First day on the water: Auxonne to Dole

Early morning on the Saône - We have the river to ourselves

Our first day has the possibility of being a fairly long one, with a busy harbor at the end of the day. Following recommendations of our partners, who had just returned from these waters, we set off early. Our goal was to be the first to the ecluse we had to go through on the Saône. The ecluse opened at 0700 and we were the only boat in sight. The early start gave us the river to ourselves as we enjoyed our coffee underway, watching the birds and fishermen along the shore.

We arrive at Ecluse 75 a bit before the 0900 opening. This is the first (or last) ecluse of the Canal du Rhône au Rhine, our primary cruising grounds for this year.

Juniper, on the Saône, waiting to enter the Canal du Rhône au Rhine

Being early we tied up at the waiting pontoon and Joan went up to see what the process would be. She was told that they open at 0900. The first ecluse on this canal is a bit more of an ordeal than other ecluses. Our papers are checked, and we are issued a remote control device that will open most of the next 74 ecluse we encounter. Along with that there is a safety talk and finally small talk.

Michael handling the bow line, while Joan handles the camera and stern line as we transit Ecluse 75; St-Symphorien-sur-Saône 

Peniche and town of St-Symphorien-sur-Saône

With a good chart and excellent markings, following the canal is usually pretty straight forward. Here we are told to take the left channel, or follow the right bank in French river terms.

While most of our time on the canals is post card beautiful - occasionally we are reminded of these waterways roots. Here we are passing through a couple kilometers of chemical plants. Not pretty and all kinds of warning signs about the dangers.

But then at the end of the day you reach a beautiful town like Dole, where we'll be spending a few days soaking up the history, riding our bikes in the country, buying wonderful food at the market and taking time to smell the roses. And, by the way we made it in time to find a great pace to moor.

Our next post will be about our stay in this beautiful spot.

Canal des Tanneurs - the oldest part of Dole and birthplace of Louis Pasteur.

2017 - Auxonne on the River Pettit Saône

After nearly 12 hours of flight and transfer time we made it from Seattle to Paris and picked up our luggage then off to the car rental location. An hour later had us driving to Auxonne, a three hour drive. We only sleep bonked once and after a 1/2 hour nap were back on the road.

Driving on the French toll roads has a culture all on its own, and once we figured it out it was probably the nicest freeway driving I've ever done. The speed limit is a moderate 130, with truck limited to 90 (and they all follow the speed limit). No one will pass you on the right - if you forget to get out of the center lane a car will come up on your right, swerve around you, then cut very close to let you know you're not following the rules as he returns to the right lane. You quickly learn to drive only in the right lane, unless passing. And only use the left lane if passing cars in the two right lanes at the same time. Another nice feature was rest stops every 10 or 12 miles, many with gas and food.

Arrived at our AirBnB which was about a 2 minute drive or bike ride from "Juniper" and then down to the boat for dinner with our Seattle partners.

Our living room at the AirBandB - also had a kitchen, bedroom, toilet room and bathroom. Great hosts - we didn't speak a common language but with the aid of a translation program and a cell phone all went well.

The next day was spent taking advantage of having a car to move things about and get our basic provisioning ready to load. Returned the car to Dole and spent some time exploring the town before catching a train back to Auxonne for dinner with our Seattle partners, Tom and Mary,

Friday we will begin this season's adventure by going down the Saône River to the Canal Rhone au Rhine  then up the canal to Dole.

Thursday we were able to spend the day exploring the town of Auxonne as well as finalizing our provisioning before taking off early the Friday morning (an important date, as we want to be in Dole for the Saturday market).

 Michael with a box on the back of his bike and a pack on his back, hauling groceries back to the boat

 Notre-Dame Church in Auxonne - dominates the skyline of this beautiful small French town

One of the remaining town gates from a time when Auxonne was a walled city. Tomorrow we begin our trip. Auxonne is known for its military presence as it is where Napoleon did his training as a young officer.

Julie's Aboard

After mom and Jim left Joan and I had a busy week cleaning, boat repair and a side trip to Lastours to hike into the remains of four hilltop castles. Then it was off by train to Toulouse to meet Joan's sister Julie and bring her back to spend the rest of the trip with us.

After a good night's sleep plus croissants and strong French coffee for breakfast it was off to explore the walled cité of Carcassonne. Julie and Joan posing in front of the keep.

We spent quite a few hours walking the walls of the cité, checking out the basilica and of course checking out the shops - and maybe even sitting down to rest our cobble street weary feet with a glass of wine, while people watching.

Next it was time to provision "Juniper" to get her ready for our journey down the canal du Midi to the Mediterranean Sea then heading up the Rhone a Sete Canal. The best place to do that is an open market. Chance would have it that the day we were leaving was market day in Carcassonne. Joan picking up fresh veggies for the great salads we have almost daily.

"juniper" on the canal. It was a beautiful morning and the first wine cave of the trip was only a mile or so down the canal, so Joan and Julie took off for a morning walk and Michael brought the boat down to the winery, with the girls standing by to help tie the boat up before hiking to a small family estate winery.

The tasting. Both Joan and the wonderful owner of the cave were armed with their English/French and French English dictionaries as Julie and watched and helped participate in much of the pantomime and of course shared in the laughter as we all worked to communicate.

A label you'll never see in the states, or even the next region of France but a nice hearty Rose that we all enjoyed

Looking back as the upper gate of our lock overflows. On this segment of the trip we will be doing 257 kilometers and 41 locks - 40 going down to the Mediterranean and one going up toward the Rhone (our very last lock)

Carcassone

The last couple of days with mom and Jim were spent in Carcassonne - We toured both the old Cité (Began in the Roman era) and the new city (1200's). We took the bus up to the walled old city or la Cité to save our legs for the uneven walking on old cobblestone roads and alleys.

Mom and Michael walking the tilt.

Mom did a great job of walking about 1/2 way around the tilt (area between the inner and outer walls of the old city), as well as exploring a few hours worth of the streets and alleys within the walls.

Basilica Saint Nazaire within the walls of la Cité. A beautiful mixture of Romanesque and Gothic architecture. The barrel vaulted Romanesque section built in the 11th century while the more modern Gothic section was built in the 1200s

Many have called mom Saint Jean - although we didn't find this statue in Carcassonne here's a statue of a younger mom, clearly labeled as Saint Jean. This is from a church in La Redorte taken when Joan and I were on our way to Narbonne.

While mom was taking a break Jim, Joan and I went out to see the churches and hunt for gargoyles in the new city. This is one from the cathedral which is undergoing restoration.

After a last night farewell dinner of Cassoulet (a traditional southern France meal) at the family run Chez Fred, and a good night's sleep it was time to put mom and Jim onto the train to Toulouse for their flight home.

The only port that mom occasionally used the gangplank - usually she just climbed over the side, Guess she didn't want a wet backside from sitting on the deck for her return trip.

Mom and Jim giving us the traditional Collins farewell in thanks for a great week of cruising on the Canal du Midi.

On the canal - Narbonne to Carcassonne

After a day plus exploring Narbonne it was time to say goodbye to Frank, our friendly port captain and begin our journey to Carcassonne. After passing through the second lock leaving Narbonne a representative of the VNF (the canal authority) let us know the lock keepers were going on strike so this would probably be the last lock we would be able to go through till the strike was over.

A short trip further up the canal brought us to a closed lock where we drove our stakes in and tied up to wait out the strike. An hour later a work crew that was doing maintenance on the lock let us through as part of their testing - one more lock out of the way. That was the last of our luck for the day. As we approached the Aude River to cross it we found the flood gate closed far enough to prohibit any bateau (boat) from proceeding. This time we found old stone bollards to tie to for a snug evening.

Fortunately it was a short strike (or disruption) and we found the flood gate opening in time for us to be at the next lock for its 900 opening.

After completing the canal Robine in record time we were back on the Canal du Midi in time for a lunch stop at Ventenac en-Minervois and a wine buying trip to the Chateau Venteneac. Our mooring luck continued to hold and we tied up at one of the two spaces that would be possible for mom to get on and off the boat.

Of course we had to do a little tasting to see what we might want to buy.

Along with traditional bottled wine we had to buy some of the bulk wine, sold by the liter. 1,50 Euro/liter bought us a tasty Rose that went well with everything.

The locking procedure was pretty much the same at all locks - first you find the lock - pretty easy as you run out of water to travel on at each lock, or more proper ecluse

You secure your lines, wait for gates to close and the valves to be opened, allowing water to rush in and fill or drain the chamber you are now in. Jim and Michael handling the lines.

Then the water comes in - think white water rafting on an 11 meter powerboat. Watch your lines closely for this often bumpy ride up

Everyone takes a turn (or nautically speaking a trick) at the wheel - OK some of us only kinda took a turn, and I don't mean Joan

Lunch stops are enforced on the canals - with the lock keepers at lunch we're forced to follow suit. Here we are at a canal-side cafe in Trebes.

This was just the starter salad to lunch: mussels, clams, squid, octopus, shrimp and more. And I don't mean one or two tiny pieces.

Jim and Michael after a bottle of wine with lunch - that's "Juniper" tied up to the quay just a few feet from our table.

After lunch it's all business as we get back to work navigating the Canal du Midi

While "Juniper only takes a small portion of a lock - this is what they look like with a peniche occupying the space. They fit end to end so closely that they must put their rudder hard over to clear the ecluse doors as they close.

Our First Guests

This past week we were lucky enough to be joined by my 93 year old mom (she and dad introduced us to canal boats 3 decades ago) and my younger brother Jim, for his first trip to Europe. They were given the full European experience: greeted by an airline strike, having us hit by a train strike while trying to meet them in Toulouse and finally a strike by the lock keepers, stranding us between a lock and a flood gate to the Aude River.

We just put them on the train to Toulouse so I thought I'd share a few photos and try telling the story that way.

Mom and Jim's arrival was a multiday experience: The day before they were due to arrive Jim sent us a text that Air France was on strike and their flight from the UK had been canceled. In the mean time Joan and I had checked about taking the train to Toulouse to meet them, only to find that the trains were on strike. The ultimate solution was mom and Jim got a flight with Luthtansa to Frankfort then to Toulouse, while Joan and I were able to catch a local train to Beziers, then a bus to the airport where we found an open car rental office. After three hours of roundabouts on the back roads we made it to Toulouse with an hour to spare.

 

 

 

Our tourist day in Narbonne. After returning the rental car we left the boat to see the sights. Here we are on a piece of the Roman road that went the through Narbonne. The rocks we're standing on have grooves cut in them from the chariots and horse drawn carts of old. We're examining the route "Via Domitia" on the map.

Moving on to explore the Bishop's Palace and Narbonne's Saint-Just-et-Saint-Pasteur Cathedral second only Avignon's Papal Palace in overall size.

All that walking - plus a closing for lunch meant it was time for a coffee at a street-side cafe

The inside of Saint Just et Saint Pasteur Cathedral. Built between 1272 and 1332 but never finished. The silting up of the Aude ended Narbonne's days as a port, followed by bad economic times, war and the plague. The naive of this lovely building has only about half of the sections it was designed to have. The shortened naive only seems to increase the height of the ceiling.

While mom rested a bit on the boat Jim, Joan and Michael we exploring again. Here we are in a Horarium (underground warehouse) built over the course of the first century BC. Low ceilings kept you watching out for your head. But, the cool temperature was great for a warm day.

Tomorrow we hit the canal again - working our way to Carcassonne.

Castelnaudary and our 30th Anniversary

Yet another delayed post – this time from the French love of strikes. Strike 1 – Air France strikes stranding Mom and Jamie in Manchester England. Strike 2 – French trains strike making it nearly impossible to get from Narbonne to Toulouse to pick up Jamie and Mom. AND today Strike 3 – The canals are closed as the lock keepers on strike. As I write this we are trapped between an Ecluse (lock) and the floodgate to the Aude River, which we have to cross to reach the next canal. Both are closed.

We arrived is Castelnaudary late in the day dodging rain and wind storms, for a while thinking we might not make it all the way as planned. We really wanted to be in port by Monday morning as Castelnaudary hosts the best outdoor market in this part of France. Arriving late we missed our reservation for moorage and found the port full. Fortunately we had seen a beautiful park-like setting just out of town and it was free..

A very small portion of the outdoor market

Monday morning we made the market that was strongly influencing our scheduling – and it was well worth it. We found great veggies, fruits, cheeses, bread and more all very fresh. After loading the food aboard “Juniper” we went to the Captainerrie to check on our reservations. Seems in all the confusion getting ready to go I’d given them the right days, but wrong month. A bit later in the day the young lady working the Captainerrie came walking around the point looking for us to let us know she had managed to get us a space in the port – now that’s service above and beyond.

Nice rainy day to move our Gaz cannister to the store
and bring back a full one.

And here we are at our anniversary dinner.
Still happy after 30 years - must be love.

 

We still had two projects to complete: find a restaurant for our 30^th wedding anniversary and get our methane tank filled for use with our galley stove. Checking around we found a gas station a ways out of town where we could make the exchange. We walked out in hopes that they might do deliveries to poor stranded boaters, no such luck. Now all we have to do is figure out how to carry a large heavy tank from the boat and return with an even heavier full tank. Fortunately our partners, Gary and Tosca leave their cargo toting bikes on the boat. . . soooo we tied the tank across the rack and wheeled the tank  out and back.

When we discovered that we would be in France for our 30^th Anniversary we had decided a nice dinner would be a great way to celebrate. In southern France, especially the Languedoc  region there is a dish known as cassoulet (a baked stew type of dish made with beans, meats and spices) We asked around town again and got a recommendation. We dressed up for the occasion (me in jeans and a button up shirt, Joan in her travel dress). After an appetizer on the boat we walked up town for a fashionably early dinner at about 7:00. Great dinner a fun staff and conversation with adjoining tables, we were the first in and almost the last to leave.

The next day we cleaned up loose ends in our itinerary, chased boat parts and were ready to be back on the canal after 4 nights in one lovely town. It’s nice being on canal time.

Windmill from the past. Built in the 1800's it continued to mill grain
into the 1960s

As a point of reference here we are 30 years ago -
giving us the reason to continue celebrating this date.

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

s

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