Well, the big news is: John loves canoing.
We drove to Vitrac on the Dordogne river and found Copeyre Canoe Rentals. With three of us, we rented a canoe and a kayak: John and Janet in the canoe since neither had canoed before; I took the kayak.
John graciously agreed to go with us so we would have two boats if someone got in trouble, but close to the start, we passed a family with little kids, teaching their 8 year old (or so) daughter to kayac - he was hooked. The little girl was darling. Her dad pushed her from the river bank and spoke to her in German, offering instructions on how to work the paddle and which direction to move. She glided away, thrilled. We were all charmed.The weather had been humid and grey all morning, but turned warm and sunny as soon as we were on our way to the river.
Huge white cliffs flank the river in places. The vegetation was lush and green. Spring is a great time to float. The first part of the river was peaceful. We all got used to the paddles and went under the first of three bridges - the current gentle. Occasional sand bars offered places for others to play and picnic.
Our lunch stop posed the only challenge, really. La Roque Gageac is midway on the trip to Beynac and the best pullout for lunch. We couldn't see where to take out the canoes. There were a few pirate boat looking things next to the town, but not a lot of canoes. Janet and I tried to recall the PBS episode of Rick Steves and the Dordogne. I remembered the shot of him getting out at a wall and knew exactly where to aim. I stroked ahead and got the kayak up so I could help pull the canoe in. We left the boats and went up and up to look at the remains of the fortified structures in the cliff face dating from 850AD. We wandered a bit and found a crowded restaurant (which eventually thinned out) and had a great lunch.By lunch end, the river was packed with canoes. Figuring that the trip offered John an opportunity to be certified in two water craft in one day, John switched to the kayak and I to the stern of the canoe. After abandoning all hope for dry shorts and passing his wallet and phone to the dry bag in the canoe, he sped off. First muscling the double paddle as a machine, then crashing through low hanging trees just for the fun of it (and a bonus bug for dessert) then checking the shore for bird types - we almost fell out of the canoe laughing.
This was the scenic part of the trip: four castles from the 1300s overlook the river - this part of the Dordogne was the center of fighting during the Hundred Years War. It was a spectacular sight. Quite different from our float trips through Missouri. We pulled out in Beynac and waited for our bus back to Vitrac. A 1960s red e-type Jaguar was parked in the lot across from our bus stop. It was hilarious watching the people pass by. Almost everyone stopped to take a picture. Many posed before it - one especially theatrical girl from our bus pranced in front of the car posing for her boyfriend's camera.
Oops, I almost forgot, this morning we saw Lascaux II and were amazed. We took a French speaking tour, but with our reading and the cave and museum from Wednesday, we had no trouble figuring out what to view. The animals truly surround you in the cave. They are numerous, vivid, and astonishingly beautiful. They appear to stampede past you from one room to the next. It is a copy of the original now closed to the public, but the displays as you enter are carefully laid out and the tour is detailed and wonderful.What a day. We said 'goodbye' to John hours ago. We are doing laundry now but will stop for a bite to eat in the town of Sarlat where we are staying. We must figure out how to get all our bags out of the pedestrian section near the hotel tomorrow. Since it has been a holiday weekend and tomorrow is market day, it will be jammed.
Bon nuit! Love again from Rozanne and Janet
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