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June 26, 2013 - France
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Woke to clear blue skies and more wind. It's been very windy, out of the west, since we left Figueras, Spain. Wonder if this is normal. Breakfast again at the hostel, showered, and am now checking the forecast for Chamonix. I *really* hope we get good hiking weather there so we can see Mt. Blanc. The forecast looks mixed at this point. Today we're off for Homps. Headed out in the wrong direction this morning. Have been talking about my "uncanny sense of direction" with Evan, but now realize I can't be trusted. We didn't go to far west before recognizing the canal where we'd been, and turned around. Escaped Carcassone and joined the wide, gravel path on the south side of the canal. The quality of the trail varies a lot depending on where you are. Approaching Carcassone from the west, and at many locations to the east, the trail is single-track and really bumpy. A full suspension 29-er mountain bike would be appropriate. We crossed some interesting points of engineering today. Aqueducts that carry the canal over rivers, and overflow devices to stop the canal level from overflowing its banks. The canal is truly an amazing feat of engineering. Plane trees line much of the banks, but some blight is affecting them. So far it seems about 5% or fewer of the trees are affected. Saw workers cutting stumps down to ground level and vacuuming up the sawdust. Maybe that contains the blight.
The canal trail leaving Carcassone.
Canal aqueduct across a river.
Locks.
Plenty of water leaks from most of the lock gates.
Canal aqueduct across a river.
Evan on the canal trail.
Evan on the canal trail.
Overflow structure.
Le Canal.
Our bikes from Relax Rentals have been performing well. Wish they had suspension seat posts for the rough parts of the trail. We loosened up the suspension on the forks, and that seemed to help. Butts are pretty sore today. We'll be heading up to the town of Minervre tomorrow, off the canal and on paved roads tomorrow. Should be better for the sore butt syndrome.
My bike from Relax Rentals in Beziers.
A typical bridge across the canal.
Intersection with another canal.
Bell tower in the distance.
Canal aqueduct across a river.
Le Canal.
Had a picnic lunch in Trebes with the usual fare of sausage, cheese, a baguette and fruit. Stopped in at the "English bookshop" to try to find a copy of the next in the "Girl with the Dragon Tagoo" series that I'm reading. No luck. Fun to enter and say "I assume you speak English." She was British. Rode up to see the Optical tower in Marseillette, which allowed communication via flashes of light between northern and southern France in the early 1800s. The telegraph was invented shortly after it was built, so it's usefulness was short lived. Each lock on the canal has a house and a lock operator. Some amenities such as water, drinks and ice cream are often available. We stopped for water and ice cream at one, and I asked the guy if he lived there (Vous habitez ici?), and he said yes. Not sure of the arrangement for the lock operators. Maybe they get rent for free for their service.
The town of Trebes.
Locks in Trebes.
Locks in Trebes.
The optical telegraph tower in Marseillette.
Looking up at the tower.
A rough section of the trail.
Dead trees.
Overflow structure.
Bridge across the overflow.
Le Canal.
Le Canal.
Made it to Homps, our destination for the day at about 3:30 and checked into the beautiful Auberge de L'Arbousier. It's a very old building that's been updated with beautiful interiors. Big plane trees fill the courtyard, and it's right on the canal. I'm in the big bed on the main level in our room and Evan gets the small bed in the loft. He seems happy about this.
L'Auberge de L'Arbousier.
View from the front of L'Auberge de L'Arbousier.
The interior of L'Auberge de L'Arbousier.
Our room.
Evan up in his loft
We unloaded our bikes and rode to Lake Jouarres nearby. I'd hoped to rent a windsurfer (it was still really windy) and Evan hoped to swim in a pool that I thought I read about. There was no windsurfing concession and no pool. No matter, we went for a good swim in the cold lake with the big swells anyway. One guy was out windsurfing on modern gear, but was slogging a lot. Back our room where we did a bit of laundry in the sink, and then walked the town. Homps is small, but pretty. Most buildings are in nice shape, and many are beautiful. Their cathedral's bells gave an elaborate performance for us at 7:00 PM as we strolled below. I wish Poulsbo's Lutheran church played real bells instead of the cheesy electronic chimes. Burned out on expensive "menus", we found a really nice, low key restaurant on the canal where we got pizzas, and I a couple of beers. Perfect. Evan (and I) are getting much better at understanding French now. I think it's harder to comprehend spoken French for an American than it is to speak it. Whole conversations can go by with waiters now and we don't miss a beat. It's fun! Strolled back to the room and will relax now in preparation for tomorrow's ride up the mountain.
Lake Jouarres.
Lake Jouarres.
Pedestrian/bike bridge across the canal in Homps.
The port of Homps.
The port of Homps.
Canal boat.
A large old boat on the canal.
A nice beer.
Pizzas for dinner alongside the canal.
A nice boat on the canal.
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