River crossings
In this neighbourhood there are few large man-made works. When you do not see large works you forget just how many there are in the world and for how long mankind has been altering his own environment. Today my lessons in civil engineering taught me about a large canal in France called le Canal du Midi. Used to join the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean. I admit, I had never considered this need. I was aware of the Strait of Gibraltar and I figured that met all the possible conditions of getting a boat from here to there. But in the good old days when they were kings they would control who passed through their territory. Control freaks one and all. Anyhow someone decided to construct a canal for shipping over a distance of a couple of 100 kilometres and through the mountains. A lot of work with a shovel? Certainly and an even larger amount of work to make sure that there was water in his new canal all year long. Invention of systems that had never been built before. I found the lecture very intriguing. I admit. I had never, not once, considered how you make a river cross the canal. Or vice versa. But here where engineers, in the middle of the 16th century, not only thinking about how to do it but actually getting out there with hundreds of people and picks and shovels. Even better their workmanship is still in use today. Hundreds of years later. In sharp contrast we barely make our local roads passable from one year to the next. Will they go to visit the site? That could be fun but not likely to happen and so I will file away my knowledge in case the question ever comes up at supper. Funny how that goes. Just a note. We have no canals locally. And the ocean always has water. Where you live effects what you build.
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