We awoke Wednesday morning in Beynac et Cazenac, a small town along the Dordogne River. The river used to be the only means of communication between the mountains and sea and at times, marked the boundaries of France and England. And we were going to canoe down it… or at least 22 km of it.
The tour company in town offered two options - Versat to Beynac (15kms and approximately 2.5 hours) or Carsac to Beynac (22kms and approximately 4 hours). I was a fool to think Martin would choose the shorter option. So we boarded the bus (driven by a middle aged French woman rather than the anticipated 20 something river rat a la Truckee River) and headed upstream to Carsac for our day of “Canoeing”…although my experience at times was more like a canoe ride.
The first 7km to Versat flew by. With a relatively strong current and fresh arms, I was feeling confident in my canoeing abilities. That, plus it only took Martin and me 10 minutes to get a rhythm down that made me feel like I was contributing to the efforts while maintaining a straight line (unlike the British couple that zig-zagged their way down the entire river). After Versat however, the current all but stopped, making paddling even harder and making my “rest breaks” (where I sat comfortably in front while Martin paddled in the back) even longer. Thankfully he didn’t seem to mind too much…the extra 7kms were his idea after all.
While not paddling or perfecting our coordination, Martin and I were able to take in the scenic views, including the 5 chateaus (French for castle) all perched on the surrounding cliffs (stunning themselves), overlooking the river and all unique in their construction and history. We also stopped on a few occasions to take a swim in the water, enjoy lunch (at a slightly ill-prepared snack hut) and break for beers. With the breeze off the water and warm sun shining all day, I was happy and willing to continue on past our stop…I don’t think Martin was so keen so we pulled over in the correct town.
After paddling for the 22kms (okay, more like 15) my arms and body were exhausted, yet beginning to gain some summer color. The night ended with a hard earned dinner and Martin, for once, eating too much!
The tour company in town offered two options - Versat to Beynac (15kms and approximately 2.5 hours) or Carsac to Beynac (22kms and approximately 4 hours). I was a fool to think Martin would choose the shorter option. So we boarded the bus (driven by a middle aged French woman rather than the anticipated 20 something river rat a la Truckee River) and headed upstream to Carsac for our day of “Canoeing”…although my experience at times was more like a canoe ride.
The first 7km to Versat flew by. With a relatively strong current and fresh arms, I was feeling confident in my canoeing abilities. That, plus it only took Martin and me 10 minutes to get a rhythm down that made me feel like I was contributing to the efforts while maintaining a straight line (unlike the British couple that zig-zagged their way down the entire river). After Versat however, the current all but stopped, making paddling even harder and making my “rest breaks” (where I sat comfortably in front while Martin paddled in the back) even longer. Thankfully he didn’t seem to mind too much…the extra 7kms were his idea after all.
While not paddling or perfecting our coordination, Martin and I were able to take in the scenic views, including the 5 chateaus (French for castle) all perched on the surrounding cliffs (stunning themselves), overlooking the river and all unique in their construction and history. We also stopped on a few occasions to take a swim in the water, enjoy lunch (at a slightly ill-prepared snack hut) and break for beers. With the breeze off the water and warm sun shining all day, I was happy and willing to continue on past our stop…I don’t think Martin was so keen so we pulled over in the correct town.
After paddling for the 22kms (okay, more like 15) my arms and body were exhausted, yet beginning to gain some summer color. The night ended with a hard earned dinner and Martin, for once, eating too much!
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