BaroqueW

Sénanque Abbey

France is a lovely place to be. No, really, it is. Well, I can only speak for southern France, but so far I’m pleased to be able to report that it’s lovely both for the scenery and the people. I’ve visited the gorgeous ancient Sénanque Abbey surrounded by lavender. (A tip for future female visitors, learn to pee standing up because even in the women’s bathroom, the toilets more closely resemble urinals, as there is nothing between you and porcelain.)

Fairy Chimney

I’ve visited ancient Roman aqueduct/bridges (Pont d’Avignon which only half exists and Pont du Gard which is magnificent), and I’ve been to the famous outdoor Sunday market of L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. I’ve visited La Fontaine de Vaucluse and even seen the ocre tinted Chimney of Fairies (Cheminée des Fées) and the so-called Sahara in Rustrel.

Today, however, I took a more active route to sightseeing. I went kayaking down the Sorgue River! With BaroqueW and Madame and Monsieur BaroqueW (his parents).

Our instructor informed us that doubling in a kayak is a test of a relationship, because you have to work together in complicated ways to get things to go in the right direction. We nearly mowed down a duck. Several times. What does that say about us?

It was organized chaos, and incredibly fun. Our group had the coherency of a message board run by rabid Nazis who enjoy dressing as nuns and visiting Disneyland in their free time. People swerved around randomly, zigzagging from one side of the river to the other. One boy jumped from his kayak and landed with the grace of a paraplegic antelope in the water to retrieve a lost paddle. Did I mention this “tour” is listed as being good for beginners? It’s 8km long and takes approximately 2 hours to complete. We had two small man-made dams to climb over and pull our kayaks after us, both managed without mishap. We did manage to get stranded on rocks twice, but with 32˚C(90˚F) weather, the chilly 13˚C(55˚F) water felt refreshingly wonderful so I didn’t mind jumping out to get us free.

We got to glide under an aqueduct and past the famous water wheels of L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. As I previously mentioned, there were ducks trying to eat lunch, with their tiny baby ducklings in tow. We managed not to mush any, but it was a close call.

It was also a workout as we desperately paddled to try to avoid trees or whirls of water, but at the same time it was very relaxing and peaceful. You can listen to the cicadas and the birds while admiring gorgeous dark blue dragonflies that come to rest on your boat. We even floated past a few donkeys that came down to the riverbank for refreshment. If you’re ever passing through the region, I strongly recommend giving “canoë-kayak”ing a try.

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June 29th, 2007 | Tags: France, Provence, Voyage / Travel | Category: Articles in English, Voyage / Travel | Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL