September 11, 2022 Spent the morning in Narbonne then left about 2 PM and traveled approximately 4.5 kilometers up the canal to a lock where we moored for the night.

Morning reflection in the canal

Some 100 years ago there was a large laundry built over canal directly behind us next to the lock.

Sunday morning breakfast of bacon and eggs enjoyed by our shipmates while we walked around the old city area.

Expresso machines in a shop window.

Yesterday afternoon this street was packed with people, early Sunday morning it nearly deserted.

Too early for the shoppers to come out.

A great idea on how to use an old chair seen in front of a flower shop.

Old city area architecture.

Typical street in the old city area.

The place to get your poodle coiffured.

The sign says it all. If you can read French, which i can not.

We were lost for a time in the maze of tiny narrow streets, then suddenly there was the cathedral in front of us.

The back of the cathedral offers distinctively different views from the front.

It is hard to get it all in a photo.

Trying for a natural frame.

Interesting style.

The transept back here was never finished.

This was not supposed to be a bird photo, but these pigeons just had to fly in and land to get in the photo.

Don’t get too excited about another gargoyle gallery. This cathedral had a very poor selection of gargoyles. This one is obviously a dog.

This one resembles a cat and was the next one over from the dog.

A person with an iron collar maybe?

A hound with its head broken off?

Another animal with its head missing. That is all the gargoyles I could see that were worth photographing.

When you wander you never know what you will stumble across.

Back on board the boat, an aperitif to salute the day.

Leaving Narbonne.

Bridge under a bridge above a walkway beside a canal.

No problem with where to go.

Giving the Capt. time away from the wheel.

The night’s mooring alongside the canal near a lock.

A nice quiet, shady spot.

Here the water level was a little above normal.

Our meal was fixed aboard the boat.

Good food, good friends, good times.

And we even had ice cream for dessert.

The mooring even had a guard cat.

September 10, 2022 A very slow lazy day of travel off Canal du Midi on two other canals to the town of Narbonne. Once we turned off the Canal du Midi we never saw another boat during our entire trip to Narbonne, plus all the locks were automatic with no lockkeepers. The downside was that it was another very hot day, the excessive heat in Europe continues.

As always, reflection start the day.

So calm and peaceful in the early morning.

Picture perfect.

The grocery boat.

Shortly before I took this photo of the three geese alongside our boat, a couple with a small dog walked past. The dog turned towards the geese and let a bark. Bad move, One of the geese immediately went into attack mode, stretching out its neck at the dog while honking and hissing. It was so fascinating to watch that I never thought to take any photos. My Bad!

Our paths crossed in the early morn.

Old and new.

The first of our “ducks” during the day.

Our first of many locks during the day.

The control box, same as before.

An empty lock does not fill gently.

The locks were close together.

Our boat slowly entering a lock. How calm it is compared to the roiling rushing water as the lock was filling.

Jeff and his lookout. He is a master at handling the boat, never bumping into the sides of the lock as he enters or leaves.

View from the bow of the boat as we enter a lock.

Much of the day was like this.

Bird photos two days in a row?

The roots of long gone plane trees line the bank in many places.

How sad all the trees have had to of been cut down due to disease.

More stumps.

Interesting bridge.

The remains of a building alongside the canal at the edge of a field of grapes.

pretty plant with grapes growing in the background. Along the canal there were huge fields of grapes that extended for many kilometers.

Capt. Jeff, the former Naval officer, has taught us how to properly coil our mooring lines.

She’s never met a flower she didn’t want to photograph.

Cathedral

No doubt what the name of this city is.

Remains of a Roman road.

A pretty sculpture.

This 10K race literally went right next to where we had the boat moored.

One of the many runners that we cheered for as the passed by the boat.

September 9, 2022 A long hot day on the canal.

RV’s parked overnight as seen from our cabin window where we were moored in a marina at Homps. This section had no shore power hookups, but once again our generator worked all night to provide the current needed to power all medical devices used overnight onboard.

It is actually over 100 years old, but it has been completely restored and modernized by its proud owners.

Reflections on the good Life.

Reflections of modern life.

What can I say, I like to take images with reflections in them.

This hotel boat took up the entire lock and caused us to wait a half hour for it to arrive and pass through the lock.

For quite some time, i.e. quite a few locks, we had three boats in the lock each time. Finally the other two boats sped up and we were left behind which meant easier locking for us.

Exiting a lock with the other two boats in it. Depending on the size of the boats in a lock there is a certain order in which they have to enter and exit.

In this section of the canal the water level appeared to be about 4 to 6 inches lower than normal.

Lunch is ready.

lunch is being eaten while moored along the canal while the lockkeepers are on their lunch break.

Hard working but happy, deckhands.

Lockkeepers garden.

12th century chateau.

Another view of the chateau.

Every trip I do a bird photo, this is the one for this trip.

Houseboat

A very nice houseboat.

The electrical outlet in our bedroom is up at ceiling level. The weight of all the plugs and cords tends to pull everything downward. You can see my solution to the problem.

A better photograph of what The previous photo was showing. The surface is on the bed being charged. Phone hotspot is on top of the cabinet where my hearing aid charger is also sitting.

At times today the canal was right alongside a fairly heavily travel road.

Photographing the photographer.

Selfie.

It was very hot and tiring today, so a few moments of rest was very welcome.

A very pretty, but also very low bridge ahead.

It was indeed very low, but also very pretty.

We moored along the bank tonight, very near the grocery boat.

This Citroen was parked near the boat.

The grocery boat. But it sells more than groceries, so it could also be called the beer and wine boat. This is a local beer and I was told it was very dark and very strong, making it just my preferred kind of beer.

These folks were selling hot dogs in a baguette. The baguette is cut in half, a hole cut from the cut end to the unsut end and the hot dog inserted into it. Sorry, but no photo. Still is was another good day on the canal.

September 8, 2022 Today’s post will be what might be called a day on the Canal du Midi.

We stayed in a marina last night with shore power, a short distance downstream was the first lock. Being so close to the town it draws a crowd to watch the boats go through the locks. The lockkeeper is in the foreground.

It was a triple lock, here we as passing from the first lock into the second lock.

Watching to make sure there is clearance to the side.

The lockkeeper had boats going in opposite directions in the center lock at the same time.

A small boat in our lock makes it much easier for us.

The lockkeeper did a masterful job of move boats through locks in two directions at once, plus she was very personable speaking good English.

Relaxing on the canal while checking the route.

It was day we received news of the passing of HRH Queen Elizabeth II.

Hippie boat

Big Boat a comin’.

It’s wasn’t just big, it was very, very big.

We pulled over to the side as far as we could to give it room to pass. We were told by a lockkeeper it was 38 meters long. That is 125 feet for the 4.23 percent of the global population that still uses feet as a form of measurement.

Lunch time means relaxation and comradery.

After lunch, what else but more locks.

We pass very close to the sides of the locks as we exit them.

A pink elephant on the canal?

A lockkeeper with an artistic sense of humor.

Something bring a smile to all manner of canal travelers.

Everywhere you look there is something.

Smile?

Lockkeeper self portrait?

As the song so aptly puts it – a peaceful easy feelin’ – is what I get when I see her.

We never know what might be around the next bend

Every town seems to have a winery.

We are now starting be in the sections of the canal that have the most traffic.

There also seems to be more large boats to be seen.

Close up of a lock gate.

Interesting structure up ahead.

Built in the late 1600’s it is a water overflow to carry excess water out of the canal and into the nearby Aude River. Atop the arches is the towpath where whatever was pulling the barges on the canal could pass atop the overflow structure.

Absolute serenity.

The dead and dying trees behind the recently planted trees that be taking their place.

Another large boat.

Guess what is for dinner tonight.

A great way to end the day. Of course it is France, so the better restaurants don’t open until 7:00 pm, but the wait is worth it.

It was as good as it looks, with the usual super thin crust that makes the pizzas over here so much better than the thick crusts so common in the states.

The moon rises over the church steeple as I took this photo over the bow of the boat