We Head South (in the car)- Sept. 11-18 (Pt. 1)

 The original plan for last year was to head down the Saone/Rhone Rivers to the famous Canal du Midi in southern France. Obviously that didn’t happen and there wasn’t nearly enough time for it this year so, hope springing eternal, we decided to spend a week in the area this year with an eye to making the trip next year. We have also heard that it can be difficult to find winter moorings so we wanted to make ourselves known to the the various marinas so that when we contact them next year for a place they’ll have a vague idea of who we are.

The canal starts near the end of the Rhone River and heads west to the city of Toulouse. From there it becomes the Canal de Garonne, alongside the river that gives it its name. There are several connected waterways; the Rivers Lot and Baize and the canals Rhone a Sete, de la Robine and Montech.

Cathy Jo’s painting tasks complete and my chores under control, Saturday we headed off to Beziers, right at the eastern end of the Midi for a four day stay.

The city is dominated by the Cathedral of St. Nazaire, built beginning in the13th and 14th centuries, overlooking the River Orb, which flows below the hill.

My photoshop skills aren’t up to removing the crane 

rebuilding portions of the old city walls and the bridge.

The cathedral features a monumental altar.

Our apartment was the first floor of a large house on the side of a hill just outside the medieval city. The view from our porch to the west included the hill of Languedoc.

We really liked the quiet, peaceful setting…except for Sunday morning. It turns out it was the first day of hunting season. It sounded like a war zone in the trees below us starting shortly after 7 am.

On Sunday after visiting the port at Bezier we got our first look at the famous Midi oval locks and the famous Midi hireboat traffic (it is epic!). Just outside of town is the Fonserannes staircase, a set of 6 locks rising about 13.5 meters.

At the bottom of the staircase.

Stuffed with hireboats.

Entering the second lock going up.

Monday we headed out to the Mediterranean coast as we needed some boat supplies. There are no chandleries in the Briare area and there was a huge marina with many stores in nearby Agde so we spent the day at the waters edge. We concluded our business early and spent the afternoon driving around, lunch in Marseillan. It was very windy and we read later that 9 people drowned along the southern French coast in the choppy conditions.

A hireboat heads out into the Etang de Thau, waters protected from the open Med.

Tuesday we began our marina visits, touring Capestang, Castlenaudry, Homps and Carcassonne.

Besides having the lowest bridge on the Canal du Midi (We measured. We’ll barely fit through) Capestang features the Collegiate church of Saint Etienne.

Wednesday we checked out of our apartment in Beziers and made our way to a chambre de hotes (a bed and breakfast) in St. Nicholas de Grave, a small town near Moassic, for a two night stay. Our wonderful host, Severine of the delicious breakfasts, welcomed us to Au Coeur des Elements after a day on the road visiting ports in Castlesarrasin and Montauban, with a side trip to the village of Lautrec.

Lautrec was one of those happy accidents. We were motoring along when we say a roadside sign for a Village Étape. Just another beautiful medieval village, this one with a windmill.

The view from the hill.

A typical building in the village.

We were just 10k from the town of Moissac with it’s marina, and an hour from the junction of the Baize and Garonne Rivers at Buzet sur Baise. Those two were on our list for Thursday.