Canal du Midi – Carcassonne to Trèbes

September 7, 2022 A short travel day on the canal to Trèbes. The bad part was I had Moules et Frites for dinner and didn’t take a photo, not good as that was one of the foods I had really been waiting for.

This is why we are on the canal again, 10 years after our first trip on it.

In a boat basin waiting for the lock to open.

Very, very low bridges today

When the word “duck” rings out it does not mean to look for a bird on the water. With the older bridges arch shaped, when you are at the sides it can be very low that you must go.

Through another one with head still on neck.

We sure have pretty deckhands onboard our boat.

We stopped along the canal, drove stakes into the bank and tied up, then put up the canopy and ate lunch. It is Life in the slow lane.

A dead plane tree waiting to be cut down.

They are working had to cut and burn the dead and dying trees, then plant new trees to return the canal to tree lined glory.

A well maintained bike trail followed canal today and it was well used.

A drive-up laundromat in the parking lot of supermarket we walked to. It was 1.4 kilometers each way and the two grocery bags I carried back with wine, cheese and fruits in them seemed to get heavier with each step, though once a wine bottle was opened, the pain quickly went away.

Canal du Midi – Our Boat

A quick post of of some photos of our boat. Click on an image to enlarge it.

Carcassonne

Sep 6, 2022 – A day in Carcassonne

The fountains are dry this summer
The castle above town – La Cité
Castle, on top of the highest hill, up and up
It was rebuilt with a lot of imagination
Non-drawing draw bridge
Crowds and crowds of people
Fun toys for the kids
And things for adults to buy
Every castle has a well
Proof we were there 10 years after our first visit
Friends
Something a bit different
Church in La Cité . Caution – Gargoyles upcoming
No gargoyles where they rebuilt sections of the façade
Real gargoyles over on this side
We have this thing about cemeteries
Street scene in town
Guess what time it is
Our shipmates know
Interesting beer

Canal du Midi – Bram to Carcassonne

Sep. 5, 2022 – A much easier day today even though we traveled a greater distance than yesterday. The reason being – There were only six locks today, and three of them were very close together. After yesterday we needed an easy day!!

Not so many locks, but plenty of beautiful 300 and 400 year old bridges
Very little traffic on the canal so there were some fresh hands at the wheel
The lockkeepers have been very helpful
Life is good
Getting ready as the boat approaches a lock
Strange sights above the canal
The lock wall is composed of sandstone blocks
A small section of canal with plane trees
It’s a vacation at less than 8 kilometers per hour
Carcassonne is around the bend

The canal as it enters Carcassonne is through a deep cut. Originally the city fathers did not want the canal to pass through the city so it was routed around it. Once the city fathers realized the economic impact they were losing out on, this huge cut was made and the canal rerouted through town.

Canal du Midi – Castelnaudry to Bram

Since it is our first day on the canal, this post will be an overview of what we saw and did. Sep 4, 2022

Morning at the boat basin
On our way
Goodbye Castelnaudry
Our first lock
Exiting the lock
Tied off in a lock
Everyone uses the charts to know what is next
Canal view
We went through 18 locks today
Lunch on the canal, too windy to eat outside
Lights tell when to enter a lock
Jeff reviewing what the afternoon will bring
Each lock (ecluse) has a sign
The water really pours into the locks
Automatic lock, one person gets off the boat and follows the directions
Blue button, enter lock, green button lower water level, then exit
We heard “Duck Your Heads” over and over
Many of the huge plane trees have died and were cut down
The huge trees would hang over the canal and shade it
Happy Hour begins in Bram
Jeff had the helm through all the locks, a very tiring job, but with great thanks from all of us
Sunset on the canal