Underway At Last - Our first two days

Waving goodbye to the crew at the Captainerie of
Port Saint Saviour, Talouse

Joan handling our bowline from the lock wall

This is a very delayed posting - the last time we had internet access was in Toulouse 3 weeks ago.

At last we cast off our lines to explore the Canal du Midi. Our goal the first day was to get used to handling the locks with just the two of us to handle both the boat and lines. While checking out at the Captainerie in Toulouse we had a chance to talk with Peter and his wife Gillian who were also headed for Castelnaudary with the goal of being there by Sunday night. It was our goal to be there because we had heard there was a very good Monday morning market.

We left just a few minutes behind Peter and Gillian and ended up sharing the first few locks with them. The first one we managed to get crosswise in the lock but with a first rate line handler on shore we soon had Juniper pulled snuggly into the wall and Gillian pushed the button to start the locking sequence.

By our second lock we were no longer crosswise but still not as coordinated as we thought we should be capable of. After accompanying us through the first three locks Peter and Gillian took a break while we pushed on ahead - that was the last time we had a boat in a lock with us on our journey to Castelnaudary.

"Juniper" and "Blue Gum" below Ecluse Negra

Our first night was tentatively planned for the small “town” of Negra with power and water available. Before entering the lock to Negra we spotted a beautiful spot for the night just below the lock. Disadvantage no power or water. Advantages: Free, peaceful and as it turned out wonderful company. As we nosed into the available space Sally from the barge “Blue Gum” came out to take our lines. A few minutes later we were all sharing a bottle or two of wine before an impromptu potluck aboard their boat. “Blue Gum” was an incredibly beautiful replica barge that was custom built about five years ago. Everything was spotless, hardwood floors, washer, dryer, dishwasher the latest electronics, king size bed and a head that looked like it came straight out of a high class flat in London. Sally and her husband Charles are retired police officers from the British police force. We learned a lot about the UK, its politics and programs as we talked into the evening.

Day two we were headed for Port Lauragais, a busy hire boat base and tourist port. We spent the day

Michael picked up a young family fishing off one of the
waiting pontoons for a lock. The common language was
smiles and laughs as they rode through an ecluse with us.

navigating locks by ourselves and as we approached the Port had second thoughts of being in such a busy environment. Charles and Sally had told us of a couple of peaceful moorages just above Oceans Ecluse the last of the uphill locks on the trip from the Atlantic to the Med. We tied to the bank just above the lock in a park dedicated to, Paul Raiquet, the visionary Frenchman who designed and built the Canal du Midi opening a trade route from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. Within the hour we were joined by Peter and Gillian.

As predicted we were hit with a thunder shower that gave us a pretty good show during the night and we woke to the news that the power grid controlling the locks in our area had been knocked out. It would be a while before any locks were working. Joan and I grabbed our raingear and put on our waterproof hiking boots and took off for Avignonet, a small previously walled city that was about an hours walk away. Not much was happening in Avignonet but we were able to see parts of the old ramparts and a tower remaining from the 1200’s. We also visted their beautiful church, also from the 1200’s before walking back to “Juniper” via the local boulangerie for a hot snack and bread to replenish our non existent supply aboard the boat.

Joan and Michael at Ecluse Ocean - the last uphill lock from the Atlantic
from here the locks all go down to the Med.

Avignonet - part of the old town wall and a
typical street

The lone remaining tower from the walled town
of Avignonet. The tower dates from the 1600's

The beautiful small town church
Notre Dame des Miracles in Avinonet-Lauragais

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Passing a full size peniche reminds us of how tight these
canals can be.