Canal du Midi - Fourth Day

Walled town of Carcassonne from the Pont Neuf

The next morning, Roger and I lead the way back to the canal, with a stop by me to mail postcards to the grandkids.


Carcassonne the previous evening

 The trail out of Carcassonne was not nearly as bad as Roger and I had experienced the previous afternoon.  Unfortunately, David discovered that he had not sufficiently cleared his camera memory, and he was unable to take more pictures.  He would be relying on the web and a few snaps taken by the others with their phones.

The group once again bought items at a grocery store for lunch.  I had had leg cramps the previous night, so drank lots of water to ward them off.  Seemed to work.

Lunch on the trail

After our snacks, the trail deteriorated again, much like the previous day.  Gerard and Tom again took to the roadway while Roger and I pushed on.  Unfortunately, while negotiating a dip in the trail, Roger caught the toe of his shoe in a protruding root and was temporarily disabled by a very painful foot.  Luckily, there was no lasting damage, and we proceeded cautiously on our way.  Roger had thought about wearing sandals that day – lucky for him, he did not!

Roger and I arrived in the town of Homps, where Gerard and Tom were waiting.  We all wanted a drink, so we went into a place where there was wine tasting, beer for sale, and an exhibit on the historic role of the canal in shipping barreled wine to market.   

I tasted a really good red blend that I bought 3 bottles of – for 6.80 euros per bottle!  I persuaded Tom and Roger to carry one bottle each with the understanding that I would share a bottle that evening.

Typical scene on the trail - David, Tom, Gerard

 We had had the wind at our backs for much of the day, a very pleasant boost to our travels.  The trail continued poor, so we decidied to leave the trail for the road. The weather was now sunny and warm and we made good time on the roads, some of which paralleled the canal. 

At one rest stop I had pushed on agreeing to wait in the next town.  I waited and no one came, so I started back.  Then I noticed that our route turned left towards Le Somail, our stop for the night.  The others obviously assumed I had turned so went on.  All of us had a list with the names of the towns and hotels, so after some adventures, I found my way to our chambre d’hôte and rejoined the group.  68km for the day.


Le Somail chambre d'hôte



 We biked a mile or so back to the center of Le Somail, which is on both sides of the canal, for a drink.  A plaque on the bridge commemorated the fact that Thomas Jefferson had traveled on the canal, stopping for the night in Le Somail.

Canal and bridge in Le Somail



Gerard and David on the bridge in Le Somail



Jefferson Plaque like the one at Le Somail



We then opened one of the bottles I had bought and all had a bit of wine.  Our hosts, a lovely couple who spend part of their winters in Thailand, then taught us how to play petanque, a Mediterranean version of boules where you try to throw steel balls so that they are close to a small white ball.  You also try to knock your opponents’ balls away.  They knew what they were doing and we did not.  Tom, Gerard, and I were skunked – Roger had the good fortune to be on our hosts’ team.  Because we scored no points, we were required to kiss the bare back side of a cartoon figure of a woman.  Luckily, Roger’s camera was late when I did it, so we only have a picture of Tom, which I did not post as he may put out a contract on me if I do.

David after paying the penalty of defeat

There were a number of other bikers staying here too, and since dinner was served en famille at a big table, we had a convivial time, with pitchers of wine, lots of bread and a noodle dish with plenty of meat, cream sauce, mushrooms, etc.

Dinner at Le Somail with our host at the far end