15 June 2012 Homps to Ventenec-en-Minervois

Bill and Linda went for a walk and found the Etang de Jouarres, a large lake just behind Homps. Didn’t look as inviting for swimming, as the promotional brochures showed. Not that we were planning to swim though – still a bit too cool

After breakfast, a few people utilised the ready availability of the water by doing washing, before we started our return journey back along the Canal.

We tucked into the delicious Galette Occitane that we had bought in Narbonne for morning tea

Two single locks and two double locks on our trip today all operated by a lock keeper. Unfortunately at the double lock at Pechlaurier we had a bit of a mishap whereby the lock keeper set the water to flow out before the back of the boat was fully secured and the front of the boat was cleated off. Hence the boat got caught with the straking rail stuck on the edge and so it got torn off and the boat started to tip. Coffee plunger, cups etc went flying onto the floor, glasses slid on the shelf and everyone was a bit shook up.

We realised that it was almost 12:30 and the locks close between 12:30 and 1:30 so he was obviously in a hurry to go on his lunch break!!

We pulled up at Argens Minervois for lunch and to inspect the damage.

After lunch we continued on past the Chateau de Paraza, once the home of Pierre-Paul Riquet, the man who engineered the Canal Du Midi in 1662. He acquired his wealth to fund the project through salt taxes.  

Just past Paraza we passed over the Pont-canal de Repudre, the first canal bridge ever to be built in France and the 2^nd in the world and the oldest aqueduct on the canal.

We arrived at our destination early enough in the afternoon to have time to cycle to Ginestas, a town a few kilometres from the canal, This town was the closest that had a money machine, as a few of us needed to top up our cash supplies, before venturing into the Chateau De Ventenec for wine tasting. Needless to say, after sampling most of the wines they had we purchased a few. (A note here - the wines are extremely reasonably priced for the quality of them)

Followed by yet another even more superb dinner at La Grillade Du Chateau (A note here about the food too – most places where we have eaten have had set, 3 course menus of the most scrumptious and inexpensive food)