last full day aboard

We woke up to find the wind still pretty strong and one of the pegs/stakes used to hold the boat's ropes in place on the bank was bent 90 degrees. The wind was so strong during the night it had actually caused the inch-thick piece of metal to bend that much. Incredible.

We had pancakes for breakfast and headed to Roubia to meet Caroline, Paddy and the girls. They had spent the previous day with their friends Jason and Ellen.

We bought plenty of stuff for lunch and waited for their arrival. A big feed was had on board and we set off for Homps once again - where we were to leave the boat at the end of our journey. We went back up the locks (so much more fun than going down I have decided), picked up Jason and Ellen who came along for the last couple of kilometres of the trip, and got safely to Homps by late afternoon. Just in time to buy ice cream for the girls :)

Once again, it was just mum, dad and I and we found somewhere for dinner and a few glasses of wine. We started a bit of a tidy-up of the boat as we had to completely clean it for leaving in the morning.

I think this picture of my dad pretty much sums up how he got on during his week on the Canal du Midi. He loved it and it was great for us all to spend some time together. Especially him and his brothers.

Hopefully we'll get some recompense from the boat company in the form of another week on a boat and we can do it all over again! Even more wine this time :)