aug, 6th - provence: swimming in rivers....

day 539:

whenever i think of the South of France, i picture beaches, with soft fields leading up them...what i didn't realise, before we started researching for this trip, is that there are also wonderful fresh water spots scattered throughout the region.....we're not talking about beating-a-path-through-some-brambles-to-find-a-sludgy-pond type spots but as with most things French....fresh water swimming is done in style. 

most spots have dirt paths leading you from a carpark down to the 'beach-style' banks of a river. the one that we visited (which was in fact across the border in Languedoc) had crystal clear water, no sign of sludge and a beautiful view of the bridge. and then of course there's the crowd, stylish and armed with water accessories, they build eco-styley sun-shields and stroll around with uninhibited-European-abandon.

the only blip in this whole picture-perfect scene was that the water in our river was bitingly cold and pretty shallow but.....

if your youth involved throwing a towel over your shoulder, following a snake of friends walking barefoot to the banks of a river and spending long afternoons jumping into fresh water....then these spots in France will bring all those memories splish-splashing back. hopefully, we can return to this area in the future create these same memories for Limi. 

look here for a list of swimming spots in the South of France.