September

While we had the rental car we visited the 2.5 hectare  water lilly garden of Latour-Marliac, where over 200 varieties of water lillies are grown in the cultivation pools.The nursery was founded in 1875 by Latour -Marliac for the propagation of water lilies. At the time there was only one hardy white water lily in Europe. He was able to cross this with other wild varieties & build up a collection ranging in colour from delicate yellow to deep red & export all over the world. Monet was inspired by his water lillies & decided to grow them himself, at his home at Giverny, hence, his water liliy paintings, known as Nympheas.

Victoria, Giant water lily. This water lily, sets flowers that measure one foot across. The leaves, (pads) can become four feet in diameter. The Victoria is a nocturnal & hermaphrodidic plant. Each flower blooms for only two nights. On the first night the flower is female, being white, & smelling strongly of pineapple. On the second night the flower becomes male, turning deep pink. The flower is pollinated the 1st night  by a type of beetle native to the Amazaon River basin. When the flower closes up in the morning, the beetles are trapped inside, & it is in trying to escape that they spread the flowers's pollen. The head gardener at the Duke of Devonshire's estate, Chatsworth, named it Victoria, in honour of the Queen.

Lotus. The lotus has enormous leaves that grow high out of the water & has peony-like flowers. Each flower lasts three to five days, after which the petals fall away to reveal a conical seedpod that resembles a water can spout. The leaves, roots & seeds of the lotus are edible. The plant has a long history as a religious symbol, particularly in India. It grows in Europe as a perennial, but,grows best in regions with lots of sunlight

Sometimes, during the summer months on NZ we find we get really itchy bites which are caused by a very tiny black insect like a small sandfly. In France they call them flees. They have been about for the last 8 weeks & are most annoying as they spit a juice (that is what causes the itch) which stains the paintwork on Boats & is most difficult to remove. We tried all sorts of cleaners & with lots of rubbing made some impression. Recently we were told about a chlorine based liquid which is diluted, applied & left fror 5 minutes, then rinsed off & voila! , we have a nice clean boat.

One day we stopped at an extremely interesting museum which was owned by an elderly couple & housed their collection of minerals, fossils, coral, sand & shells, which they had gathered during their travels around the world.

They explained  about the development of  the earth & how all the different coloured minerals etc were formed. It was so informative.

Stromatilites. These fossils can be found dating back to 3.5 million years. They have grown from an algae, which was the first to produce oxygen, which modified the composition of the atmosphere on earth to enable the creation of the first animals. Stromatolites consume carbon dioxide & release oxygen by photosynthesis metabolism.

  

We went as far as Meilhan on the Canal lateral de Garonne, about 70km from Bordeaux, then turned back & are making our way towards our winter mooring. The weather is a little cooler now.

Barry eating his favourite cake from the pattisierre. - A Paris Brest

August

A bridge on the Baïse River

A log 1/2 a metre  long  x 1/3 metre in diameter which prevented the lock gate from opening

An old building in Nérac on the Baïse

Barry driving Cézanne    ...Nérac on the Baïse

A croustade

Buzet, where we left Cézanne while we were away

The barge removing the tree which had fallen across the Garrone canal. At the stern of the barge there is a long pole which has been lowered to the bottom of the canal to keep the barge stable when it lifts each heavy piece of log from the water

The last big piece of tree being removed

Judy & Neville spent 2 days with us during mid July, then we had a few days socialising with couples on 2 Australian boats, before Michael & Celia joined us for 8 days. We took them up the Baïse River to Valence- sur- Baïse which is as far as one can go on this River  Twice we had a  problem with the lock (écluse) gates, as logs & bits of wood can prevent them from opening & closing There is a telephone at each lock. If there is a problem one can phone the éclusier , who comes with equipment to remove the offending wood. He usually uses  a type of fork with long strong prongs, bent at a right angle. In NZ we call them a drag fork & use them for cleaning drains.

One evening for desert we sampled a croustade, a tart made of filo pastry, apple & armagnac, which is similar to cognac. Croustade is a speciality of pâtissieres (pastry, cake makers) in the area.  It is a round tart. The filo pastry top is crunched into small peaks before it is baked. Prior to serving, the tart is sprinkled with a small bottle of armagnac,which is then lit. This gives more flavour & helps to make the top crunchy.

Armagnac grapes are grown on sandy soil. The wine is distilled only once, giving the spirit a lower alcohol content but more flavour. Aged in local black oak, armagnac matures quickly, so young armagnacs are relatively smoother than corresponding cognacs.

Some days we were able to get TV coverage of the Olympic games & saw NZ competing in the horse events & winning 2 gold medals in the rowing events.

On the 1st August we took a train to Bordeaux, where we picked up a eurolease rental car which we have had for 4 weeks. It is to be returned tomorrow.

Now we are at the port of Damazan. Damazan is a smallish French village.On Saturday a large tree fell across the canal near here, haulting all boat traffic. A big barge with a crane on it arrived on Monday morning, creating a lot of interest, as it removed the tree, in pieces, from the canal.