I have not written anything for a few days because there is nothing to say. We are still stuck in Montech because the canal is still closed. When we went away to Montauban we hoped they would open the canal on Monday. However after our massages on Sunday and lunch in a sweet little restaurant, we returned to hear the news that it would probably not open again on Monday. Later in the day people in other boats started talking about Wednesday and one person said next Sunday! Had we known we would be stuck here this long we might have taken the boat to Montauban, but then it is a lot more locks.
So on Monday we decided to make the most of it and get domestic things done. We found a launderette and washed everything we could find that needed washing on the boat. I even got the iron out and used my ironing board for the first time! Then we found a large Intermarche and did a big shop. We even managed a bit of walk on the canal.
Today the weather was much improved. The trip to the capitainerie did not result in good news. VNF say they have been working day and night trying to clear the fallen trees from the canal, but now don't think they can open it until Thursday or Friday. We could get 14 km further on, to a place called Grissoles, but it only has a canal bank with rings and no facilities. That would be fine for one night, but I don't want to take the chance of being stuck there until Sunday! So we will wait to see if tomorrow brings any more definite news.
We walked around the canal today and saw the big sight which is the water slide called the Pente d'eau de Montech. It was used to push larger boats up to the town without using the locks. It was supposed to save 45 mins on the trip to Montech. It is no longer in use. According to the harbourmaster in Moissac it never worked properly and was condemned a couple of years ago. Anyway, it is an interesting piece of industrial archeology.
We thought we might be able to go to the cinema tonight because there was a flyer showing a local cinema playing the Great Gatsby in English. However it turns out the cinema is 14km away! We also tried to find out if there was a bus to Toulouse. But there is none. The only way out of here is by car and there are no car hire firms in the town. So, still stuck as I have said.
This evening we decided to use the time to try the local wines. We drank our less expensive bottle of Fronton. It was quite quaffable. We also tried a sweet Gaillac, a local wine we tasted at dinner in Montauban, to go with the last of our foie gras. Also very interesting.
Having been here for 5 days now we were running short of water. There is a water tap on the next berth, but our hose can't reach it. We looked in Intermarche for another hose, but they only had very large unwieldy ones. In the end we borrowed the capitainerie's hose and managed to fill up. So we showered on the boat and did a bit of cleaning. Great excitement! Someday we will get to Toulouse!
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