Day: October 7, 2021

Sarlat-Le-Canéda to Rocamadour

Thursday was another lazy day. We packed up and left our Chambre de Hôte. On the way out of town we stopped to do laundry.

It was a short scenic drive to Rocamadour. Rocamadour is a medieval town and pilgrimage site built into the side of a cliff.

Rocamadour

We had to park and walk so that we could find the hotel and get directions for how to get there with the car and also where we could park. It turned out we had to go through a narrow gate and down a pedestrian walkway.

Rocamadour
Rocamadour

I don’t know how many times we have had a best meal of the trip but our dinner was certainly one of them.

We started with duck foie gras for Duke and mackerel for me. Duke and I always trade plates halfway through. Both dishes had perfect combinations of flavors. Now that we have had foie gras several times I realize that some are much better than others which I guess should be obvious.

Duck foie gras, figs and raspberry preserves
Mackerel salad

For main course Duke ordered a filet steak and I ordered venison stew. They were both tender and flavorful. We couldn’t agree on which was better.

Steak with autumn vegetables
Venison stew with a peach on top

Canoeing on the Dordogne

We have had a lot of rainy days on this trip but today we were lucky. It was an absolutely beautiful fall day. We went canoeing 19 kilometers down the Dordogne River from the Grolejac Bridge to the Vézac bridge. The company we rented the canoe from was called Canoe sans Frontière.

This part of the Dordogne is peaceful with cliffs, woods, and fields
Getting ready to put the canoe in the river
The first bridge.

The river was high and flowing quite fast so we didn’t have to paddle much. We only saw one other canoe. It was a peaceful and relaxing trip. We saw three large chateaus towering over the river as we paddled by.

Chateau de Montfort
Another view of Chateau de Montfort
Most of the river seemed to be inhabited only by the birds.

About two hours into our trip we stopped to stretch and have a snack at La Roque Gageac, a village right next to the river.

La Roque Gageac
La Roque Gageac

The owner of the canoes told us to call him as we were leaving the village and he would meet us after the second bridge about thirty minutes later. the second chateau of the trip appeared as we went around the next curve in the river.

Château de Castelnaud

The final chateau was overlooking the spot where we took the canoe out of the water.

Chateau de Beynac

As the owner drove us back to the start in his van we got to practice our French as he told us when each chateau was built, how many fish are in the river and how high the water is because of all the rain.

The van going back to our car.
Our van driver and I think owner of the canoes.