Thursday May 23, 2019

CNC at Pont du Gard

Our bus choice of times was limited today so we are up early to catch the 0730 bus to Pont du Gard. I ask the driver in French if he can tell us when to get off. It is about a 50 minute bus ride and the morning route includes picking up kids going to school. Every once in a while, one has forgotten their bus pass, and the driver allows them on. he seems to be a very happy guy which is later confirmed when he tells me we have about five minutes to the stop. All the school kids have gotten off and he tells me his English is not very good. He is nice enough to point out a view of the bridge and then when we get to the stop, how to walk there, how much time it will take, and where to wait for the bus going back to Nimes. I tell him he is very kind, in French, which makes him smile. We make the walk to the park entrance which only takes about 10 minutes and talk with the only other person who got off the bus. He is a gentleman from California who emigrated there from Romania in the 1980’s. He has been here before but did not get to see the museum so he has come back. We make our way to the ticket counter and the lady explains about the museum, a video, and the different paths and viewpoints in the park. She says that we should do the museum and video first as it gets crowded later.

Gardon River

We find that the video and museum does not open until 0900, so Carol sits and has a pastry, while I take a walk to see how far the bridge is. It is not too far and I get a nice picture of it and the Gardon River below. Then I walk back and eat my pastry which takes us to opening time. We watch the video which is more a arial photo journey then a historical film.

Aqueduct Map

After the film, we enter the museum. It is very informative and we spend quite a bit of time in there. We see different types of lead pipes and valves that were used. A map shows the route of the aqueduct from a spring in the mountains near Uzes to its terminus in Nimes. The aqueduct was about 30 miles long with most of it underground. It was built around 19 BC and dropped 1 inch every 350 feet. It provided nine million gallons of water a day to Nimes. The museum shows how they moved the large stones into place and how they built the massive arches that support the aqueduct canal.

Wiener Dog Mark

There is also an carving of the Pont du Gard hare which was supposed to protect the bridge from the evil eye. It looks like a petroglyphs of an ancient wiener dog to me. Another exhibit shows stone Mason’s marks which were put on the bridge later by Mason’s who admired the work of their predecessors.

Aqueduct Above

We finish in the museum and walk out towards the bridge itself. It really is amazing when you look at the size and scale of it. A road was built along the aqueduct bridge in1743 and this is what we cross the river on.

Awesome Feat

The Pont du Gard is the worlds second highest standing Roman structure, surpassed only by the Roman coliseum which is 6 feet higher. The main arch here is the largest the Romans ever built at eighty feet across. The bridge itself is 160 feet high and was 1200 feet across. The aqueduct only dropped 40 feet in the 30 mile route.

Covered to Conserve Water

A four foot wide, six foot tall chamber was the only part of the structure that used mortar in order to waterproof the canal. It carried water for more than 400 years. On the structure itself, you can see stones jutting out that supported the original scaffolding to build the bridge. Each stone in the arches weighs between two and six tons. We hike over the bridge and then take a trail of steps up to a viewpoint of the bridge. From there, we come to the top of the bridge where you can look at the canal and covered aqueduct at eye level.

They Tunneled Here

Opposite is a canal tunnel that carried water to this point. We follow a path that turns to dirt trying to find some more remains of the canal. We do not see any signs and the path narrows and becomes steep. I can see what I think are the remains below us but no obvious way to get there. This turns into a forest jungle adventure with a few scratch marks on the legs before we break out and see the remains.We check them out and then walk a wide path that goes right through the tunnel we had seen at the bridges end. It was very close, just not the way we went.

Even More Impressive

We take the path down to the river and enjoy some spectacular views of the bridge. Then we hike under it to the other side and find a nice river side spot to have a snack. We watch a few groups of kayakers heading downstream go under the bridge.

Great Spot

I decide to take a dip I the water and strip down to my skivvies. They pass just fine as a European bathing suit. I find a spot off a rock ledge to jump in. The water is cold but not mountain stream cold. It is very refreshing and a great way to spend some time. Carol is not convinced on the temperature and opts to stay on dry land.

Reflections

When I get out the breeze has subsided and we get some nice reflective pictures of the Pont du Gard. We hang out a little while longer as I dry off and then head back so we can catch the 1352 bus back to town. The next one is two and a half hours later so we do not want to miss this one. We get to the stop around 1325 and 10 minutes later we are glad we did as the bus comes and then leaves 15 minutes ahead of its scheduled time. We are back at our place by 1500 just in time to relax a bit before the bakery opens. We head over there to buy some pastries for tonight, this time one religiosa each and the green one again as we really liked them both. We also get a fresh baguette.

Happy Hour

When we return, it is time for some beer and cheese al fresco on our patio. We toast to the good life. We try a beer called Hoegaarden, a wheat type beer that is spiced and very good. Later on in the evening I Carol goes to the market to get another Hoegaarden for tomorrow and an orange which we thought would go nice with it. I go up the street and get a Margherita pizza for our dinner. It is very good and as we have found, they put a few olives on it instead of the basil that the Italians use.

It is Red

We try another beer we had got called Tekiros which is a red bier with tequila and something called cachaca. The beer is red, not Amber, in color and not quite as good as we would like. It still goes down well with our pizza.        

Religiosa is Delicious

Our evening ends with our pastry desserts which are just incredible, once again. I am sure we will find our way back to the bakery tomorrow. We better walk a little extra.

                          Expenses
Studio N1 59E
RT Bus to Pont du Gard 6.20E Cash
Pont du Gard Museum and Entrance 19E
Bread and Pastries from Bakery 8.05E
Beer, Wine, Orange from Market 5.86E
Pizza from Pizzeria Verona 6E Cash
Walked 6 Miles