Canal du Midi – Day One
At the end of the last blog I left you all in Saissac. The fact that we I mentioned we had a car came after a sojourn by Connie and I cycling the Canal du Midi and Sue rushing off to enjoy the decadence of Berlin.
Connie and I rushed off to join our friends Dave and Leslie on bicycles rented from Relax Bike Rentals in Beziers. The bike rental agency provided us with great bikes for the Canal du Midi path. They were equipped with bike bags for the rear racks and front handlebar bags. They were delivered to Carcassonne where we were awaiting the start of the next leg of the Tour de France.
Tour de France – Carcassonne
No, we were not renting the bikes to join the Tour de France but rather to do the Tour de Canal du Midi. We just happened to be in Carcassonne the day the Tour de France was in town and in the morning cycled right outside the apartment Dave and Leslie rented as they were heading out-of-town and down to the Pyrenees.
The next day we headed out of Carcassonne at a slightly slower pace than the Tour de France and in the opposite direction choosing the Canal du Midi instead of the uphill contours of the Pyrenees.
Cycle tour 2014 – the beginning. Beside the Canal du Midi in Carcassonne about to head off on day 1
The first day of our trip we were trying to take it a little easy. New saddles to try to get used to and stretching of those muscles to get the right rhythm for cycling. We didn’t carry anything to record the kilometres cycled but believe the first day we managed to cover about 40km. Certainly no marathon.
Day 1 – Carcassonne to Marseillette
According to the Google map above it should have taken us 1 hour and 6 minutes. However, that’s if we had followed the main road rather than the blue squiggly line that shows the Canal du Midi. What it also doesn’t show are all the sites along the canal such as the Caves, the locks themselves, the small bistros and the fields of sunflowers. We actually took about 6.5 hours to cover the distance and ended up at a wonderful farmhouse out in the middle of a vineyard.
Gites Sainte Marie
Relaxing
Saissac
Saissac – located in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France, Aude department and 25km north-west of Carcassonne along the D6113 and then the D29.
Saissac is a small village with a population of just under 1,000 people. It’s located in the Montagne Noir, a beautiful area just north of the valley of which the Canal du Midi runs through on its route between Bordeaux, to the west and on the shores of the Atlantic, and Sete, to the east on the shores of the Mediterranean.
Saissac is famous for the ruins of a Cathar château of which part of the construction dates back to the Roman times. Viewing the village from the main road into town the château dominates the landscape. Located below the existing village it’s a tourist attraction for those interested in following the Cathar trail through Southern France. The château is now a museum and work on restoration is slow but the work well done. 90 percent of the château is in ruins but it’s still holds one enthralled by the stunning site and if your imagination is fertile then one can envision the village and terraced hillsides and smell the fear of the inhabitants under siege.
The Château is located to the right hand side of the picture
The château lies on the lower confines of the old village. Hence one has to walk down through the village along the cobblestone streets. As a result we have numerous tourists who walk by our temporary home some stopping to ask us questions and others sitting by the fountain to have their lunch.
Walking towards the Chateau
Visiting the Chateau
On site in the château looking out over the Aude valley
Today the town consists of the remnants of the old village with cobblestoned streets, tight alleyways, fountains in every imaginable nook and cranny and shuttered windows hiding either the neglected interior or slightly open to reveal the renovation work of some foreigner or local who is trying to keep the old village alive. Then the other part of town consists of the ‘new’ village, a tightly packed in development of new single storey homes accessible by car.
There’s no shopping centre but there is the butcher and small grocery store on the outskirts of the village and a small grocery store in the old village all of which do a fabulous job of providing fresh produce, meat and various sundries to the townsfolk. In addition to the two small stores and the butcher the town is well served with a meat truck that comes on Thursday, the fish truck on Tuesdays and a small vegetable market on Sundays.
Sunday Saissac market
Without a car it calls for careful planning when it comes to the weeks shopping. One will never starve but one has to plan well for the weeks meals. I will say if there’s no food then there is always wine! The region explodes with vineyards. One can simply walk down the hillside to get a bottle filled with not the best wine but certainly a wine that in British Columbia would probably sell for $20! And here? It’s only 3 Euros.
Sue and Connie waiting at the Saissac bus stop for the bus to Carcassonne
Ah, life in a French village. Well, we have not been completely marooned in Saissac. Sue, our friend, and chauffeur has arrived back from her trip to Berlin with a car in tow. There are both the negative and positive sides of having a car. On the positive side it allows us to go out and explore. On the negative side it takes away from the slow life of the village and keeps our minds and bodies wandering throughout the countryside exploring all the wonderful secrets of southern France.
However, there are a few special times in Saissac. Of course, we were here for July 14th, La Bastille, Le Fete Nationale. Passing by our home on this special day were the dignitaries of the village and anyone else, like Connie and Sue, who wanted to join in. The marching band and entourage walked around all the important places in the old town ending up in the city hall square. For your amusement see the video. Along with this special fete we joined in the celebrations in the evening taking in the community dinner. Paella for 150 people cooked on the open fires of the community centre. Who has a paella pan this big at home?
Paella at La Bastille
And then there is always pitanque at the Saissac boulodrome.
Connie taking it all very seriously at the Saissac boulodrome
So, all in all life in Saissac is pretty good. Here are a few shots of our summer home:
The outside of our summer home #4 Place Aux Herbes, Saissac
And then there is the inside:
And
The inside of our home at #4 Place aux Herbes, Saissac
And that’s it for now. Next adventure is cycling the Canal du Midi…
Links to accommodations in the region:
Another link for Saissac accomodation – from here there are other links to homes for rent in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. Then it’s a matter of looking at other sites list ‘Gites‘. But at least this gets you started
France, you say…
Our route – St. Antonin Noble Val to Saissac
Yes, France. What better place to spend the summer along the banks of the Canal du Midi and the Montagne Noir, sipping Blanquette de Limoux and hunting for truffles.
Herve, Connie and Evelyne on the upper patio St. Antonin
We left our friends, Herve and Evelyne, in St. Antonin Noble Val, and headed south past Albi to the
Strolling the streets of St. Antonin down to the Saturday market
Montagne Noir descending down to Saissac, our home for the summer.
Albi was our first exposure to the history of the Cathars with Albi acting as one of the centres combating the threat to the Catholic Church posed by the Cathars.
The central cathedral in Albi is an imposing structure that speaks to power. An imposing building with sheer walls rising hundreds of feet above the central square.
We spend part of the day wandering the streets of Albi visiting the inside of the cathedral, the Toulouse-Lautrec museum and the gardens of the Abbey.
All of these remarkable places are the introduction to the Cathar history permeating the Midi-Pyrennes region of south central France.
Albi Cathedral
Gardens attached to the Cathedral in Albi
We are going to hear and visit many of the places the Cathars resided and died in subsequent to the inquisition and persecution of the 13th centrury.
We left in the mid afternoon headed to Castres and Mazamet and up into the Montagne Noir. It was a beautiful drive along well maintained roads, lovely fields of sunflowers, wheat and grapevines and then through the dark paths of the Montagne Noir.
Then it was over the top of the Montagne Noir and down into Saissac, an ex-Cathar village of some 2000 people and the remains of incredibly well fortified castle/chateau of which much remains from what was constructed starting in 958A.D. Subsequent construction continued on right up into the 18th century by various parties including the Cathars. It was one of the strongholds of the Cathars but fell to assault in 1234.
This is our home for the summer:
The inside of our home at #4 Place aux Herbes, Saissac
The outside of our summer home #4 Place Aux Herbes, Saissac
Where To Next?
So our sojourn in Canada came to an end. We said goodbye to family and friends and headed further east across the Atlantic.
Hello Lisbon
Our flight around the world, gratis due to Aeroplan air points, took us from Toronto to Lisbon for a quick turnaround for the final flight to Toulouse.
No we didn’t fly Aer Lingus
Flying has become more of a trial than an adventure. Poor service, even worse food and flying through hubs makes flying these days something one wants to end as soon as possible. Screaming babies in the seat next to me, a piece of banana bread for breakfast and no movies on Air Canada made for one of the worst flights I have had across the Atlantic Ocean. And, believe it or no,t I have been flying over the Atlantic off and on since my first flight in 1952!
However, no matter how horrible the flying is these days it is always exciting getting to a new port. We ended up in Toulouse after 36 hours of travelling, a place we have never been to and the beginning of our summer in France.
Toulouse Railway Station
Toulouse is not our final destination but rather St. Antonin Noble Val, 75 km northeast of Toulouse where our sailing friends Herve and Evelyne live. However, Toulouse beckoned so we settled in for our first experience in a French environment.
First was a visit to the local cathedral to give Connie a chance to light a candle for her father and one of many needed for me!
Connie in the Basilica St Sernin lighting the votive candles
Not only did we visit the Basilica St. Sernin for sightseeing purposes but in the same evening we went back for a Brahms and Mozart recital with a choir and a violin soloist. What a way to start a visit to France.
Basilica St. Surnin
Toulouse is the manufacturing centre for Airbus,the centre for the SPOT satellite system has a big chunk of the French National Space Agency. The airport bustles with flights from around the world but also seen on the runway are the odd experimental and more functional Airbus industry planes used for a variety of purposes.
What the ? is this plane used for?
Okay this is the strangest plane I’ve ever seen. Sorry I don’t have a better picture but seen side on it looks like the front of the plane is a large porpoise. I have been told it’s used to carry the fuselages of planes manufactured by Airbus and being transported to other locations for assembly. Perhaps someone knows better than me?
So Toulouse isn’t the centre of southern France’s tourism trade but it does lie on the Canal Du Midi and is midway between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. I will tell more about the Canal du Midi in a later blog after we bike along the canal from Carcassonne to Sete.
Toulouse, not being a tourism centre, is a large regional centre with a university and as such the city bustles with students, hi-tech junkies and the occasional French tourist with a heavy smattering of North Africans. It’s a bustling centre but there’s always time for the long prix fixe, or plat du jour, lunch. The downtown streets have lots of people and stores selling all sorts of items from wonderful cheeses to all sorts of hams as well as all the
Hams for the taking
latest fashions. Someone has money.
2 nights later we were off to St. Antonin Noble Val –
Toulouse to St. Antonin Noble Val
What a wonderful little drive. On our arrival in St. Antonin Noble Val our friends questioned why it took us 5 hours to drive from Toulouse as opposed to the requisite 1.5 hours it usually takes them to make the same trip. Well, I said we had to get into the French mood i.e. take our time, sample the food and not to be too serious.
The countryside was beautiful. Fields full of ripening wheat, sunflowers about to bloom and grape vines by the hundreds of hectares. The rolling countryside lulled us into a stupor as we rolled over one hill after the other basking in the warm breezes coming in the windows of the car and taking in the occasional small château, abbey, small village or church.
On top of another hill
Eglise Saint Corneille – Puycelsi
Finally our first French hosts -our French sailing friends, Herve and Evelyne.
Connie, Evelyne and Herve
Ahh, Canada…What a Place
Canada was a whirlwind tour of friends, family, big cities, small towns and even smaller villages. We covered from the west coast to central Canada finally exiting via the east coast travelling by plane, bus, train, bicycle, foot, car and boat.
By Bicycle
By Plane
Umm, why Portugal Airlines?
By Car
Connie’s size of car – Fiat 500!
By Boat
BC Ferries Logo
There are so many highlights to mention and all in all it made us feel very fortunate to have so many friends and family members, to be Canadians and to be able to return to such an incredibly diverse landscape populated by an incredible mixture of people.
From first landing in Vancouver and taking the sky train to down-town and thinking we hadn’t left SE Asia to being out in the Ontario countryside watching the windmills turn and the corn grow we had a great time.
We saw so many friends, slept in so many beds, travelled long distances, went to weddings, went to a baptism, had great reunions, cried, laughed and said too many sad goodbyes that enough was enough. It was time to get on another plane….
A WEDDING
Dorothy McCann and Tony Noakes
The Groom
A future groom, Elias, and his Mum, Eva
Sister and brother – Connie and Terry
The McCann family
BAPTISM
What is he trying to do to me?
Cried and laughed
Who looks happier here? Isaac or my brother, Richard.
My brother Brian and myself at the Belleville train station
Friends for dinner
Louise and Connie at Pagliaccis
AND MORE FRIENDS
Lorne and Simon
Derek and Agatha
Pippa and Penny
Connie, Nick and Annette at lunch
Annie and Connie
And Fred, who’s never happier than when he’s on his boat, I think
AND FAMILY
Brian and myself at the house we grew up in which is now, believe it or not, an historical place
The three stooges AKA Rabbit, Toad and Squirt
Diane – Connie’s sister
Kila, Connie’s sister-in-law
Cliff, Debbie, Nicholas, Connie
Connie and Prairie Rose, a grand-niece!
Travis and Amanda – proud parents of Prairie Rose\
And then there were all those unusual sights and those in-between we remember so well
Nostalgia
A mailbox seen on a rural road in Ontario
BC Legislature
Swiftsure preparations – Victoria Harbour
Beautiful but deadly – a potato moth in all its finery
Cold and happy to be out of the heat and humidity of SE Asia
And to the two people, Miranda and Sue, who make our stays in Canada so special and put up with us sharing their home!
Connie, Miranda, Tony, Sue
A Small Legacy
Many of our friends have recently asked “what are you doing while back here in Canada”. I think many people don’t understand why, when we have a boat in so-called paradise, we are spending so much time back in Canada. There are a number of reasons.
One – it is now the south-west monsoon season in Asia and the humidity, temperatures and rainfall are all in the extreme. Being from a cold country we have found it almost impossible to acclimatize to these conditions. Last year we hung out in India’s Himalayas and this year we thought Canada would be a good alternative.
Two – we like to re-connect with our land based friends
Three – we need to conduct business. What does that mean? Just a lot of little, but major items, like lawyers, doctors, dentists, banks, visas etc
Four – a chance to buy the proper spare parts for the boat
Five – load up the empty spaces in the luggage with our favourite storable foods!
Perhaps the most important item on this stay in Canada was to renew our wills. Yes, we do have to think about that as we are about to head across the Indian Ocean. This includes the pirate infested waters of the Malacca Straits and the Indian Ocean. See recent article on pirated oil taken from a ship only 25 nautical miles away from us – BBC report titled Pirates raid oil tanker in the Malacca Straits
Some people think we are crazy for what we do. However, they are calculated risks and we take all into consideration. That means we try to mitigate the possibilities of piracy by choosing routes that have minimum pirate activity.
So, we have to update our wills and our thoughts in the last 4 years have obviously been around the state of the oceans of the world. We are surprised that since our last sailing adventures in the Pacific 30 years ago the degradation of the oceans is marked. We see all sorts of impacts of our global activities from garbage seen almost every day in the water no matter how far from shore to the incredible decimation to fish and wildlife populations not to mention the unconscionable reduction in shark populations to finning and to rising waters impacts on coral reefs.
We alone can’t solve the world ocean’s problems but we can try to do what we can. Hence our decision, should we disappear into the bilges of a pirate ship or succumb to ocean storms, that we have a legacy left to do what can be done with the limited resources we leave. So, after much searching for something that would fit our ideas we decided to create an ‘Ocean Fund’ to be managed by the Victoria Foundation. The so-called Ocean Fund has been directed to support charitable organizations that work on environmental sustainability of the ocean waters surrounding Vancouver Island.
Our hope is that in some way we can make a difference. The oceans are in our consciousness all the time and they are always points of discussions both to people who make their lives from the seas and to those who use the sea for recreation.
Related links:
Another article on the ingestion of ocean plastics by seabirds
Oh Canada
Whilst in Victoria we had the opportunity of joining in a ceremony granting Canadian citizenship not only to our friend Elsbie but also to some 63 other Canadians. These new Canadians came from 27 different countries.
It was an honour to join in with this ceremony and welcome all these new Canadians. All were beaming and seemed to be genuinely excited and happy to take their vows as new Canadians.
Here are a few pictures from that event
A new Canadian who arrived in Canada from Tanzania
Very enthusiastic new Canadian
And then there were the shoes
And then our friend Elsbie was next for the requisite photo with the presiding Judge and the RCMP officer
And a very happy Sierd to have a new Canadian wife!
Trish, Elsbie (the new Canadian) and Sierd
And They’re Off
We are in Victoria at the time of the pre-eminent yacht race of the season. The Swiftsure International Yacht Race.
And they have started and some boats out past Race Rocks and headed out to the location of the old Swiftsure Lightship
I got to the start too late but here is one picture of where the start line was!
Start of the Swiftsure is at Clover Point
Others want to get in on the fun as well
Other wind freeloaders were there for the start
Of course, there is always the night before leading up to the race the next morning. How many of these sailors will be leaning over the rain but not because of bad weather?
Victoria Inner Harbour the night before the start of the race
Stop 3 – San Francisco
From Port Angeles a bus ride to Seattle Airport (SeaTac) and a flight to Oakland puts us into San Francisco
Where else but west coast of North America can you find a picture of a native American in a fur lined hood on the tail of an airplane? Maybe Canada’s Arctic?
So, it’s off to visit sailing friends who live in the Bay area and our kind hosts are Marilyn and Leo – sailing friends from our 1980s circumnavigation of the Pacific. We were each on 8 metre (27 foot) boats. Theirs a NorSea 27 and us on a Vancouver 27. We have stayed in touch and Leo kindly does weather forecasting for us when we cross large stretches of open ocean. A very valuable asset! Thanks Leo.
Marilyn, Leo and Connie
Below is Randall and another must see San Francisco sailor for whom we wish the best in his future sailing plans to circumnavigate North America combined with a circumnavigation of the Antarctic. See here for his website and the challenges he is facing. And of course we are meeting over food once again. I can recommend his pizza – I think a 4 star! Sorry, Randall, not 5 star – it didn’t have meat!
Randall the proud chef and the intrepid sailor making a great pizza
Off to the De Young to see the Georgia O’keefe exhibit on Lake George
Viewing downtown San Francisco from East Bay
And a little side trip to Maple Grove to view the Ruth Bancroft Gardens – a great example of xeri-landscaping for the San Francisco climate
I hate to say that I don’t remember the tree type but it has great bark
And great cacti in bloom
And then there was the Berkeley Botanical Gardens
Berkeley Botanical Gardens
Berkeley Botanical Gardens
Berkeley Botanical Gardens
And before we leave San Francisco a little fun:
Leo and Marilyn on the Eliptigos
Taking some air
With determination
After buying all the yachting hardware for the boat, eating at great restaurants, visiting more friends, walking through more gardens, eating more food it was time to head back north to Seattle and back to Victoria on the clipper from downtown Seattle to downtown Victoria. The circle is complete!
Flying over Seattle
Stop 2 – Port Angeles
Finally I have my camera back in operation and don’t have to rely on my tablet (perhaps then I won’t subject you to any videos!)
Port Angles is home to our friends Jim and Gail (sorry Jim and Gail there are no current pictures here of you guys!) and it’s only a 1.5 hour ride on a ferry across the Straits of Juan de Fuca. Port Angeles is also the gateway to the Olympic Peninsula, a national park, a forest reserve and cities such as Seattle, Tacoma and further south Portland.
Believe it or not this old ferry is still around but now in use. Love the design
No this is not the Coho ferry from Port Angeles but I wish it was.
Old Port Angeles in mural style
And then it’s back to food and friends. A great gathering with of course plenty of food and laughter.
Dinner at the trough with a full house
And a new cookbook I am introduced to with wonderful Middle Eastern recipes
After eating far too much time for a walk on Dungeness Spit with Jim Lichatowich, the author of ‘Salmon without Rivers’ and ‘Salmon, People and Place’. Great reading about the current state of the salmon industry and the environment
Jim and Connie talking to one of the volunteers at the Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge
What magnificent weather. The Pacific North West at its fines
A great little marine centre with lots of live exhibits for kids to watch and learn from
Sage on sail 
