Nice work if you can get it!

It's a dirty job but someone has to do it!  Spending 3 days canoeing down the Dordogne in the rain does take some of the enjoyment out of the experience but it still remains a pleasurable one!  Last Monday did not start well however - a mile out of Bristol airport I asked my partner in crime, Simon, to get the car park ticket and the boarding passes out of my hand luggage.  "They're not in here", he said with a somewhat puzzled look on his face.  I went into panic mode when I remembered that I had taken the offending items out to check the flight time - I had left them in the house!  After telling the Easy Jet desk that we had not received our boarding passes which should have been sent in the post by some useless individual from the company that we were working for, they very kindly printed us some more so we boarded the flight without any more heart stopping moments!We touched down in Toulouse an hour late and were promptly whisked up the A20 to Souillac by stretch limo (a Renault van) and made base camp at the Souilliac Golf and Country club.  The weather was not looking good for our first day on the river - heavy rain was forecast and the river level was already higher than we would have liked so after I had cooked a simple meal of chicken breast in a mustard, creme fraiche, shallots and white wine sauce for Mike, Simon and Wesley in our luxury 4 bedded wooden chalet over looking the 9th fairway, we discussed Tuesday's river section. 

Tuesday dawned overcast and dull but our spirits were bright - we met our 2 pupils, Simon and Meg who we were to be put through their paces during the next couple of days.  After a lengthy drive to the start point we finally got our canoes onto the river and set off for the village of Caranac, about 18km away.  Paddling skill levels were good (even mine) and with the river charging its way down from the Massif Central, we arrived at Caranac in very good time and without any major disasters - always a bonus when teaching I find and what's more, with only one shower of rain!

Back at base camp Simon (teacher, not pupil) served up spicy chicken tortillas washed down with a rather nice Bordeaux sauvignon which cost something like 3 euros!

Wednesday's section from Caranac to St Souzy was longer and a delayed departure meant that we didn't start paddling to lunch time!  The bread and cheese and cheap red wine in a plastic bottle would have to wait!  We all successfully managed the shute without getting too wet and so pressed on down the river with the clouds getting darker and the air getting colder.  What made matters worse was that I had left my waterproof top on the dining room table with the boarding passes!  So when the heavens opened, I became drenched very quickly - at least  I was having fun though!!  Our arrival at St Souzy couldn't come too soon and was I looking forward to a hot shower?

Dinner was once again down to me - pate to start followed by a pork chop hotpot which took an age to cook in the calor gaz oven!  Cheap wine again enhanced the flavours of the pork!

Thursday's weather forecast was no better for our last day on the river and the section from St Souzy to Souilliac.  The river meanders through wooded hills and limestone cliffs with elegant Chateaux and houses scattered along it's banks, so there's plenty to look at as you drift down.  Simon and Meg's paddling had improved and it was on a particularly swift section of the river that Simon (the student) capsized!  He was quickly put back into his boat by the other Simon and continued with a grin on his face.  I don't think that he was that amused and the grin was actually a grimace as a result of the rest of us laughing at him!  The evening meal was prepared by Simon who did us proud by using up most of the left over ingredients and making Spanish Omelettes with a green salad and a mustard dressing.  For desert we had splashed out and bought a Tarte au Fraise (Strawberry tart) and finished the meal off with some Roquefort cheese and a glass of red wine  - a great meal to end a great week!

Back down the A20 to Toulouse and our flight back to Blighty - nothing too arduous but the tedium of sitting in an airport departure lounge made Simon resort to playing Tetris on his phone!

Another trip to France and I had missed out for the second year on the Foie Gras - considering it literally translates as the "fatty liver" and in order to get the livers so fat the farmers force feed the birds, I'm glad I didn't have any  - maybe next year?

Back in the kitchen next week I think!