April 25th

We readied and left Capestang by 0910. Our days journey started in sunshine. We stopped at Guery and had our second wine tasting. We bought our first rose vin and a red vin; also bought their award winning olive oil. But the weather did not cooperate. It turned colder and began to rain lightly. It was just enough we had to go inside and steer from the cabin wheel with the windshield wiper on.  🙁   This is the first time turning on the wiper though:).

We meandered on through the town of Poilhes and on to our only tunnel on the Canal du Midi – Tunnel de Malpas. It's only 160 m long, but it is one way and still has the narrow walk way once used by horses to pull the work barges through. It is just long enough, it's dark, but short enough you can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

We arrived into the town of Colombiers around 1130ish. Les Canalous, the company we rented from, has an office in the marina. We stopped here – one, because we need some fuel; two, to spend the night; and three, to see Etang de Montady.  After lunch, (and it had stopped raining) we took off on our bikes. Up a steep hilltop, we arrived to Etang de Montady. Wow it is something!

   “Through drainage channels, the water is led to a central collector, which explains the star-shaped arrangement of the fields and        vineyards. This system of channels dates back to the 13th C  . The water is then evacuated by a ditch with counter slope towards the pond of Capestang and by a gallery under the hill of Ensérune and under the tunnel of Malpas.”-Wikipedia.

Wikipedia is sited because it explains it better than I could. Another good day in France!!