New Trips 2010
Paddling in France
"Paddling Canoes in France," Written by my good friend and French guide for this trip, Richard.
I was born and raised 100 feet away from a great river called the Ardèche, at the border between Provence and Massif Central (the mountain range in center France). Well, my first swimming, fishing and paddling experiences were close to home I kept on with paddling, and after grabbing some experience in whitewater in the Alps, I decided to head to the whitewater and sea kayak paradise --Patagonia -- with high-volume rivers, desert fiords-- lots of fun.
After living for eight years in Southern Chile, I came back to my home river and was back on the water for a canoe ride with old friends of mine. And this is a beautiful canoe river, and after years away from it I realized this is a great paddling place. Obviously some French friends of mine call it the French Grand Canyon and it is maybe true.
Another thing I recognized after years outside of France is that some of the best cuisine in the world is from Provence, if you put together that some southern Côtes du Rhone are among the red wines I prefer, you might ask why does he not go back to France -- maybe because there are too many French people there?
The idea came with Kim to organize a paddling trip in Southern France, grabbing all the best things France can offer and passing away the other ones. This is a great paddling destination and a really interesting immersion in Provence's best cultural items : the food and the wine. And the rest is history.
