Our Location

Saturday Oct 4 through Monday Oct 6,
from Homps to Villeneuve les Beziers

(Click on the town names to see a map of the location)

	On Saturday October 4th early afternoon we leave Homps and make our way down the last few locks before the long pond, a stretch of over 50kms without any locks, but many turns! This week we have Ueli (Betty's brother), his wife Jacqueline and their son Sebastian visiting, We stop for the first night in Ventenac-en-Minervois and enjoy some of the local red wine.
	We start early Sunday morning to make good progress before too many tourist boats venture into the very curvy stretch. We pass all the famous places like Le Somail with the Sunday morning flea market and Capestang with the narrow bridge and port. Click here for pictures of this area.
	It is very windy, the Tramontagne, a local mountain wind, blows with gusts up to 90 km per hour. Sunday evening we stay in Poilhes and had plans to have a nice dinner in the local Restaurant, but it is closed. Not just for the winter, but for good!
	Monday morning we head towards Beziers. Above Colombiers we have to pass the tunnel of Malpas. Ueli is our lookout and all of a sudden raises his hands to signal oncoming traffic ...
	Despite blowing the horn early and long we encounter a tourist boat in the tunnel (having ignored all signs) racing towards us! So we move slowly out of the way, but he decides to be upset at us. Since he is Swiss I understand what he is saying and to his surprise (remember we fly the British Ensign) I start talking back in Swiss at him .... Oh well - may be I should have done what a hotel barge did this summer, insisted on his right of way and slowly pushed the tourist boat back out of the tunnel ;-)

	The cathedral of Beziers as seen from the top of the Foncerannes staircase.
	We wait for the early afternoon then we pass the 7 locks towards Beziers. Everybody enjoys the autumn sun,
	even a few lizards venture out to warm up.
	An impressive sight, the 7 lock staircase from above.
	Having passed the locks we cross the Orb river over an aqueduct.
	The two deep locks of Beziers.
	Yes, they are deeeeeeep!
	But Sebastian handles the ropes without problem.
	Now this is what I call a tight fit! Five rental boats in the Villeneuve lock - a good way to save water. Last week a lock-keeper tried the same in the staircase at Trebes, but somehow two boats jammed each other and at the end 5 boats where wedged between walls and each other and suspended above the water. Must have been quite a sight!

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