The proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. The 160 meter Malpas tunnel is the only tunnel on the canal and was dug by hand in 10 days by the workers building the canal in the late 17th century. There are no signals and the tunnel is only wide enough for one boat at a time. Signs near the entrance advise blowing your horn to warn approaching boats of your presence.

Arnaul Amalric was in charge of the crusader army that sacked Béziers in 1209 and killed the 20,000 inhabitants and burned the town. "There, according to the Cistercian writer Caesar of Heisterbach, Arnaul Amalric supposedly responded when asked by a Crusader how to distinguish the Cathars from the Catholics,

Caedite eos. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius (Kill them all. For the Lord knoweth them that are His.).

This is the origin of the modern phrase, "Kill them all and let God sort them out." [thanks wikipedia]"

Took a long walk through Beziers yesterday afternoon after we had traversed the Fonsarranes locks and crossed the Orb aqueduct. The canal is located on the other side of the railroad tracks (we'll return here on Wednesday for the train to Paris). There are two ways to get under the tracks -- one near the river and at the other end of this bit of canal there's a crossing under the bridge near a new mall and one of the main streets. After crossing under the tracks near the river we circled around the walls of the old city and finally found our way near the top and the Eglise de la Madeleine (Church of Madeleine); then found the ruins of a Roman Amphitheater (that held 13,700 spectators according to the sign); and finally the Cathedrale Saint Nazaire built in the 13th century. The old city is a warren of narrow winding streets covering the top of the hill. Throughout this region there are remains from the Greeks in the 5th and 6th century BCE; the Romans; and most of the impressive old buildings were built in the 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries.

Had a nice cup of coffee at a cafe on the Forum, a large public square, and then walked down the hill back to the boat with a short detour through a spectacular park near the train station. Before dinner we walked up another hill and found the Arenas de Beziers -- the bullfighting arena which was built at the end of the 19th century.

Since we're very close to where we have to turn in the boat we'll spend the most of the day in Beziers before heading out mid afternoon and finding a place to spend tonight and tomorrow.