The Coquet River rises in the Cheviot Hills on the border between England and Scotland, and follows a winding course through the beautiful Northumberland countryside before flowing into the North Sea at Amble. Just before it reaches the sea it loops around the charming village of Warkworth.
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Who can look at a boat floating on the water and not feel at least a small sense of adventure? The chance to leave the land behind and explore, the promise of an escape from the routine of everyday life, the drama of the open sea or the gentle rocking of a boat on calmer inland waters.
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The Chicago suburb / dormitory town of Naperville is unlikely to be on most tourists’ radar, unless like me you have a friend who lives there. And yet there are sights to be seen. Actually, that’s probably true of most places, isn’t it, if only we look?
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When you first arrive in a new city, you can’t wait to get out and explore. There are new sights to be seen, new experiences to be had. But if it’s somewhere you’ve visited many times before there isn’t that urgency. New sights can wait for tomorrow. Today, on arrival, your desire is rather to reconnect, to regain that sense of feeling at home. And for me, in Paris, that means a walk by the Seine.
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In the early morning mist we drifted slowly with the current, our boat man using his single oar simply to steer us. Here on the Narayani River, which skirts the northern boundary of Chitwan National Park in Nepal, the setting was beautiful, the atmosphere tranquil.
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There is something magical about the sound of flowing water. Whether tumbling over rocks or moving more sedately, whether young and vigorous or older and more serene, a river has the power either to exhilarate and to calm.
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In the far north of Costa Rica, almost on the border with Nicaragua, is a magical place, or at least I found it so. The Caño Negro National Wildlife Refuge is home to an immense variety of wildlife, one of the most diverse areas in this famously naturally diverse country.
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The electric boat moved almost noiselessly along the Rio Nosara. The birds on the banks seemed largely unaware of our presence. The sounds of the forest were all around us. But suddenly there was a thud somewhere beneath our feet and the boat slowed, then stopped.
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The river Gambia runs through the heart of the country of the same name, splitting it into two narrow strips, north and south of the river. To the west is the Atlantic Ocean; on all other sides the country is surrounded by Senegal.
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I am very much inclined to agree with Ratty that there is half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. And whenever I spot an opportunity while travelling to take to the water, I am eager to set sail. A whale-watching trip; a cruise around a harbour; an afternoon on a city’s river. Count me in for any of those!
