Evening cruise on Le Bonpas

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Geo: 43.3186, 3.14259

Monday evening, we walked to the port for 6.45pm where we were greeted by the 'captain', Rene, and his 'mate', (in more ways than one given that they are also man and wife), Paule, and boarded Le Bonpas as part of the total eleven passengers for the cruise, including a party of four celebrating a birthday. Settled into informal seating at the front of the boat, safety instructions explained, we were served aperitifs by Paule before casting off, or whatever it is in boating 'speak'.

Other than us two, the remainder were French spoken, so whilst Rene enthusiastically did the majority of the commentary in French (his English is limited and we were unable to follow his French), Paule discreetly translated the salient bits on our behalf, thankfully. She gave us some background to the Canal du Midi, much of which we had already gleaned from the Internet, but it is reassuring to know that due to the ecological set up of the water and surroundings, that mosquitoes are noticeably absent from the waterway, the distinctive green colour of the water being another indication. Were we relieved to hear that after the Camargue!

A short way into the journey, we went through the short Malpas tunnel which we had encountered on our Sunday bike ride. Whilst much of the original limestone has now been lined with concrete cladding, a small part of the original surface is still visible. Soon afterwards, we moved to our tables for the serving of supper, consisting of starter of vegetable mousse, salmon and stuffed potato jackets for main, local cheeses and an unusual honey accompaniment for the goat variety, open apple tart, washed down with rosé. All was very tasty and beautifully presented on lovely china.

Along the way, Paule continued to point out other interesting titbits, including some cannons of British origin displayed on the canal bank beside a villa, another villa which has been built around a small chapel, various wildlife, before turning back at the village of Poilhes for the return journey to Colombiers. It was almost dark as we docked at 9.30pm after an enjoyable evening afloat.

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Photos

Paule and Rene
Captain and his mate