Canal du Midi - Sixth Day

The next day, we needed to go a few miles to Agde to buy train tickets as the station at Vias was closed - in fact it was bricked up!  The train only stopped if someone was getting on or off.  We were in fact not sure whether we would have to board at Agde at 6:45, and also whether our bikes would be allowed at commute time.

Arriving at the Agde station the next morning, we sent in Gerard, our resourceful Frenchman, to do the talking and ticket-buying.  Not to worry, he came out with tickets to Toulouse, from Vias, with our bikes allowed!

Gare at Agde

On the way to Marseillan

 We then biked to the end of the canal at the Thau pond, and went down to Marseillan-Plage to find a lunch spot.  It turned out to be almost identical to Vias-Plage, with wall-to-wall tourist places.  We found a seafood restaurant with no difficulty and enjoyed a leisurely lunch.

The other three pushed on to Sète, about 20km distant, while I decided to return to Vias to locate the railroad station for the next morning, and to relax a bit.

Proof they got to Sète!

 Locating the station proved to be somewhat of an adventure.  I cut through the walled city to get to the other side and got lost in the narrow, twisting little streets and alleys.  I asked two different women where the station was and one said there was no station, and the other said she did not know.  I finally went back to the hotel, got re-oriented, and found the station about a mile away.

The round trip ride from Marseillan-Plage to Sète was 40+ km, plus 17 back to Vias, so the rest of the group returned about 7PM, cleaned up quickly, and we all went into the old walled part of Vias for dinner.

We found a great restaurant in an old cellar.  Unfortunately for the owner, other than a young family of three, we were the only ones there.  Apparently, he does not get much trade from the locals.  That will make it difficult to survive, since the tourist season is only 3-4 months, and most tourist activities are going to be beach-oriented, at Vias-Plage.

We still had a good meal, with a nice local red blend wine to go with dinner. 

David's Supreme de Pintade

 

                     See attached video above, with sound, of our dinner in Vias!

We wandered back to the hotel, finished packing, set the alarms for 5:15AM, and grabbed some sleep.  35km for the day for me - 75km for the others.  292km total for me.