You are going to the beach? The bread lady asks.
Now why would she say that? Ah, the shorts. No woman ever wears shorts here. Unless she is going to the beach.
No, no, I am going to Roquebrun. After work, this afternoon, I am renting a kayak and doing the rapids on the river Orb. I hope I will see you tomorrow.
Indeed. I have done a lot of kayaking in my life, but never on rapids.
The set up is well orchestrated. You rent a kayak or canoe (the difference amuses me; the boats are identical, only the paddle varies) for a half day or a full day. A van drops you and your boat up river (twice the distance for the full day) and you paddle down. Simple.
Except that there are rapids.
Here are two bins for your belongings. Put your things in the little one and put the little one into the big barrel. Shut it tight. Double protection.
Protection from what?
Do people roll over?
Yes, all the time. She looks surprised that I should ask.
I notice children are required to wear helmets. Why aren’t adults given double head protection? Our heads are bigger, there’s more to crack.
Are the rapids treacherous?
Medium. The bigger ones are on the full day.
Of course, the French bike up hills and mountains. What is medium to them is horrifically insane to me.
And what valuables should I put in my double bin protection? I took only my car keys and a ten Euro note, just in case I get stranded and have to bribe someone to help me out.
There is, however, the issue of the camera. And here is a cautionary note: you should not go solo in a kayak through rapids and expect to take photos. There you are, scraped and pounded from all sides by boulders, sprayed by water so that there is as much in your boat as outside of it – what does not belong (apart from, arguably, you)? The little Sony digital SLR. Especially outside its double bin protection.
But, I am stubborn. I want pictures. And so what follows is a combination of pulling up to the shore for a minute, paddling upstream to reconsider what just happened, finding quiet spaces, intersperesed with not a small amount of risk taking, whereby, through a series of rapid maneuvers, I quickly unscrew bins, take out camera, snap like crazy, throw it back inside, seal the damn barrels shut and continue, all in the space of 2 seconds. And so, I am able to indulge my stubbornness.
all is calm, views are grand
looking up...oops, heading into the bridge
troubled waters
the plunge
Foolish? Perhaps.
But oh, the rewards!
I had chatted earlier with someone who had done rapids and his advice was to paddle backwards and survey the rapid before you go in. Wonderful advice. True, in the end, I would conclude that the only way to survive is to paddle furiously right into the swirling mass of water and rock and hope for the best. I became quite good at the “paddle furiously into the swirling mass of water and rock” bit.
Indeed, my proudest moment happened when I approached a series of sharp bends between boulders. To the side, three young men were bathing. One was climbing out on a rock and I noticed he was completely naked, deeply tanned buttocks and all. This is France. I had encountered here and there the occasional swimmer, topless even, but men somehow managed to keep their skimpy pants on up to now.
As he sprawled on the rock, letting the sun dry off various parts of his magnificent body, he watched me approach the S curve. I plunged, back paddled, turned again, plunged and came out right side up, with only the usual tub full of water inside. The young man stood up and applauded. Well done, he shouted. I felt alive!
[Of course, ten minutes later, I wedged my kayak between two rocks, sideways and watched in horror as torrents of water came gushing in. The muscle I used to get me out of that mess needs at least a month’s rest.]
So why did I do it? Why risk losing a camera, nay, my life (okay, perhaps not that) on a brilliant Monday afternoon?
For this, the moment where I pull over to a shallow area, get out of the boat and, in shorts, tank top and running shoes, lie down in the water and watch the ripples form around my shoes:
bliss
watching fools rush in
at the end, Roquebrun
Bravo Nina! Your fortitude (kayaking) and preseverance (picture taking) are to be admired.
ReplyDeleteThe waters were not calm enough to take a photograph of the bathers? Oh well. Your journey down the river and your sense of humor are just what was needed today.
For your muscles, perhaps a nice glass of wine would help relax them.
Quiet impressive. I must say that this post made me the most envious of your trip to date. Food and people are great don't get me wrong, but adventures are better. : )
ReplyDeleteBS
ok, I'll admit that this post is fabulous even if it doesn't contain any pics of lovey foods. thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYour blog is inspiring! More than any travel books, magazines or TV shows, your accounts make travel like this seem possible, and the photos make it look wonderful. I'll note for the record that there are kayaking opportunities in Wisconsin, too, anything from placid lakes to somewhat dangerous rapids and waterfalls. The scenery is good, though maybe not quite the same.
ReplyDeleteDon't you mean, "When fowls rush in"?
ReplyDeleteGreat trip, Nina!!
nancy: you raise an interesting point: I have kept my camera off of people, underdressed by our standards, in the fear of being the case that makes its way to the Supreme Court over the definition of pornography. Certainly a nonsexual public display of breasts and in this guy's case, everything else cannot be regarded as an invasion of privacy when looked at, photographed, etc. Still, I try not to get myself into trouble here on Ocean. All these bloggers say all these outrageous things on the subject of politics, society and God knows what else and they are okay, but our culture has it that walking around (and by extension depicting others thus, though thankfully at least not in painting or sculpture) topless or bottomless is not okay. It makes me not a little sad that it must be thus, but there you have it.
ReplyDeleteBS & sep: food is an everyday thing. I revel in it constantly. It's hard NOT to write about it. But there is this other stuff that is equally thrilling -- sometimes it is in what you see, other times it is in what you do. It's cool to be able to experience the full range. Anyway, thanks for the good words.
karton: you are better than kind. really? there are dangerous rapids in Wisconsin? Are you using the French or the American definition of dangerous, btw? I'm likely to stick with moderate. You know, the ones that basically keep your boat right side up. Because of the camera. Okay, and me.
chuck b.: guess I mean both! Hey, can you identify the flower growing in the river? Looks like some kind of water jasmin...
No, I can't identify it. I can look it up tho'. The dragonfly belongs to the insect order Odonata (if that is a dragonfly). I remember that from high school.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I'm curious. What's worse: a naked man, or a man wearing shorts?
ReplyDeletechuck b.: dare I say it -- I am okay with both.
ReplyDeleteBut... how did you keep your camera from getting drenched? It was totally worth it, for the experience and certainly the photos!
ReplyDeleteWisconsin is no France, even when spelled Ouiskonsan, but there certainly are some fun places to kayak in Wisconsin. I don't consider this a kayak "destination," but if you're here and the choice is someplace in the state or someplace out of the state (let's pretend France isn't an option for the moment), then there are plenty of places to try. I'll work on a list.
ReplyDeleteThe real challenge, of course, is finding good water that also has Ocean-quality food nearby.