The trees outside the port cafe gave very good shade in the morning, so we decided to spend some time (until the sun got above the trees, or we had used up our 4 hours of battery charging on our shore power token, whichever came later) scrubbing the front of the cabin roof to get rid of the brown stains caused by the Plane Tree gum spots that we accumulate when mooring under the trees for shade. We tried various options (scrubbing pads, bicarb soda, Cif and stiff brushes) until we settled on the Cif and brushes as the most effective. By the time our time ran out, we had done about a quarter of the cabin roof. So we downed tools and prepared to head further west, leaving Villeton about 1130h.

As chance would have it, the first lock we encountered at la Gaulette was broken, so Rita called the VNF from the lock and they said they were aware of the problem, and would come out to fix it as soon as they had finished their lunch! So we tied up to the waiting pontoon for an hour and had our own lunch. While we waited, another boat arrived and we had to flag them down to tell them the lock was broken, so they tied to the bank and also had lunch.

When we were finally signalled to enter the lock, we saw that a generator was running behind the control booth, and the VNF guy said that the problem was that EDF (the electricity authority) had had a breakdown, cutting off power for this ecluse, hence the generator. So all seemed to be simply fixed, but when we passed through the lock, we saw five hire-boats waiting on the other side, so maybe it would take a bit longer to clear than we thought.

As we cruised further, we saw another problem where an old timber barge had sunk at its moorings. We had seen, and admired, this barge before, but I suspect this might be the end of its life, and that it will be hauled out of the canal, piece by piece. It is ironic that the name of the barge was “Esperance”, Spanish for “Hope”.

A little while later, we passed l’Escapade moored at Bout de la Côte, a small port with cafe and camping ground attached. It looked like David was glad to have a rest after saying goodbye to his guests yesterday.

Around the next bend, we saw a work team hard at work driving piles along the canal bank to form a new wall. We were amazed at the speed at which they worked. By the time we lost sight of them about 150m later, the pile that they are lifting had already been driven fully into the ground (actually it was just pushed down, since the underlying soil must have been very soft).

As we passed through le Mas d’Agenais, we noticed that Highlander had moored for the night at a powered site. While our generator was still not working, we figured we still had enough power to last for a couple of days after our battery charging this morning, and so we continued on to get within bicycle reach of Phil and Terrie’s place tomorrow.

As we left Le Mas, we noticed a burnt house on the right, and wondered about its story.

A little while later, we passed a farmhouse that we had seen being renovated for a couple of years, and were impressed by the progress that had been made. I took a photo, and only later did I realse that the iPhone was still on “live photo” mode. So in addition to the photo, I got a little video clip, with sound. And this illustrates the sounds that often accompanied our barging as Rita practiced her flute in the wheelhouse. It was always interesting to watch the expression on the faces of walkers or cyclists as they heard the music emanating from the barge!

We reached our mooring at Fourques at 1540h, and moored in front of two other boats that were already there. A little while later, the guy from the little boat just behind us came up and introduced himself as Phil, and his wife Angela soon joined him. We chatted for a while and then he mentioned that they had a house in the area and it turned out to be the burnt house we had seen in Le Mas. That is why they are now living on a boat during their summer trip from the UK, until their house is rebuilt with the insurance payout.

As we were settling in to Fourques, I noticed a little boat go past with no one, apparently, at the steering. However, closer examination showed two guys reclining on their backs at the front of the boat, and a rope going around each side-railing and connected to the outboard motor (which also acts as the rudder). They then steered the boat by pulling on the ropes. Not sure they would continue this method when entering locks!

That evening we stayed on board, and after dinner I did the annual accounts for TUTI and sent them to our accountant so that they could lodge our Business Activity Statements for the year. Sadly, not much business activity, but a necessary chore each year.