Off the boat !

Hi Andrew writing this.

We've been in the chateau south of Toulouse for 2 days now and it has been a god send.  The week on the canal was tough for us all and so relaxing in this place is perfect.  

Our boat !

We realized on about Tuesday that the canal was going to be a challenging week given our itinerary and the numbers on boats on the water.  We had visions of chugging away on the canal and pulling in every now and then to have a glass of wine at a village, or to let the kids off on their bikes to scoot alongside us as we puttered at a princely 8 knots.  The reality was a wee bit different.  The weather wasn't the best with a cold wind most mornings that cut through us and our journey didn't have a lot of free time built in so stopping during the day wasn't an option.  It also took 2 people to manage the boat at the locks so Wendy only got off if there was a decent gap between them to let Grace and Kate on their bikes.  It was also tough on the kids as while they helped enormously around the boat, there was a lot of down time with pockets of intense activity as we went through locks. We only saw one other family on the canal with children - and they were from Lower Hutt !!!

The girls in one of the 66 locks!

We had 66 locks, most of which were going up the river which was physically demanding on Wendy and the girls as they threw the ropes and held the boat steady as the lock filled.  We experienced the down river locks on the very last day - an absolute breeze that I could have easily done by myself ! The scenery is beautiful and it was a shame that the sun flowers were dying off as they would have been stunning in full bloom in the vast paddocks of them alongside the canal.  It's also a shame that the river hasn't/isn't kept in better condition.  I was shocked to be told that our boat waste went directly into the water !! This has World Heritage status and they continue to do that to it - made all the worse when you get the river spray all over you when the lock is filling. 

Some very good memories on the journey though with the family working very closely together, fantastic meals with the Dawson's either at a village that we had moored at, or on our boats, sitting with Wendy or the girls on the bridge and just chatting, having a look at the walled city in Carcassonne, the showers in Castradourdney were absolutely fantastic and very much needed, my personal sense of satisfaction of learning a new skill .... and many more.

A rare, but wonderful afternoon

Kids have really been enjoying chilling out in the Chateau and so have Wendy and I.  Alan and I are playing golf this morning so I'd better get ready.  Barcelona tomorrow for a few days, then LA for 3 more then home !