Sainte Foy La Grande and Bordeaux

It was 20 years since we last visited Peter and Sue in France. Last time we had Julia and Liz in tow, this time we were flying solo.

Saying that Sainte Foy La Grande is 'another' medieval fortified town may be technically true however our enjoyment was not diminished by repetition. Each such town has its own character and quirky charm, to the extent I think we could be forgiven for wishing all of France was thus.

In particular, the local church was again equal to many famous ones we had seen elsewhere in Europe. 

Having rested enough from El Camino, we were looking for a bit of light exercise and the obvious choices were kayaking down or riding alongside the Dordogne. Genius Mary: "Let's do one in the morning and the other in the afternoon". 

We duly drove to Canoe & Kayak in neighbouring Pessac, who also hired bikes. Very convenient...

Sadly, by the time we arrived the forecast "light afternoon showers" had changed to actual "heavy morning rain". Undeterred, we hatched Plan B - go swimming.

Oddly enough, there are few beaches 350km from the sea, however an Internet search showed a 'beach' next to a lake in a tourist park in Bordeaux, only 100km away. Well, we weren't doing anything else, and it wasn't raining in Bordeaux...

On the map, the lake looked quite substantial. In reality, somewhat smaller. And very protected, so the water was dead calm even with a light breeze. Despite this, the small patch of sand designated as the beach had a life guard tower, and flags to delineate the safe swimming area, much as a genuine surf beach.

Wandering around, Mary spotted what proved to be rental kayaks. Excellent! We can go kayaking after all.

Mary enquired the cost - free. Again, excellent! 

Only two conditions. We first had to don a life jacket, which was reasonable. We then had to pass a swimming "exam". Really? "Oui, monsieur et madame". 

The exam required swimming 15 metres, floating for 10 seconds, and diving underwater. 

Swimming? Isn't that a bit unnecessary given that most of the lake was shallow enough to wade across, and the attendants were lifeguards?

Floating? Isn't that a bit pointless given we were wearing full life jackets? Not buoyancy vests, proper life jackets. 

Diving underwater? Isn't the life jacket expressly designed to prevent that very activity?

I think we had basically stumbled across a 'kayaking experience' designed for primary school children. "Even so monsieur, those are the rules". 

Oh well, we had hoped to go swimming at a beach, so off I went, heading for the middle of the lake. I was so focused that I didn't hear the laughter from the staff, nor them screaming out "Monsieur, come back! You've gone far enough". 

In my defence, it was a nice swim. 

Having passed our exams, we did a couple of quick laps of the lake in the kayak and headed back to base. 

"But monsieur, madame, you can go out for longer if you wish". Hmm. We doubted the millpond scenery would change that much, so took our leave. 

By now the rain had passed, so back to Pessac and onto e-bikes for a very pleasant ride past elegant vineyards and charming chateaus, including a most amazing tree house. 

So: swimming, done; kayaking, done; and cycling, done. 

All that was left was to enjoy a fine dining experience with our hosts, and then pack ready for an early drive to Paris the next day, followed by saying au revoir to Europe.

North America, here we come. Yee hah!