Fifth day: from Le Somail to Narbonne
It 's raining heavily at night.
I can't sleep because of the noise. I decide to change the navigation-scheme
when the rain doesn't stop. In the morning however, it's dry again. I see some
blue between the clouds and a few moments later the sky is clear. Still the
temperature isn't very agreeable. I keep my coat on all the time.
We get instructions of the
first lockkeeper at the fist lock of the Canal de Jonction. She is just doing the
first lock but all the next ones are converted to automatic operation. After
entering a code (1995E) and pushing the green button the locking starts. By pushing the red button you can always stop
the locking immediately and help will arrive directly.
The Canal de Jonction
is hundred years younger (1787) then the Canal du Midi. It is five kilometers
long and connects the Canal du Midi with the river Aude. The locks are about 600
from each other. No plane-trees but pine-trees are growing at both sides. This
is a canal to the coast, that's for sure. Pepijn is walking forward to the next
lock and types the code already so we can make good progress. As soon as the
locking starts, Pepijn is already going to the next one. The seventh and last
lock of the Canal de Jonction is called Gailhousty. It has a beautiful classic
lock-building and a dry-dock where a boat is being repaired.
After the lock of Gailhousty we have to cross the river Aude. Because of a weir at port-site we have to navigate a part upstream first and cross the river at a tightened cable over the river.
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Close to the right shore we navigate into the opened high-water lock Moussoulens into the Canal de la Robine. We navigate there again between the plane-trees. At starboard side a large chateau surrounded by vineyards is situated. |
At twenty-five past one we arrive at the lock of Raonel but the lockkeeper can't be found. It's lunchtime. We moor beside a predecessor in the lock where we have lunch. We decide to navigate until Narbonne. It crossed my mind to navigate to Īle Ste-Lucie. We had heard that nature is overwhelming beautiful there. On the stroke of half past two the lockkeeper arrives and locks us down further.
| Just before Narbonne is a lock called Gua. Here we also see a watermill fallen into decline. It is a pity that it isn't being maintained anymore. There is a gigantic hole in the roof and the waterwheel has disappeared. Still the water streams rapidly through the narrow passage and it look good with all that water and green around. |  |
We go on and arrive at the lock
of Narbonne in the middle of the city. There is a bar on a cable above the
water. By turning the bar the lock is engaged. After a while the light
turns green. The lock of Narbonne is situated besides a weir over which the
water runs with force. The lock itself is decorated with yellow flowers. 
We moor right after the lock before the Pont des Marchands.
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This is an old bridge on which shops and houses are built. We take a look there. Through the back windows we can see our boat. It is still there. I am not certain about the mooring-place because I see no other boats moored at this spot. So we navigate under the Pont des Marchands later. We take a look just outside Narbonne but the canal isn't very inspiring over there. We navigate between dikes so we don't see much of the surrounding land. When we smell a sewage purifying plant, we turn back and moor in the center of Narbonne.
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