A thunderstorm blew in from nowhere last night. Upon waking this morning a Gratis covered in leaves, twigs and fruit greeted our eyes. A rapid clean up and we were off: or maybe not!!

Arriving at the first lock of the day 5 minutes later, no lock lights greeted us. Mooring to a dredging barge, Rob Dickson alighted, and headed to the lock to discover the reason. A power outage caused by the thunderstorm was the answer.

08:30, the time of promised power returning came and went.

There was time for an amble and procuring pics of the animal life found upon the canal waters. Small flowers enticed tiny creatures.

whilst damsel flies and dragon flies flitted amongst the reeds, proving hard to get.

It was 4pm before the lock became fully operational. On arriving at the 2^nd soon after, another ½ hour wait ensued, as this too had had a hissy fit.

The country side underwent transformation over the coming kilometres. For a while there were less trees where the train line ran along canal edge.

At last, the River Tarn commenced flowing alongside as the Garonne wended its way southward. Rolling hills, a mix of thickly wooded and farming land ran along the port side. Hawks soared and bird song roe on the breeze. If you believe southern France is cool during the summer months, one soon finds that belief put to rest as the steaming heat of the sun beats down.

On the approach to Moissac, the canal became so shallow upon the bank, one could have paddled as at the beach and the clarity of the waters clearly showed: it is the tannins of the bark that turn it brown.

On our final approach into the township, the canal became walled on both sides as we motored between the streets upon the outskirts and passed through a manually operated revolving bridge – the operator had been notified via a computer alert as we passed through the final lock. How fortunate we were, for the operator knocked off at 7pm – we just made it!

A little critter or two came aboard for short moments.