In all my ramblings about the train these last two days, I didn't want to forget that there were other casualties to the human error that caused the flooding (inundation en francais) that winter of 2003. Of course, homes on the river were flooded, long stretches of traintracks along the river were ruined, and farmers' fields were damaged.
And then, there was the Schmilblick. The Schmilblick was a large, covered, open-air pontoon boat that took tourists from Cajarc along the Lot River all the way to the weirs before Monbrun. That meant that the Schmilblick passed in front of the Chatette on a frequent daily basis during the summers.
It was fun to hang out the windows, wave, and listen to what they had to say as they were cruising up and down the river.
It was also something fun to do with family and friends when they visited.
I'll never forget the photo a friend sent of the Schmilblick in the flood waters, almost as high as the bridge in Cajarc.
It didn't run for a while, but came back during 2005.
What I didn't realize was that many of the patrons for the Schmilblick came from the QuercyRail, so when the train stopped running their main source of clienits dried up. It wasn't long and the Schmilblick stopped running too.
I always enjoyed the trips. My French is so much better now, I bet I could even understand more of the history that was shared by our guide along the way!
And of course, there were always photo opportunities to be had.
Happy Sunday!
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