Vietnam tour: Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hue, Hue An and Ho Chi Minh City.

Off again on a long-haul flight can you believe it, gluttons for punishment! Hopefully it will be worth it as we are visiting Vietnam as part of an Exodus tour ("Vietnam Adventure"). We will start in the north of the country in Hanoi and then after a short overnight visit to the famous Halong Bay to the east of Hanoi, return to the city to get an overnight train to Hue to the south. From here it is a four hour bus journey to Da Nang on the coast and on to Hue An for a few days. After that we take an internal flight to Ho Chi Minh City (Siagon) for a short stay which also includes a bus trip to the Cu Chi tunnels used by the Viet Cong during the war.
Unfortunately we were not able to  finish the trip as we had to leave Vietnam because of family illness back home and so we missed  two days in the Mekong delta and the four days we had planned to stay in Hong Kong at the end of the holiday. The following just gives a flavour of the highlights of the journey.

Hanoi. 

We arrived on Hanoi via Hong Kong on 23rd November and had a couple of days to ourselves before joining the trip. This gave us some time to explore the city and old town on foot and get use to the very heavy traffic that made crossing the street something of a challenge. The secret is to walk slowly, not stopping and not going quickly, so that the scooters, motor bikes, rickshaws and cars can pass around you. It helps if you can get with a bunch of other pedestrians! No one stops for zebra crossings and a lot of the traffic completely ignored red traffic lights. Having said that, there was less use of the horn compared with India and there are a few places in the centre that allow some limited tranquility away from the roads, the Hoan Kiem lake being one of them.

Looking from the north of Hoan Kiem Lake to the Ngoc Son temple on the island. This is in the centre of  Hanoi and you can just see the red bridge (on the left hand side of the photo) that connects the temple to the lake shore path.

On Sunday, the authorities closed some of the roads around the lake so it was great to see children playing especially in the evening with card building games, some sport that involved kicking a shuttlecock between players, walking on stilts (reminding me of my own childhood!), group skipping just as we did at primary school, and playing instruments or singing, a real family and community atmosphere. As we sat in the park we had several groups of children and teenagers gather around to quiz us to improve their English language. Sometimes they had their parents and teacher with them as well so it was educational for us too.

With the traffic banned on Sunday, the children practiced their motor skills on the road bordering the south of the lake. We also found a very nice French style patisserie , "The Silk Path" also known as "S'Patisserie" along this very road near the lake.

We also visited the residence of Oh Chi Minh, the Vietnamese leader who more than any other person is responsible for the unification of Vietnam. He lived in the grounds of the French Presidential Palace refusing to live in the palace itself. He lived in what would have been servants quarters and later in a stilt house a few metres away at various periods between 1958 and 1969. I well recall Oh Chi Minh from my student protest days in the 60's.

The Stilt house where Oh Chi Minh lived after independence from the French. This is set near an avenue of Mango trees and ponds where he would stroll. The Presidential Palace is out of view but to the right of the photo.

We also visited the Oh Chi Minh Mausoleum which was closed to the public for repairs. Although Oh requested cremation, the Party thought it best he follow the example of Lenin and hence the Mausoleum. We were told that the site was busy at all times and there were generally long queues to enter the Mausoleum. 

We also visited other areas including the "Temple of Literature", Hoa Lo prison and the old quarter of the city (again) including a showing of "Water Puppets" in a theatre near the lake. The temple dates back to 1070 and houses the first national university, an alter to confucius, many statues, Turtle Steles (that commemorate the success of the university graduates) and bonsai trees.

A tranquil scene inside the temple of literature with an entrance through to a courtyard with dozens of students pretending to graduate or should I say, practicing to graduate. Also in the next courtyard was the alter to Confucius.

An alter to Confucius inside the temple, similar to many alters we encountered on the trip.

The Hoa Lo prison or "Hanoi Hilton", as the American prisoners of war nicknamed it, was interesting but very saddening reflecting the futility of war. The prison dates back to colonial rule and has been mostly demolished with only the main front gate and cell/courtyards at the front remaining. The displays where informative and graphic mostly dwelling on the time of the "American War" as the Vietnamese call what we refer to as the Vietnam War. Happily it was time to move on and see the wonders of Ha Long Bay (in Vietnamese, all words are single syllable so words like Vietnam are actually Viet Nam or Halong is Ha Long).

Ha Long Bay.

This was a four hour bus ride east to the coast; on route we stopped for refreshments at a large pottery near Dong Trieu east of Hanoi and had some green tea refreshment and a chance to look around the pottery.

A line of kilns at the pottery near Dong Trieu. There was a very large pile of wood outside for the kilns and at the top of the building a hole in the wall to throw out the broken pots!

On reaching the bay (in fact an island to the west of the main port), everything went like clockwork moving off the bus to the boat and a welcome drink with the crew and assignment of cabins. In no time we joined an armada of vessels heading south-easterly out to the islands.

A glimpse of part of  Ha Long Bay with the limestone islets covered with tropical vegetation

The views were spectacular even though it was an overcast day. We didn't see much wildlife but did notice rubbish in the polluted water (I guess 500 boats in the bay will cause a lot of problems with sewage). The visit allowed us to cruise for a while and then climb to a large limestone cave, the largest we'd ever been in. After that I climbed to the top of one of the islets just to miss sunset but giving good views of the surrounding waters.

Looking out from the top of an islet across the myriad of tourist boats setting-up for a night.

The following morning we took an option to go by boat into a lagoon formed when the limestone eroded to such an extent that only the steep walls of a lagoon remained with a small entrance portal to the bay when the tide was low. We did spot some smaller birds and possible a Black Kite as we went around the perimeter. This wasn't a tranquil experience as we were accompanied by other boats full of Chinese tourist who were singing, shouting and rocking their boats amusing some of us!

A group of Chinese tourists entering the lagoon through a small portal from the main bay.

The vegetation clinging to the limestone buttresses inside the lagoon.

After this we made our way back to port to return to Hanoi and get an overnight train to Hue further south. However, before departing the chef showed us how he cut flowers from vegetables and made a carrot net. The food on board had been delicious so it was great to see how they added the final touches to the presentation.

Why not try this? It is cut from a single carrot and covers sea food when presented as a dish.

 Hue.

What can I say about the overnight train journey? Well we were lucky as we had a relatively quite part of the train; some of the others on the trip had a group of young australians next door who were determined to party all night. However, inspite of the noisy track and intermittent bumps, we did sleep for a few hours and the night seemed to pass quickly.

Hue is a city of two halves, the old quarters and citadel is north of the river whilst our hotel and the more recent developments is on the south side. The city was the old capital of Vietnam (1802-1945 through the Nguyen Dynasty) and was severely damaged in the Tet offensive in early 1968. The citadel was also severely damaged during the war but there is enough left to give a good impression of its' former glory. Unfortunately it rained very heavily during our visit to the extent that our waterproofs soaked and we bought some 1 dollar plastic ponchos that did prove effective!

Inside the citadel in Hue; we have many photos but all in the rain! There are many areas needing restoration, something for the future hopefully

We did do another visit to the Thien Mu Pagoda but I think with the rain and the train journey, we were ready to retire to the hotel and dry-off. 

The rain the following day had put some of the group off the planned cycle tour to a local market at the Thanh Toan bridge but soon after starting, the weather cleared to a bright day and a group of us had a pleasant ride through the city into the rice fields. Cycling on the roads seemed easier than walking, perhaps because we were moving as a group.

Beginning of our cycle ride all ready for the rain (Helen's at the rear) after getting away from the city traffic.

The area had recently been heavily flooded including the rice paddies.

The market was relatively small but included most fruit and vegetables that we'd seen as well as snails and snake fish. The old bridge (dating from 1776) with a tiled roof and alter is famous in the area. Near-by there was a water level marker indicating the depths of various floods over the last few years. Many of these floods would have covered the bridge and all of the village.

The Thanh Toan Bridge on a wet day; inside there are seats and an alter.

The afternoon was a "free" one so we took a walk for lunch at the "Golden Rice" (traditional Vietnamese food and very good) and then alongside the Perfume River to the pedestrian bridge (Trang Tien Bridge) and into a pleasant parkland strip along the northern boundary of the river. From there, we crossed to the citadel (now in sunshine) and visited the Museum of Royal Antiquities.

Parkland by the Huong (Perfume) River. This is near the citadel. You can see the pedestrian bridge on the right in the distance. What you can't see is the hundreds of scooters on the centre lane of the bridge!

Hoi An

On the road again, this time to cross the mountains via the Hai Van pass (490 m) to Da Nang, an important sea port and beach tourist development and then onto Hoi An. On route we passed the largest lagoon in south-east Asia, the Dam Cau Hai, and stopped for a break at another lagoon, Lang Co, before starting the climb to the pass. Although the pass isn't a great height it does seem more because it is a straight rise from sea level. The pass has been an important passage and has defensive structures dating from the Nguyen dynasty and more recently during the american war.

View from the Hai Van Gate looking east to the ocean. Note another misty and rainy day and I couldn't find a view without electric cables!...I did try.

The forts are a popular stop for the tourist buses so it was impossible to get a photo without including lots of people! Unfortunately, the area has been neglected and I felt a large viewing platform over the ridge would have been sufficient, particularly on a clear day.
We stopped in Da Nang at the Cham Museum which is dedicated to relics from all over Vietnam of the Champa Empire which thrived in southern and central Vietnam from the second century until its' eventual absorption into Vietnam.

There were many examples of Champa art and statues. This is one of Aspara (singer and dancer) and on the right, Saraswati a Hindu goddess.

After this we had a picnic lunch in the recreational area of Marble Mountain enjoying some fresh coconuts. The mountains are a cluster of five limestone/marble hills overlooking Da Nang. We visited Mount Thuy which has large Buddhist grottos and great views from the peak (it is easy to climb with plenty of steps). The grotto we visited was made from a large limestone cave and was reportedly used by the Viet Kong as a field hospital in sight of the american airfield base in Da Nang.

Taken from the top of Mount Thuy with a view over "China" beach and the modern city of Da Nang. Da Nang was a major supply port and airfield base in the american war. Because of the political differences with China about ownership of islands, the Vietnamese have renamed the beach.

A guardian of the Buddhist grotto on Mount Thuy.

Of course in Vietnam you have to expect dragons everywhere and the temples and statues on the mountain had an adequate population:

Lots of Dragons!

It was then a short bus journey to Hoi An and our hotel near the old town. We spent the next morning doing a walking tour of the old town visiting temples, shops and the market. Mostly we were encouraged to buy things, apparently through the power of "Lonely Planet" tourist come to the city to buy clothes and leather goods etc. We bucked the trend and bought a chopping knife and coconut kitchen spatulas from the massive daily market. Of the cities we'd visited so far this was the most tourist orientated and judging by the numbers, very successful.

What a relief, a pedestrian (and cycle) street in the old centre of Hoi An. This street leads south to the Hoai river.

The following day we did an extra cycle tour to a "poor" island as our guide explained it. This island is east of Cam Kim, a larger island in the Thu Bon River and now connected to the mainland by a bridge. We took our cycles on an old barge across to the island and then set-off cycling on footpaths and walkways through the island visiting mat weavers, a rice wine maker and then made our own noodles for lunch.

A low bridge over  a river channel as we cycled to the north end of the island. The bridge was under repair after the recent bad weather.

The production of rice wine (the distilled version called Ruou gao) is something like 40% alcohol and is made from white rice which is first cooked, drained and fermented first without water added and then with water. It is eventually distilled to produce a clear liquid ready for consumption. The special things about the production we saw was the old war veteran running the operation, the pigs next door feeding off the left-over mash and the fact that their effluent was used to produce methane which was used to burn and heat the still.

The rice after boiling and now starting to ferment. In the background you can see where the pigs are kept.

The noodle making operation was equally enthralling and I'm sure we could do it at home having been shown. The first stage is to make a sheet from rice water which could be made into rice paper if dried. If not a double sheet can be shredded and made into noodles.

Cloudy but no rain we wait for the barge to load our cycles and get back to Hoi An. Our landing spot was under water as the river rose so we had to cycle a little further to get a good spot for the barge to land.

Later we went to My Son and the relics of a major site of Hindu temples from the Champa Kingdom dating back to the 4 th century and extending to the 14 th century. There was major damage by american bombs during the Vietnamese War. The temples were rediscovered by the French and some attempts to restore them were made.

Some of the best examples of the Hindu temples at My Son. This had reverted to forest when the French rediscovered them. 

Oh Chi Minh City (Siagon).

The last leg of the tour for us was Oh Chi Minh City the former capital of South Vietnam. Rather than experience another train journey, we flew to the city and immediately started a tour to see the Presidential Palace,  War Museum, Notre Dam cathedral and the old french post office building. The War Museum was very big, very graphic in places; we didn't get time to see everything although the bits we missed to do with the tanks and ammunition wasn't of particular interest. I didn't think the posters did much justice to the"South Vietnamese Puppet" forces that amounted to 897,000 compared with 549,000 Americans in 1969. 

The visit to the Palace was like stepping back in time and seeing the affluence of the ruling class at that time, in stark contrast to the majority of people in the city or surrounding countryside. No wonder they were doomed to failure. 

Our last visit was to the Cu Chi tunnel complex to the north-west of the city. This was a salient reminder of the old saying "necessity is the mother of invention". With no where else to go the Viet Kong went underground and lived in tunnels scooped from the earth. The complex gives a vivid impression of their lives and also the devilish means they invented to trap or kill the enemy. 

No standing room, the tunnels had restrictions in size to prevent the larger enemy troops entering. The soil in this area is amazingly compact, almost like sandstone but softer.

Some Viet Kong models sawing a bomb in half to get the explosives for their devices.

There were exhibitions to show areas for cooking, clothes and footwear fabrication, weapon making  and larger areas underground for recreation and planning. There was also an excellent historical film and a model of the tunnel network. I did manage to squeeze into the top of an original tunnel and close the disguise hatch but maneuvering beyond that was impossible because of my height.

A monument to Thich Quang Duc a Buddhist monk who burned himself to death in June 1963 protesting about the persecution of Buddhists by the South Vietnamese Government.

We also had some "free time" in the city so explored the local streets (probably more hazardous than Hanoi because of the volume and speed of the traffic, again mainly scooters and motor bikes) and a central park and in the evening we went to a show at the Siagon Opera House in the city and meal afterwards. The "A O Show" was acrobatics done in a very Vietnamese style involving a lot of bamboo poles and coracles, very clever and entertaining.

A view of part of Oh Chi Minh City at night; lots of high rise buildings, we could have been in any large city in the world. There is no doubt that the  Chinese, South Koreans and Japanese are investing on a large scale in Vietnam.

We've never been to Vietnam before so it is difficult to judge how quickly it has developed after the last war but for me, it was surprising how modern the cities were, for example the coastline around Da Nang could have been mistaken for the Costa Blanca. We were surprised, given that it is a communist state, that public transport wasn't evident and depended on individual scooters etc. Even the rail system, although state owned is run by private companies, the people have to pay for their education and health care and as in the west, have little regard for their politicians. It seemed to be a full-on market economy, a nation of shop keepers and traders with a massive potential for further development. There is no doubt that it has a very complex history intertwined with Champa, Chinese, Japanese, French cultures (and now more recently western culture in general, e.g. English is the second language) to mention only the bits we came across in our two week stay.

Canal du Midi from Castelnaudary to Port Cassafieres ( Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrenees, France)

 During a family get-together a few years ago, a group of us spoke about a canal trip and what fun it would be but only finally got things together this year. We chose the Canal du Midi because of the location in France, climate in September and good food in the region. The Canal du Midi is perhaps the most famous of the French canals and one of the first to be built (between 1662 and 1681, see https://www.french-waterways.com/waterways/south/canal-midi/ ). Helen and I have no experience of boats and not much of canals so the trip was a challenge in many ways. We were accompanied and helped by my brother, Brian, and sister Sharon with their partners, Sue and Daryl. Unfortunately my eldest sister Jeanette and her husband Lou had to withdraw at the last minute.
We had great fun enjoying the food, the countryside, wildlife, wine (and beer) and the 62 locks not to mention the low and narrow bridges over the 157 km section. As we were travelling east to the Mediterranean, our boat had to descend all the way (approximately 170 m in total), which is supposed to be easier than ascending. 

 Our boat was rented from "Le Boat", the largest tourist company operating on the canal with depots at Castelnaudary, Trebes, Homps and Port Cassafieres. We opted for comfort with a Vision4 boat that measures 15 m in length and about 4.7 m in width and sleeps 9 people. It had boosters on both sides of the rear and front that helped to manoeuvre in confined spaces such as locks but they proved too weak when confronted with a side wind on the canal itself!!

The trip to the start at Castelnaudary was straight forward from Bristol airport to Toulouse (where we stayed overnight) and then onto the start by train. There is a direct line from Toulouse to Beziers (near Port Cassafieres) that goes through Castelnaudary and Carcassonne. The others came by various route as there are flight connections to Carcassonne and Beziers from the UK. It proved a short walk from the station to the "Le Boat" depot in the canal basin at Castenaudary. Here we prepared ourselves for the trip, got in supplies from a local "Nettos" and went through a somewhat brief induction involving driving in a circle around the basin and parking the boat, the later with help from the instructor. After that we had a relaxing meal in "Le Cassoulet Gourmand" at the side of the basin and I tried my first (and I have to say, my last) Cassoulet dish for which the region is known.

Our view across "Le Grande Bassin" from our boat in Castelnaudary. The steeple of St. Michel Collegiate church is at the top of the hill with the Cugarel windmill further north overlooking the plains.

In the morning I cycled out on my folding, uncomfortable and low-geared cycle supplied by "Le Boat" to find the boulangerie in the town and at the same time find the stone windmill mentioned in the guide. 

The sun rising over the plains and "Montagne Noir", Black Mountains,  in the far distance taken from a viewpoint near the windmill. These mountains formed a dark background to the north for most of the journey and reminded me that the canal waters started life some distance from the canal as it flowed east to the Mediterranean and west to the Atlantic.

After that and breakfast, it was all hands to the helm and ropes to tackle our first series of locks that took us out of the basin to the canal proper. This went amazingly well considering we were learning on the job so as to speak. With gloves for handling the ropes and good communications between the crew, we must have looked experienced although we couldn't see the lock-keeper as he was hidden away in a tower with his hands covering his eyes! They advise you to wear life jackets when in the locks but I think I only saw a couple of people doing this on the entire trip.

Our first view of the canal from the boat as we started the descent of the first series of locks out of the basin.
Notice the lines of plane trees that border the locks and canal, the first of many.

Progress was very good on the first day and involved 15 locks in total to reach the road intersection to Villepinte. We stopped at the Vivier locks (3 in total) for a tomato tosdadas made by our chef, Daryl. Villepinte isn't exactly on the canal but a short walk or cycle ride (less than a kilometer) and has a boulangerie, restaurant and another kilometer down the main street to the east is a petrol station with an attached supermarket. We had a supermeal in the restaurant "Les deux Acacias" which amazingly does have two acacia trees, one either side of the entrance door.

This was taken from the bridge near where we moored for the night. The plane tree avenue leads to the village of Villepinte.

The next morning we cruised for about an hour through three more locks to reach Bram where we stopped to walk to the market near the centre. This was about a kilometer along a combined cycle-way and footpath and so avoided the traffic. The large market had lots of choice for supplies and so we returned well-laddened ready for our lunch at the quayside.

Our lunch spot on the quay at Bram. Our boat number 13, is the one on the lower right of the photo. You can get refreshments and food here and there is a waterpoint nearby on the track to Bram.

We went further downstream in the afternoon to find a sunny spot to moor for the rest of the day. We were spoilt for choice as this was a quiet section. Some of the plane trees in the vicinity had died from a fungal disease, "Canker Rot" and some workers were clearing the banks ready for replanting, mainly with oak. The trees were originally planted about 1830 to shade the canal and reduce evaporation, as a wind shield for the barges and also to reinforce the banks with their roots. They also added a lot to the beauty of the canal that has helped make it a present day tourist attraction and World Heritage Site.

Moored in the dappled shade under plane trees on the section before the village of Villesquelande

Brian and I did a cycle trip to nearby Villesquelande and returned along farm tracks through the vineyards with vines loaded with small black grapes, to regain the canal track.  It was great to be in a more remote section of the canal, and with the mild temperatures to sit-out and listen to the sounds of the dark night. The younger members of the crew could hear the deafening sounds of the Coypu moving in the water and through the shrubbery in the adjacent woodland. Those of us more challenged by sound took longer to adjust to the subtlety of all of this but did eventually tune-in. These semi-aquatic animals (Myocastor coypus) are native to south america and are smaller than beavers (without the flat tail) but much larger than muskrats. Using a torch we spotted several in the water and also on the bankside and could plainly hear them in the woods opposite the boat. During the day we also saw several kingfishers and different birds of prey that we couldn't identify.

The time for wildlife; night on the canal.

The following day was to the "big city" of the trip, Carcassonne, but first we waylaid at the quay at Villesquelande to get drinking water and supplies for breakfast. This time Daryl chose to cycle with me to the local grocery. This I think proved entertaining for all of us as Daryl's cycle seat decided to upturn to an uncomfortable position. Not believing this, I also tried the bike to be similarly thwarted  and decided to cycle standing! Anyway, we got supplies and everyone was happy.
Moving on we stopped for coffee on route at a cafe catering mainly for cyclist. The canal path is a popular long-distance cycle route as we saw many cyclists each day. I imagine it is a pleasant enough ride with few hills, plenty of local facilities and very little route finding problems.

The oldest Elm tree in France in the village square in Villesquelande. The lower heart is now cemented for protection against the elements and it has several supports but has managed to avoid the fate of  many of the local Elm trees.

I made a slight blunder on entering Carcassonne as a large tourist boat came through a bridge I had to give way and did so by moving from the middle to the side of the canal and subsequently found that full throttle didn't thrust us forward as we got embroiled in the silt. The quick actions of the crew saved the day as they used the pole against the bank (without falling in!) so it was with some relief that after a few minutes we made head-way to the centre of the bridge ready to dock in the port. Here we paid 20 euros for 24 h to get electricity and water with a plan to tour Carcassonne on the "petit tren" to see the medieval city the next morning. We had a pleasant meal at "Le Bistro" before retiring for what seemed a quiet night in the city. The morning was dreary and cool but dry so we left as planned after a brioche breakfast and became sightseers for the morning culminating in lunch at the "Le Jardin l'Escargot" in the heart of the castle. This area of the city is impressive with the double-walls and ramparts but as you might expect is very much a key tourist destination, one of the most important in France.

Medieval Carcassonne between the walls of the citadel.

You could easily spend a couple of days exploring, particularly if you're interested in medieval history and the history of the Cathars and the Inquisition. However, our time was limited as we needed to leave Carcassonne and head towards Trebes. Leaving the port under one of the lowest bridges was challenging with only a couple of inches to spare either side and everyone literally on the deck!!...aim, slow down, point and shoot seems to come to mind (and hope for no wind gusts).

Leaving Carcassonne....heads down, it will be easy!

We stopped for the night in the country before reaching Trebes and went in on Saturday morning to call in at the "Le Boat" quay, refill with water and have lunch. The "Le Boat" staff here were very helpful and solved most of our problems with the boat and thankfully allowed me to swap the mini- cycle for a proper off-road bike with big wheels and gears and so made my day! Thank you.

Colourful Trebes, one of the prettiest towns to stop for a meal and get supplies. The "Le Boat" base is on the left in the distance. There is a boulangerie near the bridge that opened around 3 o'clock.

Immediately after leaving Trebes we met a queue of boats waiting to get through three locks. There was a problem with the lock gates as some wood had jammed in near the hinges so had to be cleared and checked. As the last boats through are generally at 6.40 pm for closing at 7. pm, we ended up in front of the queue at the end of the day and ready for a start at 9 the next morning.
The next day, Sunday, was a "big lock day" with 13 in total to get to Redorte (about 5 hours) passing through the Alguille lock with its many sculptures in front of the lock keepers house.

Some of our welcoming audience at the Alguille lock.

We did well with the locks with Daryl taking care of the stern and Brian and Helen at the bow  and Sharon conveying crucial calls and keeping a friendly eye on the lock keeper! Sue kept her head down amazed at the close calls I think. The wind had increased and made steering more challenging when jiggling into the locks, especially with three boats per lock.
The mooring in Redorte was full so we continued a hundred metres downstream to moor besides the cycle track. I spent a couple of hours cycling east around part of Jouarres Lake and then into Homps to see what the "Le Boat" quay was like. The town looked dominated by the quay with little space left for mooring. The cycle ride gave me a feel for the canal track which was a mixture of hard surface, hard clay and some stretches that were very stony. I think a hybrid cycle would find this section doable but challenging in places.

A view north across Jourres lake. There were sandy beaches, a few fishermen packing up for the day and a couple of wind surfers in action.

We dined at "La Table de Riquet" which is well situated at the side of the canal and would make a great lunch stop in the sunshine.
We left fairly early in the morning in the rain with the expectation of a wet day in front of us. After the lock, we were soon in Homps, moored and refilling with water. We had conflicting advise from "Le Boat" staff about whether we needed to refill with diesel at Homps. At the induction one person told us to refill at Homps so we enquired at the reception here and they told us it wasn't necessary and we'd have plenty for the journey.

Some of the locks sold provisions for crews passing through. This is the lock after La Redort called " Ecluse de Jouarres". As we were the only boat around, we had the lock to ourselves, a pleasant change.

The rain continued until we got to Argens-Minervois where we moored-up for lunch at one of our best lunch stops, "La Guinguette"; here are a couple of photos:

The entrance to the restaurant / bar, a welcome break from the mornings rain.

A view from the colourful restaurant out to the canal and our way east.

and the town itself taken as the weather cleared as we left to go on to Le Samail. After the lock in Argens-Minevois, we had something like 54 km of canal without a lock in site, a dream ride along the 31.50 m contour to the multiple locks near Beziers.

Looking north of the canal to the centre of Argens-Minervois.

Le Samail was quite busy with boats lining the canal but we found a mooring past the second bridge and convenient for the centre. There were lots of RV's and camper vans parked for the night next to the quay. Daryl and I dashed off to the book store that is a trade-mark of the town; the English language section was limited but I could appreciate the massive range of French books. After that we searched around for a grocery store and found the barge that we ordered food for the next morning. As we needed more supplies I cycled to the local supermarket which is only a few kilometres away on the edge of town.

The canal at Le Samail looking upstream with the grocery barge on the right of the photo.

After a leisurely breakfast, we headed further with a plan to get through the only tunnel of the section, the Malpas tunnel, the first canal tunnel ever built in the world. We took about two and a half hours to reach Caperstang and the lowest bridge of the canal (which was a tight squeeze) and then wandered around the old town and settled for lunch at the "Le Provence Restaurant Pizzeria".

The bridge at Caperstang (one of the lowest on the canal) together with the scrape marks of many boats and barges.

We then filled the tank with water (the taps and electric are operated by a card purchased from the quay masters office) and then cruised for an hour to reach the tunnel. We were a little nervous about negotiating the tunnel but in the event it proved straight forward and much shorter than we imagined (it's 161 m in length, 6.45 m wide and there is plenty of head room). When we approached, someone on the bank shouted that a large barge was coming through so we dawdled around trying to keep the boat fixed against the wind, what fun! Although you can't see through the tunnel as you approach on the right, once you get near the entrance you can see through and don't need lights.

Waiting in the wind at the tunnel entrance; will it fit in the tunnel?

Light at the end of the tunnel!!

 From here it was only another 15 minutes cruising to Colombiers, one of the larger towns on the canal. Our plan was to spend the night docked here and then make an early start to catch the one hour slot for the Fonserannes locks at 8.30 to 9.00 am. These locks are famous on the canal with 7 locks giving a fall of about 15 m in the canal into Beziers. There is also a disused water slope adjacent to the locks that was built in the  early 80's to replace the locks but after many failures was abandoned in 2001. The locks were operated differently from the other locks as there are only two time slots each way during the day. If we missed the morning slot then we'd have to wait for the afternoon one but in the event we soon joined the queue and were in the locks descending. We had two people on top of the locks with two on the ropes on the boat and it all went very smoothly. I did manage to stall the engine at the steep turn from the last lock into the canal but the boat seemed to know the way out without my interference!

View from the first lock at the top of the descent.

We stopped briefly at the Beziers quay for coffee and fresh water and then went onto Villeneuve les Beziers for the night. We moored before the lock and made this our base for our stay. The quay after the lock was busy and not really suitable for a long stay. There was a boulangerie  near the lock and other services in the town. I had one of the best meals of the trip at "Les Enfants Terribles" in the central square, a short walk from the boat. I also enjoyed a cycle trip to the coast over farm tracks through vineyards and along cycle-ways but only to find a nudist beach, so no photos of the Mediterranean until later.

This area of France is famous for wine production and we passed miles of vineyards beside the canal. This was a closer encounter by cycle.

The next day was our last day on the canal as we approached Port Cassafieres and the end of our trip and we had planned to stop the night near Portagnes to cover the short distance the following morning. However, on reaching Portagnes we realised we had a serious problem with the waste tank and on contacting "Le Boat" staff they came to look and then advised us to go into Port where they could fix the pump in 30 minutes. This wasn't a problem as we had a leisurely lunch in Portagnes and then a short cruise into Port whilst the boat was fixed. 

Last of the day's sunshine as the fishermen await their catches.

Here they had a bar and restaurant and after Brian and I cycled to the Mediterranean near Portragnes beach, we had a relaxing last evening before getting a taxi and making our own way back to the UK. Helen and I had an extra day to explore Beziers before getting the train back to Toulouse and flight to Bristol.

Can  you guess what visited us on route on the boat?

The last photo goes to Pierre-Paul Riquet whose statue is in the central plaza in Beziers. He was the drive behind building the canal between 1661 and 1681. He was of course assisted by many engineers and not to mention the thousands of workers (including many women) who literally dug the canal out of the earth, Sadly, although it was a childhood dream to connect the Atlantic with the Mediterranean, he died 10 months before the official opening of the canal. The French are of course very proud of one of their greatest engineers and to testify to this we came across many streets and boulevards named after the engineer in the villages and towns as we meandered down the canal.

The bronze statue of Pierre-Paul Riquet (erected in 1838 in the Allees Paul Riquet) the leading engineer in the construction of the Canal du Midi; a fitting tribute.