FRENCH CONNECTION
loud splash breaks the afternoon calm. Those of us watching the sunset from the top deck of MS rush to the bow where our captain is scanning the caramel-coloured river with binoculars. It’s my last day aboard the sleek ship, and I’m hoping to see a sea sturgeon. But our captain shakes his head. “Probably just a pike,” he shrugs. In his many years taking passengers along the Garonne, a 575-kilometre-long river that flows through Bordeaux into the Atlantic, he has never actually spotted one of these critically endangered species, only found in this part of southwest France. They’re the stuff of legend among marine staff talk excitedly about how they can reach six metres in length and weigh more than 400 kilograms. Our captain has seen other curiosities, however, including a seasonal influx of surfers. Yes, surfers. On a river.
