Bonjour famille et amis for Part II of our Canal du Midi journey ,
Agde turned out to be the turning point of our quest to go to the Etang de Thau, a lake-like body of water (13 miles long, 5 miles wide and only 15 feet deep on average). It is noted for high winds and with our fears of more equipment problems and being stranded in that body of water was nothing we wanted to deal with, especially since our rental was for only 10 nights. Motoring westward, we retraced our eastward path for 25 kilometers (16 miles) toward Beziers, passing AQUAPARK CAP D’ AGDE the grand amusement park that had captured our fancy before, which was not open at this hour, seeing again the Plane tree stumps, evidence of the “virus” that initially struck them during WWII.
We docked at the first Beziers lock, waiting for it to open at 1:00 PM, passing through and docking at the first open space, backing in and coming to grips with the bow thruster issue once again!!! Good thing we had not entered the Etang. Because of this problem, we hit another boat, entangling lines, ripping off two of our bumpers, with the marina managers yelling at us, calling us ‘stupid’, then telling us to leave. Using my best counseling mode, I profusely apologized to the managers and slipped 24 Euros to stay overnight. Before tying up, the four of us decided we would stay one night at a hotel that had A/C, since the heat (hovering around 90 degrees F) and tight sleeping quarters had taken its toll on us, and we needed a break! We had googled hotels and found the L’ Hotel Particulier, making reservations via Booking.Com for 2 rooms for the night. While Maggie and I walked up to the hotel, being greeted by Nicholas at the front desk, Mike was calling Sebastien again to share the status of the bow thruster. Nicholas made things easy for us, making 7:30 PM dinner reservations at Pica Pica , a 15-minute walk to Boulevard Jean Jaures.
Great selection by Nicholas!!!, dining in style with gin & tonics masterfully created at our table, pouring on a twisted slim pole to integrate the tonic into the gin. The meal was equally fantastic…goat cheese stuffed ravioli in basil sauce, Iberic pig with flowers, mixed roasted veggies, topped off with a fig-based dessert, spanning over 2 hours. Returning to our hotel, we stopped at the front desk to make reservations for a second night, since we loved the accommodations and could use two nights in a row of air-conditioning!
After a hotel breakfast consisting of soft-boiled eggs, chocolate cake and croissants, Mike and I walked down the 20 minutes from the hilltop to the moorage to start up the boat’s engine, communicate with Sebastien and pick up things aboard that were needed now with a second night in town. After dropping off the goods from “Antila” at the hotel, Maggie and I took off on our own in the early afternoon in search of Cathedrale Nazaire, scene of the 13th century massacre of 20,000 Cathars, which was ordered by Pope Innocent III, after failing to peacefully convert the Cathars. The Cathars were dualist, gnostic Christians who believed two opposing deities existed, which was antithetical to the doctrine of the medieval Catholic Church. It was quite the effort looking for the church, going around in circles over the cobblestoned streets, following some “guides” Maggie had taken photos of, winding our way from having coffees on Alles Paul Riquet by Le Theatre Municipal, then through a complex of high-end shops on both sides of the cobble-stoned and narrow 1-way walkway/street.
Frustrated, we returned to our hotel to ask Nicholas to provide us with a paper map for our second effort!!! Following the layout he gave us, we had SUCCESS!!! Walking into the church, entering the main section, we were awed by massive oil paintings on the walls depicting the 1209 AD atrocity. Finding the entrance to the bell tower, we climbed the 165 spiraling, 2.5 feet wide and 1-foot-high stairs with 2-way traffic, having to flatten ourselves against the wall at times, as some very large folks were descending. The effort was well worth it, with a panoramic view of the Orb River and the Canal du Midi, 50 meters above the cobblestoned streets below. We walked around the perimeter to get a full 360-degree view. After spending a full hour at the Cathedrale Nazaire we walked to the local square and sat down at Tuto Mondo imbibing Lillet Blanc Mojitos and laughing about the effort put into this day.
The 4 of us celebrated our first (and only) full day in Beziers, taking a taxi to dine at Raffinerie’s, near our moorage, reservations made by Nicholas of course! Dinner started out with an apartage’ (sharing) of houmous, guacamole, tapenade et gressin (breadstick), a bottle of rose/, pintade’ L’estragon griffle aux sarments de vigne (guineau fowl with Terracon claws with vine branches)! We witnessed drama at the restaurant between the female manager/owner getting frustrated with one of her servers for failing to bring us water, and soon was nowhere to be seen, presumably, let go. Preparing to depart at 8:30 pm, being treated to lightning in the skies, she then introduced us to her son. Of course, Stan had to comment that this could not be true! “Surely you two are husband and wife”…lots of laughter but we still had to pay the bill, but they did treat us to shots of their homemade fruit liquer!
Reluctantly leaving the hotel we hoofed it down to our boat after stopping at Artisan Boulangerie located on Allees Paul Riquet, continuing the futile search for the wily basilic (basil), eying a pigeon on a nearby table, sticking its head into a bag of breadcrumbs, while we ate our cold veggie quiche. This area appeared to be very dog friendly, forcing us to watch where we walked to avoid soiling the soles of our shoes. When we reached our vessel, there was a sign reading “Popeye” had an 11:00 AM claim to this spot, ergo, we had better move quickly. We had not been told this. Mike cleaned the deck and readied us for leaving the marina as the clock ticked. We got out of there in time to avoid incurring again the wrath of the marina managers.
Backtracking, we were once again at the Fonseronnes locks, finding ourselves 3rd in line and this time, ascending the 5 locks, in only an hour’s time, eventually getting to Capestang (population 3,000) and on to Poilhes (population 600), a very small burg, which we would use as our base for the night, walking for 45 minutes along the Canal du Midi to meet with Jean-Vincent at Les Domaines des Marins, a rustic wine cave hidden away from the madding crowd, tasting their De Barroubio from Domaine and Domaine de Caylus (organic wine), walking away with two bottles and some olive oil, after a wonderful time with Jean-Vincent and his stories about their wine cave history. We ended up spending 3 hours on this roundtrip adventure in the burning sun. Dinner in Poilhes was at Vinauberge Bar a’ vin Gites with tapas-shrimp followed by lamb and wine.
The next day we motored from Poilhes to Le Somail arriving early afternoon, tied up on the starboard side of the canal, and walking over a bridge to the historic Libraire Ancienne, only to discover it was closed for the afternoon. Moving on, we bollarded up at Roubia, very close to our starting point. While there, we came upon a chateau winery, purchasing a Syrah Rose’ after going through some tastings. Moving along, we motored to the Locaboat headquarters, tied up since we had identified lodgings for the night here (rather than staying on the Antila), and walked about a mile alongside pastures, anticipating what we believed to be a winery/accommodations combination but found only a bed and breakfast establishment awaiting us, albeit, with a gracious hostess, Martine. We sat upstairs outside our rooms, on couches, awaiting Martine’s husband, “M” who would drive us to our dinner destination, La Grillade de Lou Merat for outdoor dining. We were served by a jovial waiter sporting a Ramones shirt, giving away his punk rock musical preferences. We eagerly dined on salade gourmand, entrecote au feu de bois, which came with a ¼ liter of wine and a chocolaty dessert. I entertained myself with a June bug on the rim of my wine glass, sipping from the rim opposite my new friend. When we were finished, Mike called Martine to have her husband pick us up.
The next morning, we had an amazing breakfast that was included in our 90 Euros…fruit, croissants, grape juice, coffee, homemade bread, and jams, sitting on their sun porch and taking in the beauty of their vast estate. We retraced our steps to Locaboat, asking employees where we could find ATMs, learning that the best bet was in Olonzac, 2 kilometers walking distance from Homps to where we were now moving the Antila for overnighting in preparation for the Sunday flea market. Once we were settled in, Maggie and I took to the itinerary mapped out for us to get to Olonzac, leaving Karen and Mike relaxing aboard our vessel. We walked the 2 kilometers on the roadway, finding only streetside ATMs, which we avoid when traveling internationally and the banks were closed since it was Saturday, ergo, we were free to stop and have a Peach Melba ice cream dessert on the street with cappuccinos before walking to Casino Supermarket still in search of the elusive basilic (basil) which we had no luck finding anywhere before, which we finally found, and bought some heavy cream and tomatoes to bring back to the boat.
After our 30-minute walk back to Homps and pleasantly surprising Karen with the basil, Maggie and I had discovered a spot for dinner, Les Tonneliers, hidden behind a large stone wall, with a beautiful courtyard unseen from the streets and across the bridge from the moorage docks, setting up a 7 PM reservation to surprise Mike and Karen,. We started out with a special cocktail consisting of rum, white wine, sugar, and lime, ordering salade Tonneliers, shrimp, tomato, raspberries, potatoes, vegetable soup, veal, etc. Dessert was burnt ice cream, with a dessert beverage, Pastis (with anise-flavored liqueur). Our last night aboard Antila came next. The biggest surprise was being woken up around 6 AM with cacophonic chattering, hustling, bustling, etc., pulling back the blinds, discovering that the whole area surrounding the moorage docks were filled with flea market hawkers setting up their plots for selling anything you could imagine. It was intense and magical, with a myriad of antiques, clothing, farm and kitchen tools. We bought a wooden spoon for our kitchen (and given a 2nd one for free) plus an old brass ashtray for a collector friend back in Seattle.
Returning in the afternoon to Argens-Minervois, Maggie and I took to the back streets, peeking into art galleries, admiring the old stone structures, venturing up to the 14th century castle up in the hills, which, locals told us, was still being renovated internally by the current owners! We had our last dinner aboard Antila, dining on pasta and the recently purchased basil and tomatoes.
Last day on the Canal, Monday, September 19, 2022! We cleaned our vessel, paid the 40 Euros we owed for using more than our fuel allowance, and each couple went their separate ways, Maggie and I going north to Lezignan-Corbiennes, to take the 11:10 AM train west to Toulouse. Luckily we were 2 hours early for the train, since we found out that train was cancelled, due to a strike, putting us in panic mode, since we had a flight from Toulouse, France, to Porto, Portugal. We were not the only ones hanging out now, sharing our commiserations. Luckily, we took a bus west to Carcassonne, which would put us in line for another train continuing to Toulouse! Final story on the Canal du Midi…we made our flight and arrived on time in Porto, which story will be shared in a separate dispatch.
Cheers, S & M
Until the Next Dispatch