After our visit to Homps, we headed down canal a bit to make our journey tomorrow shorter. After a kilometer or so, we came to the lock. When we gone through it the first time, we were the only boat in the lock. As we approached the lock this time, there was a boat behind us. I (Chuck) was at the wheel (we wanted our French speaker on shore just in case) and was wondering how it was going to work to have two boats in the lock. We slowly entered the lock and got roped into the edge.
The second boat came in to our left. Then, much to my surprise, a
third boat came in right behind us. Everyone was secured and the water level began to go down. The first time we did the lock, the lock keeper was on the edge of the lock with us. This time we never even saw the lock keeper. He was in his house activating the locks with his remote control. It was clear that I was going to have to exit first because of our relative size and position in the lock. I really could not back up. That was not my preference, but there was no choice. We started out.
I had to start a bit to the left to hit the lock entrance, but was concerned about my stern (do I sound nautical?) crushing the fiber glass boat to my left. So, I eased out, very close to the left edge of the lock.
Somehow, I managed to both miss the other boat, and not graze the edge of the lock.
After that little adventure, it was an hour down canal to Paraza where we filled up with water and moored for the night. We walked around the village for a bit. We decided to eat on board finishing up food we had purchased and some left overs that we had kept. So, dinner was champagne, orangina, scrambled eggs, baguette, butter, jam, chicken, pickled mackerel, pate, potato chips, fresh figs (that Jeanne had picked), cantaloupe, apples, cheese, and cookies. A feast fit for a king!
