We started the morning with a wander round Le Somail.
Morning coffee was taken in a bar and we visited the bookshop with 50 000 second
hand books. Gerry and Lyn purchased one each for their French homework. All the books were in written in French.
Gerry and Chris decided to confirm the route they would have
to take for their Covid test on Friday. So they set off on the bikes whilst the
rest of us took the boat. If you look closely at the photo you can see Chris
setting off with the front forks facing the wrong direction! He made it to the bridge
before finding his mistake.
The plan was they would meet us further up the canal. After
a few km just past Port la Robina the branch to Narbonne turned off the canal. One
of our initial plans was to descend these locks, but we had been told in the
boat yard that the locks were closed because of insufficient water. We followed
the canal round to the left and continued towards Beziers. It was a quiet
section, a little twisty in places, with sections fully shaded by a canopy of
trees.
A phone call from
Gerry later in the morning told us they had successfully visited the chemist
but Chris had a puncture and was walking back. A rendezvous point was arranged where
we could park the boat and they could meet us from the road. Robert removed the
back wheel from the bike that was left on the boat and set off to meet Chris on
his Brompton. It was not required as Chris had managed to walk back before Robert
made it to the road.
It was when carrying the Brompton back onto Le Boat that the
outer sleeve from the tool kit that is carried in the Brompton frame, fell out
of the frame and into the canal and slowly sunk. Whilst the others prepared the
lunch Robert tried a bit of “fishing”. Soft
mud, mollusc shells and bits of vegetation were returned to the surface using “net”
improvised from a plastic draining rack and boat pole. But no Brampton tool kit
sleeve. After a few more unsuccessful fishing attempts after lunch we set off.
The canal follows the contours round the hillside with several changes of
direction passing the pretty villages of Capestang and Poilhes which we may have
time to investigate on our return. We moored for the night at Colombiers. The
plan was to get a takeaway on board. Gerry checked trip adviser and Robert and
Lyn rode into the village to check out the restaurants.
We opted to eat out. The ones near the port looked OK but not as ideal as the one we selected ‘La Maison du Lavoir’, a short distance from the boat on the outskirts of the village. The meal was excellent. We sat outside. Lyn had I had 4 courses, opting to include the cheese when we saw the cheese trolley. We finished it with a Grande Marnier Souffle. An expensive but excellent meal but we only had one bottle of wine.
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