Stop #4: French (& Indian) Camping - Kayaking

Full Disclosure: We weren't really in Lyon, but about 50km east of the city, in a little area called Le Pays de Couleurs (literally, the country of colors). I spent 5 days and 6 nights with Phil and Martin doing some whitewater kayaking at this whitewater course on the Rhone, called Espace Eau Vive http://www.espaceeauvive.fr/, which is 2 minutes just outside of a little village called Montalieu. We stayed in one of their Native American-style Tipi tents (hence the "Indian" in the title), complete a kitchen corner, including a gas stove and a refrigerator (we figured that was the "French" part of the camping). The tipi was actually quite cozy, with plenty of space for 3 people and its own fire circle. Despite having the kitchen corner, we decided to do a few nights of open-fire cooking with baked potatoes and sausages, just in case we felt we were missing out on a genuine camping experience (or something like that...I think Phil just wanted to eat meat on a stick).

We rented all our equipment from the course for 5 days, and then hit the water. The first day was cold and raining, which went wonderfully with the freezing water. However, the weather warmed up dramatically after that, and we had nothing but sun for the rest of the week. While 5 straight days of whitewater can take a toll on your body, especially when you're out of shape and out of practice, we weren't hurting enough to stop. Besides, we were kayaking in France!!

Not much else to write. The rest is best shown through pictures.

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