Le Somail

From Poilhes and Capestang, we came to more stone bridges and several small aqueducts as we journeyed to the small village of Le Somail.

One of several small aqueducts

Le Somail is a charming village of historic import. The 17^th century hamlet served as a resting place for passengers on the mail barge operating between Agde and Toulouse.

Passenger/mail boats that regularly plied the canal took four days to go from Agde to Toulouse. Staging posts were located at Le Somail, Trebes, Castelnaudary, and Negra.

The Le Somail tower held ice in earlier times

At Le Somail, visitors can see one of the circular towers once used for preserving ice throughout the summer. At the time, the trip only cost six pounds, but passengers were required to pay each time they reached a double or triple lock – a total of 25 times. At each of these locations, they had to carry their luggage up or down the steep slope to their next boat.