Hot and sunny. Bill set off early to get some shopping from the Intermarché in Montech. Mike also got up early, around 8.00 a.m. but had some trouble with getting ready so we were half an hour later than we had intended to be. A large hire boat coming past heading for the Montauban locks just as we were about to untie didn’t help matters much. Bill called on the radio and we turned on to the main line at 10.15 a.m. as Bill backed Rosy out of the moorings. A yacht had been about to come up Montech lock as we went past it, it soon caught up so we called him past into Lavache lock N° 10 in front of us. It was an automatic lock so the French guy off the yacht (called Albert) went up the only ladder and pressed the button. It was 11.00 a.m. when we left the top, setting off on the 18.5 kms long pound to the next lock. The yacht was soon out of sight. We saw only one other boat, a little British Otter around 11.40 a.m. heading downhill. The yacht Albert was moored at Grisolles – crew in the restaurant no doubt. It was 1.25 p.m. and as we passed they were setting off and caught up with us again as we arrived at lock 9, Emballens. The resident lock keeper, a young man with long curly hair in a knot on top of his head, hippie-style, came out to operate the lock and pressed buttons on a console. The converted shortened péniche Exodus was moored above his lock with a for sale notice on it (It was for sale when we came down in September 2007). We followed Albert to the next lock, he was in the lock before we were halfway along the 3.5 kms pound. Surprisingly the young female keeper waited for us and we all three went up Catselnau lock 8, shortly followed by l’Hers lock 7, the latter worked for us by a young man. Mike told him we were stopping below the next lock and he also told the crew on Albert. It was 3.30 p.m. The yacht set off first but didn’t get very far before they stopped five feet out from the bank. As we passed them the skipper said they had an overheated engine and would have to sort it out.
We carried on along the rest of the 3.3 kms pound leading to St Jory, lock 6. The trees along the right bank were casting a very inviting shade. We called Bill, who was following us, and got no reply so we stopped and almost got close to the bank. Bill had been trying to call us to say let’s moor under the trees! The VHF marine radio had changed its channel from 9 to 8! Just after we tied up the yacht came past and moored close to a cruiser tied at the end of the length of piling below the lock (they said they were going into the port in Toulouse). It was still steaming hot even in the shade under the trees. In the distance we could hear muffled music – today was France’s day of music. It was very noisy as we were moored right opposite the railway which now follows the course of the canal all the way into the city of Toulouse. It was very hot and sticky so we left the doors open as late as possible to try and reduce the heat in the cabin.
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