The area around the Pont du diable and St-Guilhem-le-désert has already drawn us into several wonderful adventures but two weekends ago it provided one of those magical afternoons that feels like a distant happy memory, even though it is actually happening in the present. We arrived at Canoë-rapido to find that they weren't so rapido that Sunday, running 30 minutes behind schedule. No problem, a quick dash into St-Guilhem for coffee and cookies and we arrived at the required spot.
There was a little pack of people, mostly French families with a German couple making googly eyes at each other and no guide. After 15 more minutes, a "bus" arrived and rapido-man stumbled towards us. He'd obviously passed his audition for Grumpy in Snow White and proceeded to barely acknowledge us while handing out paddles, life vests, and loading two 4-person canoës onto the top of his bus. Bus rides never prove to be positive travel experiences -- but watching this one choke and spew its way up the mountain was entertaining. Maxime kept smiling at me, half-reassuring, half-seeking reassurance. We stopped and unloaded ourselves and equipment, and watched as the canoës were sent down a chute to the river's edge. They landed in a pile of used tires, waiting for pick-up. Collect your stuff, load your canoë and you're good to go...The Hérault gorges are nature perfected: mountains framing our view, clear, pure river water below,
rocky edges and pebbled beaches on either side, and the occasional hilltop castle remains to remind us we're in France. Oh, and the occasional nudists (no photos sorry).We made games of finding the biggest fish underneath our paddles -- with a three-foot whopper leaving us all aghast and nearly spilling us into the water as we shifted side to look.
We navigated a dozen small set of rapids and quickly learned to watch for the really high bubbles which meant that a big hunking rock lurked beneath. It was 30 degrees Celcius, with perfect sunshine, and happy canoers to boot. At our river-side tower stop, we heard crying and looked up to see paddles, backpacks, and assorted detritus starting to float by us. We all jumped to action to salvage the contents of another family's canoë after they'd tipped at the rapids. Their daughter was crying uncontrollably as she'd momentarily been trapped under. Once they were safely to shore, Michael trod across the river to bring the perfect recovery food: sucettes en sucre d'orge (barley sugar lollipops). We found the perfect swimming spot just below a rapid, where we could swim up the side just out of the current. Then, once nearly to the rapids, we threw ourselves into the current and were swept away downstream. Here's some footage of Benjamin having some fun...
By 7 p.m., we'd covered 12 kilometres, and amazed ourselves at Michael's paddling prowess. Just as the sun dipped below the mountains, we docked back at our starting point, sated, exhausted, starving, delighted.We headed into Pézenas for a great dinner at Après le deluge, topped with another perfect dessert:
Subplot: Narbonne Hockey Club
As you know, Benjamin and Maxime love to play hockey. They have both started with their Narbonne team, named The White Tigers (why, I don't know). At the first practice, Maxime's group seemed mostly to be wearing skates for the first time although we were all kinda excited to see one boy in a Montréal Canadiens jersey. Maxime did so well that the coach (one guy for all levels) invited him to stay for the bigger boys (i.e., Benjamin's group). The rink is not regulation, so the highest level that can legitimately play there is poussins (born 1997-98). This is especially relevant given that there are no glass panels above the boards, so checking would be even more hazardous. One of Ben's teammates has a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey so balance returned to our world. We don't have weekly games since Narbonne can only support one team for each age group. Our first official tournament is mid-October against Toulouse, Puigcerda, Castres and Barcelone. They're only 6 and 9 but already they're playing at the international level!
We have one tournament per month, which means we'll get to play in different cities throughout the regions. Barcelona is slated for November! One hilarious hockey anecdote... we arrived without sticks. And, this being Narbonne, there are none within a 100 km range. So I ordered them online... here's the package as it arrived:
