Bordeaux on the barge Rosa day six-Boè

 

As we approached Agen locks we were informed of a problem with the second lock in the flight which had suffered a power failure. EDF were on the case and had the necessary spare part, but when would they be there? Luckily for us the VNF were thinking the same thing and turned up with a generator in the back of a van which they plugged into the control box.
I stayed on board while we were waiting on the lock moorings but Diana walked up to the first lock and was able to keep us updated by phone. The lock moorings are actually on a T junction but the way straight ahead is now cut off. We were there about half an hour before getting a call to proceed. Not the easiest spot to get off and turn 90° not helped by another boat moored behind us and a well silted canal.

 

Once in the bottom lock I hopped off and we walked up to the Pont-Canal d’Agen aqueduct, one of the longest in France at 539M long with 23 arches. I walked down to the river bank to take a few pictures before re-joining Diana and the boat . VNF have a small base there and hold stop planks to insert at the ends of the aqueduct if necessary. A bit different to the ones on UK canals.

Once we had crossed the aqueduct we sailed through the town of Agen to our over night and final moorings at Boè. Our moorings were a small port with several other boats there, it was here that we boarded Rosa on our last holiday on the Garonne when we sailed to Montauban.

In the afternoon there was a trip to a winery and a wander around town, I decided to miss out on this and doze on the deck in the sun until the rain started, but Diana and the others all went and here is what she saw.

The Vineyard and winery has its own irrigation lake, as this vineyard produces the every day wine and not the more expensive named wines controlled by the Appellations regulations.

The owner of the vineyard is an ex rugby player and is quite a big chap.		They even sell wine in boxes which is often used in cafés and sold by the glass.

After their visit to the winery it was a visit to the town of Agen to see the Cathedral    

		The round mosaic is actually a Roman floor mosaic that has been repositioned behind a protective screen to be on display.

   This modern shopping complex had a metal laser cut screen above the main entrance indicating what the original building looked like.    

When they returned to Rosa, Dominic the boat owner visited us to say hello, it was 8 years since we had seen him last on Rosa, so time for a quick photo with all the crew.

Mike, Agatha,Julian, Dominic, Nicole

As it was our last night onboard Rosa and is traditional on the last evening of cruise boats, we all sat down to the Captain’s Dinner, but by now the Captain wasn’t someone special but a friend sitting down at the fifth place laid at the dinner table.