Narbonne to Carcassonne.
Wednesday 9 May. Topped up with water before departing Narbonne at 9:00 to retrace our steps back to the Canal du Midi. At lock Ronel the automatic lock would not close due to a mechanical problem and Judy had to call the lock keeper on the intercom. It took him 30 minutes to come from south of Narbonne. We stopped for lunch at Salleles d’Aude and completed the rest of the locks on the Canal de Jonction in company with two other boats, a group of Brits and a group of Germans. Soon after turning left into the Canal du Midi we moored for the night at Le Somail. This is a pleasant village featuring a museum of hats, which was remarkably interesting and a wonderful second hand book barn. An Internet Café near our anchorage enabled us to catch up on our email but they would not allow us to upload a blog posting from the thumb drive so that will have to wait. We dined ashore and had a very pleasant evening.
Location for Somail. N43º15.995’ E002º54.216’
Thursday 10 May. Under way 9:00. Weather fine. Smooth run of 20 km with 7 locks to Homps. One lock decorated by keeper’s sculptures of the chainsaw and welding torch school. Stopped for lunch at Argens-Minervois. Beautiful wine country with many old stone winery buildings. Homps is a big hire boat base but we were not too impressed.
Location for Homps. N43º16.134’ E002º43.166’
Friday 11 May. Under way 10:00. Weather cool with light easterly breeze and partly cloudy. Stopped for lunch at the Aiguille lock near the village of Puicheric. Moored for the night at Marseillette at 16:00 on a quiet bank under a canopy of trees. We enjoyed a BBQ dinner at a conveniently located picnic table.
Location for Marseillette. N43º12.297’ E002º32.689’
Saturday 12 May. Moved up to nearby jetty for water at 9:45 and under way at 10:00 with run of 8 km and no locks to Trebes, where there was a triple staircase and we berthed for lunch. Under way again at 14:00 and negotiated the triple lock with an intermediate basin at Fresquel and then got held up at the St Jean lock where the lower gate would not close. We watched with interest for 1.5 hours while a team of 3 lock keepers eventually located and removed a large clump of earth and weeds which was jamming the gate. We eventually moored in Carcassonne at 18:00, just before the bridge and lock by a nice grassy strip.
Location for Carcassonne. N43º13.047’ E002º21.155 Altitude 110 metres.
Sunday 13 May. After breakfast checked into the “Capitainerie”, paid mooring fees for 2 nights and picked up a water hose adaptor and laundry key. We then set out to explore the town and the famous old castle known as La Cite. We had difficulty finding the tourist information office and there was no public transport available for the 2 km climb but we made it there on foot, in strong wind and under heavily overcast sky. We eventually arrived just on 12:00 to find that the “Little Train” tour which we wanted to take had closed for lunch until 14:00, so we had some lunch (rather dry pizzas) and took a tour of the castle with audio-guides, which was very interesting. We then took the “Little Train” tour which was also very informative. The original Roman walls and towers are still clearly visible although many other structures have been added over the centuries. The “medieval” streets within the walls of the Cite are lined with rather tacky cafes and souvenir shops, although there are a couple of classy hotels as well. The restorations carried out 150 years ago under the supervision of Violette le Duc are a bit suspect as to their authenticity but on the whole the place is very impressive and worth a visit.
Back at the boat we caught up with the laundry and dined out at a nearby café which was very pleasant. The wind had been fresh Easterly during the day but the evening was reasonably fine, warm and calm.
Monday 14 May. Final shopping and laundered towels before topping up with water and departing Carcassonne at 11:15. Wind fresh Westerly with stinging rain. After passing through the lock and town basin we moored up at 11:45 to wait out the weather. Under way again at 14:15 after lunch Weather cleared to fine but wind still cool fresh Westerly. Agriculture seemed to be transitioning from 100% grapes to mixed land use, with grains, beans and other unidentified crops. 16 km covered with 5 locks, one of them a double. Moored for the night at Villesquelande, 17:30. Weather sunny and warm in a nice sheltered anchorage.
Location for Villesquelande. N34º13.059’ E002º13.794’ Altitude 131metres.
(I started including the GPS altitude readings because we were approaching the highest point of the canal at 190 metres, where the water flows East to the Mediterranean and West to the Atlantic.)