Origin: Macaire, Apparthotel'Hotel les Tilleuls
Destination: Meilhan, L'Auberge Meilhannaise, 1 Rue Des Anciens Combattants
We treated ourselves to a short day of 25 km on the Voie Verte canal trail along the Garonne. This canal was built almost a century and a half ( 1838-1856) after the Canal du Midi.
To get to the start of this canal trail in Castets-en-Dorthe we followed a road along the Garonne for 7km by a lovely park, past some beautiful homes, over a deep ravine on a pedestrian bridge and then on grass trail past high corn. But sure enough, at the end this adventure, there was the bridge to get us over the river to begin the canal trail.
Here at the Castets-en-Dorthe lock, the canal is full of boating vacationers; there is a lovely park and a fancy restaurant, Ecluse 52, where we had coffee.
Trail from here is wide and paved; we stopped again for lunch at a trailside restaurant, Ecluse 50. ("ecluse" = "lock") A mallard duck and her ducklings did not seem bothered by our camera.
Our route off the canal provided some gradual climbs to our B and B, Auberge Meilhannaiyse, for the night. Lovely renovation of an old home now five B and B rooms. 80 per cent of their business is canal cyclists. What a pleasant setting for the the outdoor dinner they offer at 8...Seth and Rachel (and their 2 children--4-year-old and 6-month-old) have been running this auberge B and B for three years.
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