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C O V E R
S T O R Y
right in the heart of the city, a few steps
from the Roman stone arch of Arc de
Germanicus that dominates the riverbank,
and was overlooked by the Gothic
architecture of the Saint-Pierre Cathedral.
In the morning, we rose early to shop
with the locals at the Marche St Pierre,
filling the galley with seasonal fruit, local
cheese and regional seafood. The next
day, we wandered around Saint-Savinien
before a sunset swim in the village of
Port-d’Envaux.
On a river cruise, the days unfurl with
welcome familiarity: breakfast is usually
spent poring over the easy-to-follow chart
of the river, deciding on plans for the
day, followed by a few hours of motoring
before tying up in town for a midday
adventure. Perhaps a snooze after lunch
and then a few more hours chugging
along in search of an overnight mooring.
The boats are easy to handle, with
simple controls and – on newer models
– thrusters to make mooring a breeze.
The latest generation of riverboats also
come loaded with plenty of mod cons,
from spacious sun decks and outdoor
barbecues to indoor air con and integrated
USB ports.
Moorings in the towns and villages usually
offer water and electricity connections,
while secluded country moorings are
situated on quiet stretches of river where
you’ll have the sunset all to yourself.
The relaxed rhythm of life on board is
This page: Docking in most cities is free, allowing you to explore or stay as you wish.
“
Instead of
searching for a
distant car park, we
could tie up at a city
centre mooring and
wander off to explore
for a few hours
“
• E N
punctuated a few times each day by a
need to navigate the locks. To make
the waters navigable for barges and
boats, the Charente, like many rivers in
France, is levelled out with these locks –
enclosed chambers where the water level
can be lowered or raised so that boats
can move on to the next section of river.
On the Charente, most of the locks are
manual, requiring an energetic 30 minutes
of spinning wheels and holding ropes
to open the large, wooden gates and
shepherd our boat through the watery
stone corridors. That’s about the closest
we came to hard work during our week
on the river.
Between sightseeing and sipping the
local wines, the days flowed seamlessly
beneath our keel until, sadly, we found
ourselves back in Jarnac, handing over
the keys to our floating abode. A week
on the Charente had given us a taste for
holidays on the waters of France, and
we’ll certainly return for a little more
messing about in boats.
ON BOARD WITH
Q GET
SURE Sure Travel can customise
any itinerary for your self-drive boating
holiday without the hassle, and offers
excellent flight deals to Europe with
our partners British Airways and Virgin
Airlines. Contact your nearest Sure
Travel agency or call 0861 47 48 49 /
visit www.suretravel.co.za
46 // MAKE MEMORIES FOR LIFE