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 Boating
through the Backyards of France
Although the French Canals were high
on my fantasy list for years, two things prevented me from
organizing a trip -- my pathetic high-school French and a fear of
locks. Thus, when I was invited to join a group of American,
Canadian and French journalists on a cruise through the Canal du
Midi in Southwest France last May, I leaped at the chance. I knew
I would have translators and, surely, someone else would handle
the boat in the locks. I expected an experience I could cross off
my “do-someday” list.
 Now,
I can’t wait to go back. The locks made the boat handling
interesting and fun (I was doing it handily within hours) and my
primitive French was no problem at all. With just a handful of
words and some animated gesturing I found I could communicate just
fine. One day I biked ahead of the boat and, no translators in
sight, learned how to help the locktender winch open the manual
lock gates.
The three-century-old Canal du Midi links the Mediterranean with
the Atlantic, traveling through medieval villages, colorful market
towns, farms and vineyard in France’s Languedoc region. You can
tie up virtually anywhere along the shore and go off and explore
by foot or by bike. We visited wineries, 9th and 10th Century
churches and the walled city of Carcassonne. We drank the region’s
rich wine and ate wonderful food.
 And
the canal itself is beautiful. Stately centuries’-old plane trees
-- 20,000 of them in all--stand along the sides, creating an
archway of green. The canal’s original rounded stone bridges and
unusual elliptical locks are still in use. Once a major commercial
transportation route, the Midi, like many of the French canals, is
now a recreational waterway with more than 400 boats for rent.
Next summer, SEA SENSE will sponsor a hands-on one-week canal trip
in France. I’ll be there. Will you?
By Betsy Haggerty
Betsy Haggerty is a freelance boating
and travel writer and, when time permits, a SEA SENSE assistant
instructor.
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