Overnight rain confirmed our decision to keep moving south, and so after two hours of packing up (now we know how long to takes to get the van ready for the road), we departed the campground in late morning and headed south-west towards Moissac. We headed up the hill that Rita had travelled yesterday to go swimming at Lac Camboux, which is one of a series of lakes on the Gardon d'Alès above Branoux. It all looked very pleasant, but when we got to the next lake we were in for a surprise. It was empty! It turned out that because of the low rainfall this year, the authorities had released all the water from the upper lakes to fill Lac Camboux, so that it could continue to function as a tourist destination.

We continued going further up into the mountains (which are part uf the Central Massif) until we reached a mountain pass at Col de Jalcreste, where we stopped so that Rita could buy some local produce. Even though the elevation was only a little over 800m (about the same height as the Cathedral Range back home), the views were still impressive.

We then pressed on until we reached the town of Florac. While Rita ducked into a supermarket to get some supplies for the trip, I went for a wander and found the local cemetery with a good view of the mountain range behind Florac.

After a quick lunch in the van, we followed the twists and turns of the upper reaches of the River Tarn (the same river that eventually flows through Moissac) until we reached the town of Ispagnac. At this point the road splits in two directions. To the south the Tarn flows through the Tarn Gorges, and to the north the road heads up the hill to a high plateau. We had come through the Tarn Gorges many years ago and remembered it having lots of narrow twisty sections, which we were not sure would suit the van. For this reason, and to explore some new territory, we took the road north. This in itself had some challenges for the van, especially the climb out of Ispagnac via a series of hairpin bends. We could just imagine Tour de France riders struggling up this hiil, and so didn't feel too bad in the van. When we got to the top, we stopped for a look around and a photo opportunity. While Rita checked out the lookout over Ispagnac, I climbed up a bit further to get a more panoramic view of the road and the Tarn Valley beyond (I made sure I put the handbrake on securely before we left the van!).

When we reached the top of the climb, the scenery changed dramatically. Gone were the mountain views, to be replaced by endless flat horizons on top of the plateau. There were several route options now available to us, but we chose the one headed for Albi. Along the way, having left the Tarn River valley, we then crossed into the Lot Valley and the Dordogne Valley before again returning to the Tarn Valley. This reinforced the role of the Central Massif as the source of many major river systems in France. When we got to Albi, I was somewhat disappointed, because the road skirted around the edge of Albi and we saw none of the old town of Albi (we'll have to explore that more fully on another van trip when we have more time). So we continued on until we went through Montauban and then on to Moissac. Since we had stayed at the Municipal Campervan Park on our last trip to Moissac (when we bought the van from John and Irene), we thought we'd do the same again, given its good accessibility to central Moissac.However, when we got there, we found we could not get into the camper park. One of the permanent van residents told us that the very hot weather in Moissac this year had "fried" the electronics in the gate controls, and hence no vans could enter or exit. So we had to find somewhere else to park for the night.

But first we had an important appointment to honour, since it was Friday night, when many of the barge people in Moissac gathered for a drink at the Sunbeam Cafe (now under new management). While the Cafe had lost a lot of its old charm, it was stil a good place for a drink. Unfortunately, we knew none of the new bargees, bar one. So, the gathering was short-lived, but at least we found a place where we could camp for the night, thanks to our old friend. So we went back to the van and brought it around to in front of the workshop sheds bordering the canal and port area. At least we got an interesting sunset view over the port.

We had heard that Rob and Cherie Mitchell were in town, but were unsure whether they would be in their house or on their boat, Rovi 1. We couldn't see their boat in port, so we checked their house but no one was there. As we walked back, however, we checked the stone quai on the River Tarn, and spied them sitting on their rear deck. So we joined them for a quick drink, then arranged to meet again in the next day or two. By the time we left them, it was getting late for dinner, so we walked up town but the restaurants were not taking new patrons for dinner, and the pizza shop on the corner near the Mairie was just closing its kitchen as well. But Rita sweet-talked the manager, who agree to do two simple pizzas for us provided we didn't want to sit at this tables. So we got our meal, and then went back to the van to eat them, to close off a very busy day.