Day 7. June 12, 2014. Le Somail to Omps. 22 kms.

One day a fog came down upon the vine

And caught the budding insects in their prime.

While we, quite unaware, consume our wine

And stunted trees bear witness to the crime.

I left the chambre d'hôtes before nine, crossed the bridge, turned right, and walked along the south side of the canal. I passed a long stretch of dead plane trees, and then a string of newly-planteds, but some of these too were dead or dying. Something was amiss on this side of the river. On the other side they stood along the bank in all their majesty. So for much of the time I was in the sun, but the Coolgardie-safe effect of an oncoming breeze cooled me down.

The safe in my mother's kitchen was a wooden cupboard with fly-wire netting on the sides, keeping the butter and sugar, etc, "safe" from flies and ants and cockroaches. A Coolgardie safe was an ingenious device for keeping the food cool. The sides were of canvas which wicked up water from a little trough around the bottom, and the evaporation of the water cooled the canvas and the food inside.

I think I've mentioned before the huge cylindrical canvas water bags on Australian railway stations that worked on the same principle. More than sixty years later, I can taste the cool, canvassy flavour of the water.

This is a classic example of man's intellect in applying science. Observation and Application. And without Pollution! Our friends George and Josephine cool their house in Perth by the same principle, blowing air over water with a fan, instead of using wasteful and expensive air conditioning. And when the temperature rises above 40 degrees on the outside for days on end, they relax in the cool in the inside. (When we lived in Winnipeg, Canada, we would often notice how the temperature in Perth was as far above zero as we were below.)

So as I walked, I was cooled by the evaporation of the sweat on my shirt. I stopped for a real coffee at the the Chateau de Ventenac, for the brew this morning at breakfast was weak. I moved on.

There were still no trees on my side of the river, but they were thriving on the other bank. The canal was following the contour line: on my left were the vines on the plain; to my right, across the canal was a gentle slope up the hill. No vines. Now this is pure speculalation on my part, but had the trees been affected by the pesticide used on the vines? At my next stop I posed the question, and was told they were afflicted by a "maladie". But had the trees on the vineyard side been rendered more susceptible to the maladie by the pesticide? I have not seen any bees as I walk through this area.

And on the subject of maladies, some days ago I was served at a lonely cafe by a woman with the most brutal physical affliction I have ever seen. Dickens would have taken pleasure in describing her, but I won't. I imagined the pain she must have experienced as a child. Yet here she was, bravely and  cheerfully venturing out in public, although she retreated inside when a party of children passed by. To spare them, I thought. What courage this woman displayed! I will refrain from any reflections on divine injustice.

All day long the boats passed by. A woman lifted her hand lazily, courtesy demanding that she respond to my bonjour. 

Boats of all shapes and sizes are moored along the bank, some in excellent condition. The one above is functioning as an epicerie. Threatened by the wash of passing boats, others in bad repair or with very little freeway are in danger of foundering. In the one below, the sign says "Please slow down".

For lunch I ate a magnificent salad at Roubia. And then I walked on, taking another rest at the locks at Tourouzelle. 

After another five kilometres, I arrived at Omps, and found another chambre d'hôtes next to the canal. And then I experienced moments of extreme delight, frustration and relief in quick succession. For the first time this trip, I came upon a bar that was serving draught Leffe, but could not find enough cash to buy one. She wouldn't accept a credit card for less than 10 euros. I would have to drink three of them and Leffe is strong beer. I retreated, emptied all my pockets, and finally scraped together the necessary €3.90.

 

It is easy walking along the canal, despite the heat, but I look forward to venturing into more interesting terrain.