Me again, BBB, broadcasting from Homps (the last little town we will visit today and the place where we say adieu to our boat The Magnifique).
I am a day behind so I will catch you up to the last two days. We were motoring up river towards our turn-around point; maneuvering the locks and enjoying the quiet. The scenery was beautiful and we were all reveling in our leisurely cruise. Please travel with us for a little while...
We are in the Languedoc region of southern France; not too far from the Mer Mediterranee (yea, yea...the Mediterranean Sea). They produce a lot of wine here and have been doing so since the 8th century B.C. The Romans came here around 118 B.C. but after the fall of the empire wine making declined. Afterward, most of the wine being produced was coming from abbeys and monasteries. Trying to avoid heavily taxed Roman roads through Bordeaux, the wine-makers had to ship their products around Spain. Both options were not very profitable; as a result, wine production was at a stand-still. The opening of this canal, the Canal du Midi, in 1681 that gave winemakers better access to the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. (I'm sure you didn't need this little history lesson but it's important that you get the whole picture of the place...these villages are ancient). Traveling this canal requires boats to pass through a series of locks.
Most of our day's journey was quiet and uneventful; if you can call squeezing into a small space with two other boats and being lowered or raised about 10 feet uneventful. Actually, the lock system is very fascinating for those of us (like mois) who've never seen them up close and personal. As a matter of fact, many people stop at the locks to watch all of the maneuvering; some of them waiting for someone to fall into the murky, filthy water. It is a harrowing experience if you're on the boat clinging to a rope to hold the boat steady or at the helm trying to figure out if you're too close, too far, or too anything. I hope you all know what a lock is; if you don't, read about them because, as I said, it's a fascinating process.
I will add this now: my boat mates were not experts at bringing a boat through a lock before we got here but you would have been proud of them. Julieanne (in this picture shielding herself from the disgusting spray) and Susan expertly slung the bow and stern lines to our ground people, Linda and Karen. Our hooker, Amelia, made sure we didn't hit the wall with the side of the boat and Kathy maneuvered the boat in and out of the chambers. It got to the point that it became a fun game for all of them and they handily got us through with only one mishap (we lost one bumper - a big plastic tube that cushions the side of the boat from being smacked - but were close enough to retrieve it). Everyone had a job to do and they all did it well.
The tranquil scenery and hot weather lent itself to sleepy lounging and game playing. On Wednesday we pulled over on the banks of the canal near the town of Argens-Minervois and under the shaded canopy created by the sycamore trees that line both sides. It was a perfect spot for us to be away from the hub-bub and yet close enough to walk to the small marche (market) for fresh bread and fruits. Susan started us off with appetizer platters of different cheeses, salami, fennel and baguette. Kathy made us an incredibly delicious dinner of cassoulet and au-gratin potatoes. Linda made a tomato and onion salad and we cut up lots and lots of baguette. Twas magnifique!!!
On Thursday morning we walked into the little village. There was not much to see other than an old castle that is being converted into homes. However, Susan found the remnants of an old church from the 10th century as well as the town cemetery. After our walk, we went back to the boat, and proceeded down river. We had breakfast on the boat as we headed toward Chateau du Ventenac-en-Minervois, our final destination westward and turn-around point. It was a fun stop where we purchased some good wine and even had one of our large water bottles filled with their local swill. Later we commented about the inexpensiveness of the great wines we'd been buying.
Again we stopped at Argens-Minervois for the night. We dined at a lovely outdoor cafe right on the canal and had scrumptious food: prawns, duck, mussels, beef and lamb. We shared some desserts and, 3 hours later, got back to the boat.
We had our night caps and recaps at the cafe and were ready for bed. Lights went off, we closed our eyes and all was right with the world.
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