FROM CARCASSONNE ON THE CANAL DU MIDI TO NAUROUZE THE HIGHEST POINT OF THE CANAL (PART 1)

We left Carcassone on June 2 after 3 weeks from our arrival. It took us a few days to adjust to the time change, but we were soon getting organized and doing some work on the boat. We spent time with our friends Michel and Claudine, as well as with the two couples left in the port after the winter, who were also preparing to start cruising. We savored Carcassonne and all of its beauty--could never get enough--before we sailed away.

We set off on a beautiful spring day, west bound and very excited to be moving again. The canal, west of Carcassone has less hiring boat bases, so even during the busiest months of the year--July and August- one does not encounter many boats on the way. The canal, majestic, with its plain trees on both banks invited us to enjoy it and share in its beauty. As we went along it got prettier and prettier. Beautiful fields of colza flowers, young vineyards shining in the sun and old stone farms in all their ochre beauty, make this area a very special one. Our first night was spent after Bram before a lock. Did not like the looks of the port, so we tied up along the canal with the birds and the ducks. Great place to be. This is the true feeling of freedom. We stay where we like, as long as we like. We continued on to Castelnaudary, a beautiful hilltop town with a large basin built to feed the multiple staircase locks that lead up to it. A small island was also built to protect the working barges from the strong Tramontane winds that hit this area. We were lucky enough to find our friends Lucy and Malcolm from Body and Soul and their friends George and Sue at the dry dock in the basin. They were cleaning the bottoms of their boats and doing a lot of paint. They offered to give us electricity, so we were able to tie at the basin with the most beautiful view of the city. We stayed in this lovely town 13 days. We loved the view and the changing light, the walks into town, the windmill that overlooks the valley and the Presidial built by Catherine de Medicis that, like many other buildings, give the town a very Italian look. Market day is fantastic, its stalls placed along the streets to the square at the top. Everything from shoes to clothes, meats, nuts, cheeses, fruits and vegetables could be found. The strawberries from the region, a beautiful variety, are the best I have ever had. Lucy and I had decided to make a dinner together, so she took care of the appetizers and I did the main dish. Her friends from England were coming, so with George and Susan and all of us, there were 8 altogether.

They set up their table inside the dry dock, beautifully decorated with candles, under a clear sky. We drank a Cava that was delicious, and accompanied it with Manchego cheese and jamon serrano. A most delicious invention was soon brought out by Lucy: grilled blood sausage stuffed with prunes. What flavor and texture!. Lucy, as I had mentioned before is an outstanding cook. The main dish was a seafood paella, of which I made two. One I cooked in the kitchen and the other one on our camping stove. It turned out delicious. There wasn't anything left. The wines where lovely, as was the dessert. Who said you could not have fun while in dry dock? We sure did.

While in Castelnaudary, we did a lot of walking and biking. One day we took a 26 Km ride along the canal. It turned out to be on the day of a foot race from Toulouse to Beziers, about 200 kms. to be done in two days. The guys leading the race passed us as they ran by, as if we were still on our bikes. We were told they were averaging 18 km per hour! Upon our return to port we met our friends Robin and Millie on Taboe, who had been there for few days. We had drinks with them and a few days later a great dinner on their boat. They told me about a little Internet Cafe in town where you could have WIFI connection as long as you consumed something. Well, this turned out to be a fabulous little place, CAFE.COM The owners, Michel and Caroline have made it so cozy and lovely. They sell exotic teas, great coffees and a chocolate cake made by Michel that keeps you going there. I spent time in the cafe almost every day and made friends with them. The day I left, Michel gave me two bottles of very special wine. He told me wine making is his hobby and he and his father make a few bottles every year. They have no label, and are for family consumption. The wines are from 2003 and 2006. Caroline told me that she was very surprised that he had offered to give the wines, since he does not ever do that. I am lucky, I guess, and delighted to have met such wonderful people.

On May 10, Mother's Day, we went to a restaurant recommended by Caroline, The Mistral. They specialize in seafood. I had the best baby squid I have ever had in my life, and the monk fish in a light mint sauce was unbelievable. It was a great afternoon, after which we went for a long walk and took pictures of the town. A couple of days before we left, Bill helped Malcolm install a new water heater in his boat while Lucy wast in England and by the time we left, both boats in dry dock were looking like new and ready to start floating again. We said goodbye to our friends.

The ride from Castelnaudary to the highest point of the canal--the parting of the waters--is the prettiest. From every point we could see the snow covered Pyrenees in the distance. At one of the locks, the lock keeper was very curious to know why we had so many flags on our boat. He obviously recognized the American and the Colombian flags, but was curious about the California flag, which he did not know. We talked for a while and before we left the boat, he came over with the most beautiful apple pie. As it turns out, he is the mysterious "pie man" who apparently sporadically offers his pies to a select few boaters, us being lucky ones. The pie is made from Viviers flour, a local mill and apples from his backyard. Bill, who is an apple pie lover, considers this pie to be the best, ever. As a result, Mr. "pie man" and I are now corresponding via email land exchanging photos. He is a pretty good photographer as well as a great baker.

At La Segala, where we stopped for a few hours while we went to lunch, we met a couple of English people whom I recognized as "pilgrims". This area is part of the Camino de Compostela, so one sees a lot of them with their backpacks marked with the scallop shell, which identifies them as such. They were a great source of information for me, as they answered all of my questions and enlightened me about this quest on which I am about to embark . The walk to Santiago de Compostela from Leon in the month of July.

The local dish of the region, Cassoulet, is a very rich white bean and duck confit, pork and Toulouse sausage. The best, according to those who know is served at Hostellerie Etienne in the town of La Bastide D'anjou, a couple of km from La Segala. Bill and I walked to this lovely town to eat this amazing dish. The restaurant has a large open dining room as well as patio. It is a bustling restaurant where families come to savour this wonderful concoction. Although we had eaten it before, this Cassoulet was unique in that despite its very heavy ingredients it was a light dish. Eaten with a green salad and accompanied with a local red wine, the whole thing was the perfect combination, and neither of us felt bloated of full after the meal. We walked back to Biesbosch and continued up to the canal Summit at Naurouze. Here, Riquet, the engineer, who in the XVI C. built this canal, constructed an octagonal basin which he filled with streams that came from the Montagne Noir. The basin was built to feed the canal at the parting of the waters, but it silted up in a few years, and a new canal was built to bypass it. We tied the boat at one of the most beautiful spots in the Whole Canal du Midi, just before the Lock of Ocean in a park of magnificent cedar and plane trees. There is an old mill, which is now a hotel, and the obelisk built to Riquet is also nearby. We spent a couple of days exploring this part of the canal, both on foot and by bicycle, before starting our descent.


Michel and Caroline at Cafe.Net


Paella night in dry dock


Along the canal. View of Pyrenees


Plane trees of The Midi


Lock of St. Roch. Step locks (4)


Castelnaudary at sunrise


Man-made island in basin


The misterious "pie man" with his pie


View of town from port bridge


Ancient plane tree lane in old octagonal basin


Old restored windmill


Windmill at Naurouze


Walkint to Riquet's Obelisk


Obelisk to Riquet


Silted up basin


Le Presidial built by Catherine de Medicis


A beautiful street in Castelnaudary


Our mooring at the parting of the waters before descent


Lockhouse Boutique and Cafe


English pilgrims at La Segala


Two beautiful boats ready for the water


Entering the basin at Castelnaudary


Old Mill at Port entrance, Castelnaudary


Castelnaudary al night

BACK IN FRANCE, APRIL 2008

At the airport in Zurich we were able to find a French car that we could deliver to Toulouse, so we went for it. It was comfortable and roomy making our drive effortless. It was snowing in Zurich and as we drove south, it rained most of the way as far as Lyon. There was little evidence of spring until we hit Beziers, where the weather changed to balmy, and spring was very evident. All along the highway there were blooming trees and beautiful new growth. The sun was out all the way to Carcassonne, where we arrived around 5:30 pm after a nine hour ride. Our boat was in great shape; no leaks, no humidity. Right away Bill connected the electrics, filled the water tanks, and I proceeded to clean do some unpacking, and later went to the corner restaurant to eat. We were tired and jet lagged and managed to have a good night's sleep. Next day Bill drove to Toulouse airport to return the car while I unpacked the rest and cleaned the boat. By the time he got back on the train, Biesbosch was shining--inside, that is. The outside woul have to wait.

Most of the people who had stayed on their boats for the winter had already gone cruising except for Janet and Des and David and Rosie, with whom we had not had a chance to visit for long before we left. Well, this time we made up for it. We got a chance to spend some great evenings together eating a sharing great memories. Janet and Des went south to have their boat taken out of the water for cleaning, but Rosie and David stayed in Carcassonne, since not only do they have a boat, but are renting a beautiful apartment that overlooks The Cite. As we are now cruising, we hope they catch up with us soon, so we have time to spend some more time together.

The day we arrived at the port, we were given the bad news that the port might not be opening for winter mooring this coming year. We had already made a reservation for a spot, so we, along with everyone else were very disappointed to hear such news. The reason, political, we suppose, change of local government, etc. As I write, one month after our arrival n France, the issue has not been resolved, so we are looking for a place to leave the boat for the winter between here and Toulouse.

Our first week was spent getting our food supplies, spending time with Claudine and Michel, our friends who live in Carcassone, and savouring the city's every corner. It took us a couple of weeks to get caught up with the time difference and therefore function normally. Once that happened, Bill got to work painting the interior bow cabin that he had trimmed before we left, and reinstalling the toilet and sink in the same area. The second week, we drove west along the canal to see if we could find a port to leave the boat next winter. We visited our friends Mark and Celia who are in Malause, not far from here, and whom we had me on the Nivernais last year. Celia had brought me a fabulous fish cooking book by Rick Stein. We spent the night on Little Mouse, their beautiful boat, and had a great time together. We visited Moissac, a medieval town with one of the most important stops for the pilgrims who do the" Camino de Compostela". This interests me a great deal since I will be doing it in July with my sister in law, Libia and my friend Stella from Miami. ( More on that later.) We stopped at Castelsarrasin and Toulouse to inquire about winter moorings, but were put on a waiting list for the moment. On that same trip we visited the town of Montauban, which was a true surprise. It is one of the "red towns" in this area. It is all built in brick over a river, a true architectural jewel. As we make our way west on Biesbosch, we will be able to spend time exploring each of these beautiful towns. One sunny sunday we took 14 Km. bike ride to Trebes, east of Carcassone. We went along the tow path, stopped to watch the boats lock up and down, now from the point of view of an onlooker. At Trebes we sat at a cafe on the canal and had a most delightful glass of wine from the local winery before we pedaled back to the boat.

A lovely thing about having a boat is that people come by and want to know all about either the boat or life on it A very tall German man came by and told me how much he liked our boat. He told me he and his wife have been traveling in a 6x6-- at the time parked across the canal. Now that they have been seeing the boats on the Midil, he wants one just like ours. I invited him in to see it, and he said he wanted his wife to come by. They left for a few days but came back, he brought her by, we talked for a long time and I invited them over for dinner the next day. Their names are Uli and Eli. They have been traveling in Africa, The Sahara and Tunisia and all over Europe in their vehicle, whose interior was designed and built by him. This was his business in Germany. They came over for dinner and we had the best of times. They have such stories of their travels and the people they have met that we could have spent the whole night talking to them. The next morning before they left, they brought croissants and pain au chocolat and we had a fabulous breakfast together. We went to see their vehicle which is unbelievably beautiful and functional. analize We hope we get to see them again sometime. They downloaded some of their spectacular photos of their travels onto my computer. Before we left Carcassone, we spent some great times with David and Rosie on ther boat Suki and on Biesbosch. Our friends Malcolm and Lucie from Body and Soul, whom we had met in Briare two winters ago, spent a few days in Carcassone, so we had them over for drinks and then we went to theirs for a lovely dinner. Lucie is a gourmet cook and Malcolm, an accomplished pianist. We had an unforgettable evening with them. Our last Saturday, we spent the entire afternoon and evening at Place Carnot, sitting in the sun celebrating the birthday of Alan, one of our friends from the port at Felix, a great local restaurant. They were about to close, so we decided to walk to the canal to continue the celebration at a great little italian place.

Our last weekend in Carcassonne we went to lunch with Michel and Claudine to a restaurant called Au Prise D'Alzau on the Montagne Noir, a most beautiful spot. It is in an old forge bought and remodeled by a young Dutch couple. Before we ate, we walked along to see the spot where Riquet, the builder of the Canal du Midi canalized the stream, which along with others would feed the Canal du Midi. The night before we left Carcassonne,we had another incredible dinner at Claudine and Michel's with our friend Dany, the one who has the BB with the beautiful view of the Cite and who kept our car for the winter. On May 2 around 11 am, we said good bye to our wonderful Capitaine, Stephanie and cast off westbound in search of new adventures.



Rosie and Merlot


With Uli and Eli and their 6X6


With Stephanie, our lovely Captain


Malcolm and Lucy on Body and Soul


With Stephanie, Des, Janet, Rosie and David


A fabulous meal by Lucy


With Marc and Celia at Malause


The Pyrenees from The Montagne Noire


La Prise D'Alzau


Little Mouse


Portal detail at Moissac


Crystalline waters


Restaurant at Old Forge


Claudine and Michel at local shop


Moissac Monastery

OUR TIME IN USA

After having flown from Switzerland, we arrived in Los Angeles where our son, Ian was waiting for us. We were anxious to see his new apartment, so we drove directly to it. It is very centrally located on Atlantic Avenue in Long Beach on an 8th floor with a fabulous view. The apartment was remodeled before Ian rented it, so it is modern and spacious. We visited with him for a while and then he took us to Signal Hill, the top of Long Beach, where our friends Bob and Alicia's house is. They were about to leave for Panama on vacation, so we were to house sit and take care of Chip and Dale, their lovely dogs. Before they went, their son, Michael had his birthday, so we celebrated with the family. It was so nice to be there! We had their beautiful house to ourselves, Ian's place was minutes away and thethe weather was so great that we took the dogs for walks every day. We spent a lot of time with Ian, celebrated my birthday and even decorated the house for Christmas. We had a quiet time together, just the three of us and Chip and Dale, of course, but it was a fabulous one. For New Year's Ian had a date, so Bill and I bought some champagne, made a few starters and soon after midnight went to bed. Around 3:00 am, we both were sick. We must have gotten food poisoning, although by morning I was better. Bill was still sick a few days later, even after having been to the doctor. The Los Angeles area has a lot to offer, so we went to museums, walked along the beach, ate some fabulous food, and had a super time. In mid January we left Long Beach to go to San Luis Obispo where we stayed with our friends Debbie and Richard Pinson. Being there was wonderful as well. We feel totally at home in their house and they are a lot of fun. We cooked together, went wine tasting, and had a great time. While there, we saw all of our other friends in Shell Beach, where we used to live. We went by our old house to find that it was for sale again. We spent about two weeks sorting out our storage which we reduced to half its volume by throwing out, giving to Goodwill, selling the big items and sending 30 boxes to Miami. At the end, we were able to leave my car in there, as well. The whole experience was very emotional, going through our entire life, but it could have been worse. While there, we also spent a few days in Avila Beach with our friends David and Jennifer Sansone, and their son, Lucas. Their house has a fabulous view and it is located in a very lovely setting. We had a great time with them as well, had some lovely meals together and were able to spend time with Lucas, who is a very charming little boy.

We left the Central Coast to go back to Los Angeles, see Ian again and spend a few days with Bob and Alicia upon their return from Panama. On February 12 we flew to Miami, the 14, I went to Daytona to spend time with my nephew's children for the race weekend. I thoroughly enjoyed Sebastian and Paulina. They are not only adorable, but very polite and well behaved. I had not seen them for almost a year and the chances of seeing them before coming back to France were slim due to their parent's busy schedule. We flew back from Daytona after the race, Bill met me at my nephew's place, we spent the night there and the next morning I flew to Bogota to be with my family for 3 weeks. Bill stayed in Miami waiting for our storage boxes and doing some work on the guest house where we were staying. It is part of our friend's Justo and Stella's property and it is situated in their lush and gorgeous garden, surrounded by beautiful vegetation and colorful cages full of exotic birds. It is a great place to be. Once our boxes arrived, Bill arranged everything from linens to kitchen and tableware and had the place looking great by the time I arrived.

My time in Bogota was fantastic. My purpose for the trip was mainly to spend time with my mom. I did see some of my friends, and spent a lot of time with my sisters as well. My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 3 years ago, and although her case is not very advanced, it is very shocking for me to see how changed she is. Aside for the fact that she still loves to play cards--bridge and canasta-- and does twice or three times a week, she no longer walks or wants to do anything physical at all. She goes to therapy, occupational, physical and musical three times a week, and although she enjoys it once she is there, it is a fight to get her to go. While in Bogota, I was able to see Paulina and Sebastian for a whole day and also visit Simon, my nephew Santiago's baby who was a month old. My mother has 7 great grandchildren now.

After three weeks in Bogota I flew back to Miami to find our little garden house so beautifully done. Bill had even bought flowers! It felt so good to have our own things. We felt totally at home. Our friend Justo had had his foot operated on in January, so he was still spending time in the house. Stella retired the day before Justo's operation and was taking care of him. It was great having them around this time. Stella and I had an opportunity to spend time together and to take care of Julian, my goddaughter's son who was six months old. We also saw all of our friends, spent a fabulous weekend on Isla Morada, one of the Florida Keys at Charlie and Sarita's house. There were eight of us being loud and having fun. Stella and I even went on a kayak run--my first ever--, and loved it. Justo made some fantastic dinners, we had a lot of wine and all and all, Our time in the States was unforgettable. I was also able to visit with Katalina, my niece, her husband and beautiful little 2 year old daughter, Valentina. I had not seen her for almost a year as well, and now she talks and acts like a grown up. On april 8 we flew back to Zurich, rented a car and drove to Carcassonne to find our Biesbosch looking great and in super shape.




My mom with her four daughters and grandson, Fernando


With my brother Diego's grandson, Simon


My mom with Sebastian and Paulina in Bogota


Alex and Sandy with baby Julian. Easter 2008


On top of Signal Hill, (Long Beach)


Justo and Stella's backyard, Miami


Our garden house, Miami


Juana, la cubana. She whistles.


Paulina and Sebastian in Daytona


Walking with Chip and Dale


With Stella at Isa Morada


The Sansone's house


With friends at Isla Morada


Shell Beach


A boat outing in The Florida Keys


Fabulous day at Isla Morada


Drinks on the beach


A sunset on the Gulf side


A raclette at Charlie and Sarita's house


Mountain view from house


Our old house in Shell Beach


Dinner at Ian's apartment with my friend Luz and Ian's friends


Miachael, Alicia and Bob Grubic


Bill and Ian at South Coast Plaza


Dormant vineyards in San Luis Obispo


Wolf Winery, San Luis Obispo


Dinner with Debbie and Richard Pinson


View from The Sansone's house


Jen and David's house at night