so,e mercennaries who were prawling around the city ramparts. Seeing the gates open, some crusaders rushed forward and managed to enter the city before the gates could be closed.

What followed is known to this day as ¨Grand Mazel¨ or la grand boucherie. On the fiest day os St. Mary Magdalenne, 22 july, 1209, more than 20,000 Bitterois (as the citizens of BEzires region are called) were masacred, city was pillaged and finally burnt down. Crusaders had tasted blood and for the - years went burning and looting Languedoc eventually bringing it under the direct control of the French King.

Had Beziers resisted, crusaders might have gone home and Languedoc might have emerged as an independent country speaking a a Catalonian dialect. Cathar Heresy might have become an accepted religeon. France might nor have been able to resist the English in the 100 years war, and English and French crowns might have been united under an English king ... and so on and on. But there is not much profit in playing with ¨what if¨ history since we know what happened.

After we established our bearing it was decided that the day was to be spent ion independent exploration, each couple going their own way, visiting more or less the same high points.

It is easy to walk from the canal to La Gare S.N.C.F. (railway station) which is the starting point for walking tours. Just north is Larin des Poets, a restfull, shady place with a pond surounded by pampas grass and, of course, statues of French poets (just like on Kalimegdan). Coninuing past the Garden is a broad Alléé Paul Riquet with a huge statue of the Beziers' most famous son at the lower end, and the Municipal Theater and the Municipal Theater at the other. All along this bullevard are restaurants catering to the local and tourists alike. They serve excellent meals for about 15e ( per person, with a 1/4 wine).

Next stop is St. Nazaire's Cathedral rebuilt after 1209. It is less forbidding then the one in Albi, though its large size and a commanding location at the highest point are sufficiently covincing. With the sun streaming through large stain glass windows the inside is warm and less forbidding. There is a magnificent organ at the west end but nobody was playing it. It is possible to climb 167 steps to bell tower for a magnificent view of the town and surroundings.

There are several museums in the town and we have yet to compare notes on these. Musee des Baux Arts is very mediocre and probably not worth a visit. On the other hand Musee des Bitterois is an excellent way to learn all about the region from the geological history to the Maquis resistance in the second World War.

We did not visit the new bull ring (bulls are not killed in the ring, only later).

Back on board, a spaghetti and meat balls dinner with garlic bread and lots of red wine. What a life !

2003-09-13T14:57:00.000Z

Day 10 - Monday, Sept. 15
Start in le Sommail

The first "lock-less" day as we are now travelling along a 54 km long stretch without any locks. Sommail could well be a unque hamlet in France: it has no boulangerie! Instead, there is a floating convenience store (Epicerie flottant) where fresh bread, etc. can be obtained. Judging by the number of boats moored here, this is a popular mooring place though it is hard to say why: there is only one, rather expensive restaurant and an Italian pizzeria. Bridge, with a built-in chappel at one end is very picturesque and features in most promotional literature for the canal. The other attractions are a second-hand bookstore with over 50.000 volumes and a Hat Museum (more than 6.500 hats!), unique in Europe.

The canal, downstream from Sommail is very scenic as the view is not obstructed by high banks and vegetation. Canal is full of curves as it follows the contours of the terrain thouigh it is not obvious how M Riquets selected the route. In some cases a direct line would have been just as effective. Perhaps he could not obtain a "right-of-way' across some estates and had to circle around them.

Anyway, we are impressed with the engineering design of bridges, locks, aquedacts, spillovers and water feeders. All seem to be in the right place and have lasted in use all these years (the last horse pulled barges disappeared in 1935, last commercial traffic in mid 1990's). Sometimes we forget that Civil Engioneering is the oldest profession (well, second oldest).

[A note on French dogs: they are different from ours. Not only do they understand French, but they look different. Mostly they are small, scruffy and of unknown (if any) breeds. They also leave poop everywhere, a real hazzard when walking around.]

W and A again moved the car forward and met us in Capustang for lunch. It is a town of some size and has four boulangeries. From the high point one can just see the Mediterranean as a thin line on the horizon beyond the rolling fields of vineyards.

It is interesting to see the type of trees along the canal. At the begining of the trip, near Castelnaudary, they were mostly poplars. These were replaced by oaks and then plane (plantain) trees. Yesterday we started seeing Med. type pine and cypress trees, and near some locks even palm trees.

In Capestang, on June 8, 1944, 179 men were taken as hostages to Germany.

Castle was the second residence of the Archbishop of Narbonne and was heavily fortified against the local count.

W suggested (mostly in gest) that we put more money in the kitty and extend the boat charter by another week. General lack of enthusiasm for this suggestion showed that two weeks is more than enough to savour this exêrience. Time to go on, see something else, do something different (and we still have most of this week on the boat).

Day 8 - Saturday, Sept. 13
Start in Marseillette at pk 126
Lunch at Puicheric at pk 135
End in Homps at pk 145

A perfectly routine day: No groundings, nobody fell in the canal and no broken legs or scratched faces.

The weather is finally fully cooperating - almost too much so as the mid day sun is pretty hot. We pushed off in time to catch the first set of double locks by 10:00. Stopped for lunch near Puicheric and arrived at Homps around 16:00. (Eventually I will re-edit these entries and use the 'official' times from the bridge log).

The second boat followed us; it was the first time on this expedition that we travelled together - but not for long. They do not like preparing meals on board so they had walked into town to find an open resturant while we continued with delicious lunches on board: several kinds of fresh bread, cheese, tomatoes, smoked sausages and pate. And of course tons of fresh grapes and wine. (So far we are doing very well but I will not tell you our daily consumption of wine).

After lunch, W helped us through the locks, moved the car forward to Homps and then biked back towards the boat to meet us near the last lock before Homps. Having a car is a mixed blessing as one has to move it along as the boat travells down the canal and then backtrack to rejoin the boat. On the other hand, it is wonderfull to have the car to go to the supermarkets for supplies since the stores near the canal charge about 25% premium. And of course one can make side trips. We will know better at the end but it seems to me that we need only 9 or 10 days for an unhurried traverse from Castelnaudary to Port Cassafieres. On a two week rental that leaves 4 or five days for exploring the towns along the Canal (Carcassonne, Bezier and Narbonne) and for side trips.

Have not looked around Homps except to find this internet cafe. It is in a new bed and breakfast place opened 9 weeks ago by a young Australian couple. The best thing is that they have four DELL computers runing MS 2000 and use QUERTY keyboard. It's heavenly.

Day 7 - Friday, Sept. 12
Start in Trebes at pk 117
End in Marseillette at pk 126

The day started slowly and we did not leave this town until after lunch. At CL's suggestion, B visited the local optician who was able to straighten the frame and grind a lense to fit the broken one. Should be functional till we get home.

Perfect weather, light clouds, just enough to keep the daytime high below 25 degrees. Walked around to see the local cemetery. They are all similar in this part of the country, with a memorial to fallen of WW 1 in the centre. It was frightening to read the names on the monument. Trebes is now a town of 6,000 but could have been half that size in 1914. Yet their fatalities were: 22 in 1914, 30 in 1915, 20 in 1916, 11 in 1917 and 10 in 1910. The bloodiest year was 1915 and after that there just were not enough young men left in town to keep up the rate of slaughter.

The town is built on a local hill situated between river Aude and the Canal. It has a church at the highest poiint and then concentric medieval streets around it. However, the buildings are all recent, perhaps XVIIIth or XIXth century. Most of them are shuttered, and it is hard to say if they are occuppied or not. Particularly noticable is the absence of yong people. There are some working age shop attendants, doctor, post office workers, etc., but there are no adolescents and only a few children. The towns would be dead if it were not for the tourist business.

Willem moved his car forward and met us when we arrived at our mooring. While we were having an excellent dinner (1 kg) of cooked shrimp, boat 2 arrived and moored astern of ours. after greeting them like long lost firends we continued with our shrimp dinner, while they walked into town to find a resturant.

We are impressed with the engineering skill employed in the design of the canal considering that it was started almost 350 years ago and that all the work if digging, as well as construction of locks, bridges and aqueducts was done with human (and presumable horse) power. It is probably as functional as it ever was but the annual maintenance has not been negligible. All the original wooden gates have been replaced by metal, electrically operated gates and there is a constant fight against errosion of the banks and presumably dredging to maintain the depth for 7 ft draft boats. The trees we see now lining the canal are about 100 years old so they are third or fourth generation. We can see how important they are in stabilizing the banks and shading the canal to reduce evaporation.

Brilliant view of Mars as we go to bed.

2003-09-12T08:45:00.000Z

Day 6 - Thursday, Sept. 11 (Yes, we all remembered 9/11)
Start in Carcassonne at pk 106
End in Trèbes at pk 117

Day started with the crew doing various chores: B to the market, K to Gare SNCF (to report to Crown Blue Line that we have no 220 V/AC); CL and CK to the laundry; and W+A moved the car forward to Trèbes and then hitchhiked back.

This was the day fro Boat #2 to go exploring. They rented a new Peugeot van with room for 7 so they invited one of us to join them. CM, as the keenest observer of Cathar history was selected as our representative. They left around 11:00 and, after visiting P and Q castles, returned at 19:00, just in time for a magnificient potroast dinner, prepared in our own galley by CL and A.

The doctor at the little clinique around the corner from our mooring place in Trèbes told us that he treated injured canal travellers every day. Compared to most, B's were minor. While rushing to catch a line at the second lock after Carcassonne, he fell forward and hit te cobble stone face. The deep cut above the right eyebrow required four stitches. C had given the first aid on board and cleared the wound and the young doctor complemented her for being a good nurse. His final comment was: "This is a dangerous sport", presumably as a warning to others in our party since we still have eight days to travel.

The jury is still out deciding whether it is more fun to pull on the ropes through the locks or to read about Canal du Midi at home. They agree, however, that staying home is safer (and much cheaper).

Day 5 - Wednesday, Sept. 10
[ Boat in Carcassonne all day]

[Editor's Note: The challenge of this trip has not been the French language but French keyboards. The do not use 'Querty' layout; instead, most important keys seem to be all in the wrong place: all the digits are shifted and below them are various symbols and accented letter (two per key so must use Alt/Graph key). A and Q are interchanged and Z and M are in the middle row insted the bottom one. It is frustrating and excrutiatingly slow to type. The PC's here run windwos and have MS Word with French spell checker so that's no help.]

Trip to Montsegur - fantastic!
The weather improved during the night and there were patches of blue sky when we got up. Clive visited our boat at breakfast time to tell us about their adventures. They had arrived at Carcassonne too late to get through the last lock so had to moor upstream from the Port. A few locks above Carcassonne they met a large boat going upstream and occupying the middle channel. They steered to starboard and grounded in the soft muddy bottom. It was a firm grounding and no amount of pushing could budge the boat. While pushing from shore, John fell into the mucky, filthy canal up to his armpits and had to be stripped and washed from head to toe. Eventually, with the help of another boat they freed themsleves.

It is a surprise to all of us that these boats have no sewage holding tanks. The bilges are just pumped out as we go along. Considerinhg the amount of traffic on the canal and the number of peopel that use it daily, this is environmentally not acceptable. Amazing that French would allow this. W thinks that they must be violating some EU regulations.

Anne decided to stay on the boat and have a quiet day so around 10:30 five of us piled into W's car for a visit to Montsegur. The road up to Lavelanet goes through farming country. It is hilly and the villages are perched on tops of these hils with a curch in the centre at the highest point. The settlement pattern was obviously established in early medieval times of earlier.

As the road climbes to the foothills of the Pyrenees, the scenery changes from fields of sunflowers and vineyards to rolling meadows and forests.

The first sight of Monsgure is breathtaking. The remains of the castle are perched on top of an approx 300 m high outcrop of jurasic limestone. The sides are mostly vertical with a goat path along a ridge on the north facing side. We climbed up to the summit in about 25 min and had a lunch in the court yard of the castle ruins.

The siege of Montsegure is one of the defining moments in the brief history of Cathar heresy. It was the last refuge of the major portion of Cathar hierarchy with over 200 perfects and adhehernets living there. There were also about 100 knights and foot soldiers defending the castle since Cathars did not take up arms even in self-defence. It is impossible to imagine how that many pepole survived there for 10 and a half months in a spcae not much larger than a couple of city lots. We were there on a sunny late summer day and yet the wind whistling down from the Pyrenees made it feel cold and fobidding. Hard to imagine how they fel in January with no fuel for warmth and only scant food supplies.

When one of the protective walls was breached the defenders decided that the time had come to negtiate the truce. The terms of the armistice were most generous for the time: all those who denounced Cathar heresy were free to go with knight bearing their own arms. Cathars were marched directly into a funeral pire, and the story says that most of them jumped into it voluntarily. One is deeply moved while standing on top of the remaining ramparts, or at the bottom near the field where heretics, who were universally known as "the good men", were burnt.

2003-09-10T21:11:00.000Z

Day 4 – Tuesday, Sept. 9
[ Boat in Carcassone all day]

We should have listened to Willem who travells to France twice a year and knows French work habits well. Instead, K&B decided to go to the market bright and early, getting up at 6 am. They were just hosing down the floors and starting to set up stalls and were a bitconfused to see not understanding why we were there. We returned two hours later to find the market just gettinggoing. We bought fresh eggs and goat cheese from a farmer, bacon saussages and pate from a boucherie, milk, jam and grapefruit from an epicerie.

We decided to leave the boat for a day and make aside trip to Albi. W has a nice hatchback Rover but it only sits (. So for the trip to Albi, K sat in the back comartment (normally reserved for Midas, their golden retriever) while CL occuppied hat spac on the return trip.

It was ythe day of heaviest rain yet. At times it poured so hard that we could hardly see the road yet W kept gooing ahead andkeeîng the wheelson the road.

Albi is about 100 km NNW of Carcassonne. The road leads through Mezamet and Castris and through the Regional Forest Park iver the BlackMountains. If the weather had been nicer, we could have stoped at any of the dozen lookout spotsfor a picknick. Instead, we kept going and arrived at Albi just before noon. We did whatthe guide-books recommend : drove through themodern town, crossed the Tarn river on the new breach and then turned around to enter the medieval city using the Old Bridge. The view of the old cathedral from the old bridge is one of the fampus French post cards.

Wparked in the Cathedral parking lot. When we stepped out of the car we were overwhelmed by the fortress like walls towering above. The purpose of this institution waz clear : it was built just after the Albigensian Crusade (started in the middle XIIIth Century) to show defeated Cathars (and any other aspiring heretics) who was the boss. The love of good is not in that building. Instead, a hugepainting of the last judgment dominates the area above the high altar. The sinners areinformed in a mosy graphic manner what to expect in hell. The only redeemoing feature was the rood screen separating the choir from the nave. It is a most intricate piece of carved stoneanywhere and and breaths theloving carewith which theun-named stone masons created it.

5running out of time – thisplace closing in five minutes°

Good lunch at a very french restaurant. Food good (but no Michelin Stars) but servedalmost cold. Ample servings.

Touloose-Lautrec museum.

Drive backalong Route National.

Back on the boat – cold not start the engine. After calling the emergency at Crown Blue Line, discovered that cooling water had leaked out of the diesel engine.

2003-09-09T21:08:00.000Z

More on Day 1

The night-life was not on our side of the river. Other than a few small restqaurants in the main square, the town was dead. The only young people we wandering aeound were a few groups of two or three Foreign Legionairs (their Headquarters are just outside the town). One stopped by our table and said ‘Americans ?’ We responded with one voice ‘No, Canadiends !’ and he said ‘So am I, from Red River, Alberta’. In the true Foreign Legion tradition, there are all sorts of people who have recently joined (no questions asked) including three young Canadians. They have just co,pleted their basic four months training and are awaiting the first posting which could be anywhere, fro, Siera Leon to border guards in the Pyrènèes.

Day 2 – Sunday, September 7
Start in Castelnudary
End in Bram

Before breakfast B went into town to buy bguettes and croissants for breakfast and noticed how much more mife there was in the main square : there were a dozen older man playing petang while farmers were setting up some stalls to sell vegetables. When this wqs reported back to the boat, the stewards department decided thqt it would be nice to have some roast chicken for dinner. So B hopped on one of the two supplied bicycles and headed back to the town square. In the mean time the boat got underway with the intention to neet at the first lock.

Returning, B decided to take a shortcut and got hopelessly lost, now in rqin that was quite a bit heavier than just a shower. It is difficult to miss the Canal du Midi, the main feature of the countryside around Castelnaudary but B did it for almost an hour. Eventually, he found the first lock to discover that the boat was still there waiting for the locks to start operating at 11 :00. (As a water conservation measure the locks will only open on the other unless there are four boats waiting.)

After a very tasty (free range) chicken dibber we got under way and spent the day learning hpw to ‘make fast’ and ‘let go’ the lines while passing through 17 locks for a level drop of over 45 metres. It rained, off and on, most of the day but as there was no wind, it was not difficult to learn to steer the boat.

After a rather challenging day, we decided to tie up at the port of Bram at 18 :00 . After an excellent chicken soup, most of the crew had a run ashore to see the village of Bram, famous for Simon de Monfort’s cruelty during the opening days of the Albigensian Crusade. One must read about it to appreciate the history of this region.

Today, Bram does not have much to offer visitors. The outline of the medieval towb is preserved in the pattern of circular streets surounding the church in the centre but the city walls are all gone. We could see this pattern clearly from the air as we approaxhed Carcassone Airport on Saturday.

Day 3 – Monday, September 8
Start in Bram
End in Carcassonne

William and Anne vanderLinden had driven down from Holland to join our expedition. They left their car in Castelnudary and today W decided to bicycle back about «30 km and move the car forward to Carcassonne. We tested our ‘communications’ equipment (chep Radioshack Audiovox walkie-talkies) and off went W while the boat proceeded down the canal for a much better ride, in better weather, and with only 7 locks to negotiate. We have now passed through almost a half of the total nu,ber of locks so further progress should be easier and easier.

Our pln worked out well and W re-joined the boat around 14 :30, a fez km up the canal from Carcassonne. His only comment on his qdventure was that ‘French do not know how to make bicycles. Mine was an instrument of torture.

2003-09-06T20:38:00.000Z

Castelnaudary, KM=65
Day 1, Sept, 6, 2003

Our party assembled at the Crown Blue Line Base shortly after lunch. After the unavoidable confusion of registering, paying deposit on boat insurance and purchasing basic food supplies, we had a (very) short course in boat handling and rules of the road. Then we were given the keys to the boats and are now on our own.

We got together on board 'Crusader No. 28' for the first sampling of local cheese and wine. After polishing four bottles of excellent local Rose, it was decided to leave the berth at the base and take our first trip across the Grand Basin - all of 0.5 km.

We walked up the Rue de la Republique looking at all the resturant windows to discover that all of them were offering Cassoulet - no surprise there. Ended up at the Maison du Cassoulet, 24 Course dela Republique, near the old town's center. An excellent dinner for 12 with plenty of wine cost Euro 20 per person, which seemed quite reasonable to all of us.

The real cruising starts tomorrow with boat No. 1 going east towards Bram, while boat No. 2 goes west towards Narouse, before tirning east and joining us at Carcassonne .

All's well.

2003-09-03T20:25:00.000Z

For your Information: Rates of Exchange today [Setember. 03]:

	Cdn $	US $	BRP	EURO
Cdn $	-	1.3877	2.1844	1.5089
US $	0.7206	-	1.5741	1.0873
BRP	0.4578	0.6353	-	0.6908
EURO	0.6627	0.9197	1.4477	-

2003-08-15T18:33:00.000Z

I have just re-visited Crown Blue Line web site and looked again at their virtual tour of the boat CRUSADER. They have expanded this by adding 'MINI DETAIL" windows. [Close each window after viewing].They now show that each cabin has a full length cupboard (with three hangers) and a small dresser. Provided we are reasonable with luggage, there should be no problems stowing it, provided we use soft sided (collapsible) suitcases (i.e. duffle bags)

2003-08-15T17:44:00.000Z

Looking at the MIDI cruising Guide, it seems to me that showers are available on land at the following places:
Place name - km - distance
Castelnaudary - 65 - 0
Bram - 80 - 15
Carcassonne - 105 - 40
Argens-Minervois - 152 - 87
Port la Robine - 168 - 103

2003-08-03T19:10:00.000Z

Just a few bits for people to think about as we get into Canal mode. My sister informs me that there have been sufficient robberies from tourists in "Southern France" to get into the British news.. typical is distracting tourist whilst partner snatches hand bag from person or from car.. Also a friend who spent 3 weeks in May attending immersion course in Villefranche near Nice told me that 2 of her fellow (female) students were in Nice in the latish evening and motorcyclists drove up and snatched a bag and the silly girl wouldn't let go so she was dragged some distance and hurt quite badly. Since we are all probably seasoned travellers this warning is probably unecessary but I felt it was worth mentioning. My strategy is that when exploring towns off the canal to carry a bag I do not mind losing with items I am happy to see go and absolutely nothing of monetary or sentimental value ie sunblock, kleenex , maps, guidebooks, bandaids etc. I have a few Tilley type slacks, skirts and shorts so credit cards, money and passport will be stowed there. In the event that someone tries to grab my bag I shall say, in fluent French of course " It's all yours I was going to throw it away anyway!" I think cameras should be around necks ( hopefully a deterent) and I think I will have to concoct something similar to deal with my cell phone.
The last 6 weeks we have been smothered in family at a high level of stress with overexcited grandsons so I haven't even had time to even think about the trip. However Boat 1 will be pleased to know that Crown Blue Line has emailed confirmation that they have the final payment and will mail us details but so far it hasn't hit our Visa. Stay tuned!
Keith Re: going to Toulouse I thought we decided that there were few places of interest along the way and that taking a train from either Castelnaudry or Carcassonne made more sense' One can obviously go from Cast to Porta in one week but Philip Calas doesnt mention any side trips to major places of interest that we discussed at our recent meeting eg Albi and Castres. Also we might feel Carcassonne rated more than one day of exploration.
Re Bikes 2 bikes have been reserved for boat 1 ( payment in Casteln.) I am sure another set could be rented on arrival either for boat 1 or 2.

2003-08-03T13:06:00.000Z

On the basis of the previous article maybe we should consider taking the boat to toulose and back. It seems we probably would have time depending on other ideas.

2003-07-30T19:49:00.000Z

On his excellent web site, Philip Calas gives an example of a one week trip covering the same distance we will cover in two weeks. It looks like we can spend up to 50% of cruise time sight-seeing.

[START QUOTE]

An example of a trip

Day One: Arrive at the Crown Blue Line base, Port Cassafières (at Portiragnes, Hérault) on Saturday morning. Load your luggage on board. Technical and practical information session with company staff . Rapid training in piloting. Leave base at end of morning. Lunch at the Villeneuve-lès-Béziers lock. Ascent of Fonsérannes flight at 1530hr. Overnight at Colombiers.
Day Two: Lunch at Argeliers. Overnight at Sallèles-d'Aude, reaching this by taking the Canal de Jonction à la Robine as far as the lock at Gailhousty.
Day Three: Lunch at Somail, overnight at Homps
Day Four: Lunch at Puichéric, overnight at Trèbes
Day Five: Lunch at Fresquel hydraulic system, overnight at Villesèquelande
Day Six: Lunch at Bram, overnight at Saint-Martin-Lalande
Day Seven: Lunch at the Méditerranée Lock (towards Naurouze). Passage via Naurouze, then return to Castelnaudary, overnight there
Day Eight: Handover of boat back to letting agents.

What can we do for a whole week?
When I embarked on my trip I wondered whether it would seem too long. Would we be bored travelling at 5 miles an hour? The answer was "Not at all"! We brought along lots of things for spare time activities, but hardly looked at a tenth of them. Between piloting, which while not difficult, demands all your attention, going through locks, manoeuvring the boat, taking photos, preparing meals (not to mention the washing up afterwards, oohing and aahing at the wonderful views, going on little walks to look at interesting things, the time passes in a flash.
[END QUOTE]

2003-07-30T18:06:00.000Z

Keith,
I think two bicycles are mentioned somewhere in the Captain's Manual.

2003-07-28T11:25:00.000Z

Hi Liz,
On the list of items supplied with the boat there is no mention of bikes. Only bike locks etc. Do we get bikes and helmets with the boat or do they have to be ordered extra? Carol and I want access to a couple ocassionally
Keith

2003-07-23T19:36:00.000Z

Canal-2003 Planning Meeting - 22 July
Manchesters, Masons and Loncarevics

In a wide ranging discussion we agreed on a number of points though none of them are etched in stone.

[1] After picking up the boats, we should practice through the first flight of locks, then tie up for the night and go out for a "getting-to-know-you" dinner.

[2] Each boat will buy their own food. Some staples (bulky and heavy items to carry) should be ordered from Crown Blue Line about two weeks in advance (by 23 August). C&C for "Blue Team", Liz for "Red". List of available staples can be downloaded.

[3] Although there is plenty of time to complete the course, we agreed that it is not worth taking the boat up the canal to Toulouse and back to Castlenaudary. Instead, those who want to go sight-seeing can take a day trip by train.

[4] One day we may wish to tie-up the boat(s) and visit some "away" places (Albi, Castris, etc.) either by bus or by renting a car.

[5] After the routine is established, we may consider each couple on duty (driving the boat and meals) two days on, four days off. (Depends on how many are required to get a boat through the locks.)

[6] The inventory of items supplied can be downloaded. We are responsible for any items missing. We also have to pay for consumables (diesel and propane - Euro 12/30 per day).

[7] Personal items that we should bring include a bath/beach towel, flash light, a pair of garden gloves and some reflective tape for nigh walkers.

[8] Also need two Canadian flags (boat size) and walky/talkies. Discussed a common "uniform" (i.e. BIO caps) but without a conclusion.

[9] Taking showers will require some flexibility; boat engine must run for 3 hours to heat up the water tank. Water remains hot for about 8 hours. Potable and cooking water tank holds 500-1,00 litres of water, sufficient for 1-2 days. Should be re-filled at every opportunity (cost ?). Some may prefer to drink bottled water.

[10] Captain's Manual says that CBL will transfer a car to the cruise ending port. The cost is Euro 95 (of interest to Vanderlinden's).

[11] The boats reserved for us are Crown Class "Crusader" type: 11.90 m length x 3.90 m beam. Look like a small ship.

2003-07-23T18:10:00.000Z

Information on the boats we are using
The Boats are Crown Class Crusader's from Crown Blue Line
One can see info on them on the www.crownblueline.com web site

They are new in 2002 and 11.9 metres lng and 3.9 metres beam
They have six berths
-Spacious and luxurious accomadations for six persons in three cabins
-The three cabins each have an ensuite bathromm with shower and toilet.
-Forward cabin with two single berths
-Saloon with steering position & seperate galley on lower level
-Two rear cabins each with single berths converable to one big double berth.
-Large upper sun deck with second steering position.

2003-07-22T15:28:00.000Z

For your Information: Rates of Exchange today [July. 21]:

	Cdn $	US $	BRP	EURO
Cdn $	-	1.4052	2.2506	1.5946
US $	0.7116	-	1.6016	1.1348
BRP	0.4443	0.6244	-	0.7085
EURO	0.6271	0.8812	1.4114	-

2003-07-17T18:34:00.000Z

Here is a
List of recommended restaurants
from le-guide.com website.

The highligthed restaurants appear to be within a walking distance of the Canal du Midi.
I will bring a printout to consult as we cruise past these establishments.
The lunches may be reasonably priced; some of the dinners (with wines) are 100+ Euros/person.

2003-05-05T13:36:00.000Z

The following web site gives current weather and a ten day forecast for Toulouse.

http://fr.weather.com/weather/local/FRXX0099

2003-04-25T13:17:00.000Z

There are some interesting comments about Canal du Midi among various postings to newsgroups. To read these, go to google and enter "canal du midi" (with quotes) in the search window and from

Web | Images | Groups | Directory | News
navigation bar (just below the search window) click on Groups. This will bring up almost 5,000 e-mails from various newsgoups and they make for interesting reading with many personal opinions and useful hints.

2003-04-24T15:59:00.000Z

The train ride from Carcassonne to Castelnaudary costs Eu 5.70 and takes about 25 min. (1 hr to Toulouse). There are frequent trains during the week. Taxi from Carcassonne airport charges Eu 50-60 for 2-4 persons.

2003-04-21T15:12:00.000Z

For your Information: Rates of Exchange today [Apr. 21]:

	Cdn $	US $	BRP	EURO
Cdn $	-	1.4496	2.2847	1.5810
US $	0.6898	-	1.5761	1.0906
BRP	0.4377	0.6345	-	0.6920
EURO	0.6325	0.9169	1.4451	-

2003-04-19T21:43:00.000Z

Hi Bosko,
I am on Blogger now and registered. Whats next?
Keith

2003-04-19T13:32:00.000Z

The old city is near the river and should be easily accessible from the boats. Reading the guidebooks, it seems to me that Toulouse, and to a lesser degree Carcassonne, are the only places on the canal, that have important historical sights

2003-04-17T02:43:00.000Z

I have now been instructed on the art of blogging, Bosko!
I guess we will have 13 days of cruising as we wont do much the first day and we dont do more than a couple of hours on the last morning (20th)
I am unsure about going all the way to Toulouse because to see any amount of a large city like that will take a good chunk of a day. Also I think we need to check on whether there is heavy commercial traffic in that area and is it tidal or strong river current. I think it would be more enjoyable to explore some of the small towns and villages along the way using public transport or hiring taxis which apparently are available (or minivans) And as Don pointed out one has to do that in order to get supplies. Mind you we may be able to keep the boats moving whilst a group leaves the canal at point A and arranges to be picked later at point B. However I do think it is feasible to start at 7am ( it will only take two people to cast off and start the motor whilst the rest sleep in !!) That way we can do 4-5 hours (assuming we can get through the locks) by lunch time. I didnt realise the locks opened as early as 6:30 assuming they still do so. Did the guide books say anything along those lines? I will ask Clive to pick up Don's canal guide tomorrow and then I may be as knowledgeable as you about these things.
Liz

2003-04-16T19:54:00.000Z

French Tourist Office in Montreal: 514-876-9881

2003-04-16T15:22:00.000Z

We have a confirmed reservation on RYANAIR as follows
GOING OUT
From London Stansted(STN) to Carcassonne(CCF)
Sat, 06Sep03 Flight FR074 Depart STN at 10:50 and arrive CCF at 13:45
[Total (including Taxes): 69.89 GBP per person.]

2003-04-11T19:41:00.000Z

Cruise Plan 'B'

The Crown Blue Line web site gives the following information:

Castelnaudary-to-Toulouse

130 km (round trip)

48 locks

26 hrs

Castelnaudary-to-Port Cassafieres

157 km (one way)

64 locks

35 hours

We therefore need 61 hours of cruising to complete the course. With twelve days available this means that we have to average about 5 hrs of motoring per day. Or 10 hours on some days if we went to spend a whole day explring the Tarn Gorge or other places.