Our last day "on the boat" was spent safely in the dock at Homps. After two weeks we had had enough of the boating life and longed for a change. It was very hot, so we set off for the local swimming hole.
Very interesting building for climbing to the top of and looking out from.
But Paul was more interested in the water! His first swim in six and a half weeks. And the water was crystal clear and cold.
This man-made lake was surrounded by grass and shade trees and was a very pleasant spot. I took the photo above at 11.00 am. By 3.00 pm it was very crowded, so we called it a day and off we went to Minerve.
The region encompassing this particular section of the Canal du Midi is called the Minervois after the ancient town of Minerve. Some might recognise the name of the DOC Minervois wine region.
Minerve is very, very, very old. If you look carefully, you'll notice the ancient town in the upper left section of the photo. No cars can enter the town, pedestrians only. And as the access road, which brought you up the other side of the hill, descends this side of the hill, you can see the massive ancient waterway that runs under the town, and it seems, under the hill itself. In fact, it is more than a hill as this area is quite high up..... you wouldn't call it a mountain, but it is much more than a hill.
That little black mark you can see in the bed of the waterway is a hiker. And see how the rock has been carved away by ancient glaciers. The gorge was too big to photograph in one shot, so it is difficult to see just how big it is.
After leaving Homps we pottered over to Carcassonne to see if our Visa card had arrived at the bank. No such luck. Wasted day. But we were able to revisit the seafood restaurant we had found on our earlier visit by boat, the week prior, so that was reasonable compensation. Next day, it was off to the Med.
First stop on the Mediterranean was the old city of Agde. Marseilles and Agde are the two oldest French ports on the Western Mediterranean. This was the view of the old fortified cathedral from our hotel window. In front of it is a floating restaurant. There were about 190 of these along this stretch of the river.
As I said, this town is very old. This house was built in 1027 and is still lived in today.
This is the music school.
And me, lurking on a corner where the buildings don't quite make 90 degrees.
Leaving Agde, and back on the autoroute, we by-passed Perpignan, home of the ancient Cathar kings and headed south to the prettiest little town on the Vermillion Coast of the Roussillon region - Collioure. We first discovered Collioure, home of the Mediterranean anchovy, in 1998. We tried to stay there again in 2006 but it was impossible to get accommodation without pre-booking. But now, with the internet so easily available as you travel, we secured three nights right on the waterfront of the old town.
And Paul headed directly for the water.
That's him wading in across the stones.
The stones are as hard on the backside as they are on the feet. I sat here for a while, but my old bones were forced to take comfort in a chair at the cafe, one metre behind me.
More coming ..............
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