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| Kat ready for action |
Yesterday we took some canoes out
on the Dordogne, paddling from Carsac to Cenac.
Kat and I shared a Canadian open canoe while the boys had a kayak
each. We launched off with me at the
rear of the canoe; this position is responsible for steering. Not a good decision and not a good start when
I started paddling up river in the wrong direction. After a few circles we swapped positions and thereafter
made good progress.
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| me before I was demoted to the front of the canoe |
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| Paul |
It was a delightful voyage, not
too many people on the river and just enough white water to make it mildly
exciting. (The water level was very low
and yet it seems like only yesterday canoes had been banned because the levels
were so high and dangerous.) The scenery
was spectacular, even though we have seen it many times before. Floating under
the sheer cliffs with the Chateau de Montfort clinging to the top is
always a ‘wow’ moment.
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| Chateau de Montfort |
Towards the end of our expedition
Paul made a bizarre and slightly macabre discovery. He plucked a doll floating in the water only
to realise that he was holding a voodoo doll, complete with pins! After a quick photo we returned the unsavoury
object to the murky depths of the river.
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| Voodoo Doll |
Three hours later we arrived back
at Cenac and had lunch by the river. All
that paddling had made me ravenous.
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| dragonfly taking a ride on the canoe |
Yes unsavory. I'd throw it back too. Amazing it still goes on.
ReplyDeleteThose sort of things give me the creeps. Although I did once make an effigy of my boss out of blu tack and stuck pins in it.
DeleteLooks and sounds wonderful. Speaking about white water reminds me of some years ago when the farmer and I went with a party white water rafting on the Athabasca river - I was terrified. We got stuck and the young man steering from the back said he would have to get out and push us off - I had visions of us careering down the river without him until I saw him get out and the water didn't come over his trainers!
ReplyDeleteYou were brave Pat. That's funny about the shallow water. The Dordogne is pretty tame really, just a few rapids and boulders to negotiate. The hardest part is to stay floating and not get grounded in the shallows.
DeleteIt's when the natives start playing their banjoes competitively and sharpening their Laguioles.
ReplyDeleteHa-ha!
DeleteRay Mears, eat your heart out (I love Ray Mears)
ReplyDeleteHe would have carved his own canoe out of a tree. My bushcraft isn't that great.
DeleteMy favourite Ray Mears ever was when he did just that.
DeleteA few years ago we took a balloon flight over Cenac; less exhausting than paddling.
ReplyDeletep.s. I think that was my Keith Vaz Voodoo doll.
DeleteThat's a spectacular way to do it.
DeleteThe balloon flight, not the voodoo doll!
Delete