Flying over the Loire

 I should have learnt by now - after all we have been married 30 years, but this year for our anniversary I surprised my sweetheart by arranging for us to have a flight over the Loire Valley with our host from the gite that we were renting. Firstly, Gord doesn't like surprises - I do! I guess I keep forgetting that fact and secondly, I had not learnt that you do not arrange for a seasoned pilot to fly in any old airplane. Gord wanted to know all about the plane and the qualifications of our pilot before he was happy to put his trust in a stranger and his machine and the only answer I had was that he "seemed" like a nice fellow. Anyway, all doubts aside, well maybe not aside but ignored anyway, we put our lives in the hands of the nice fellow and took off for a ride in a little, tiny, tinbox  Cessna for what turned out to be a most enjoyable hour.

Gord - less than sure about this idea!

It has been hot and very windy this week and our host suggested that we leave early in the morning. We arrived at the airport, the only other car there was our pilot's and we got there in time to see him up a ladder with the gas hose. The windsock at the end of the runway was pointing straight out and we were told that there would be a fair bit of turbulence at the take off but once we were up it shouldn't be too bad. The Loire Valley is huge and the Cessna was slow so we only got to see a little part of it but it was so much fun. The valley is very fertile and I loved looking at all the patchwork of the farms spread below.

France has been experiencing a drought and over the last couple of months they have had practically no measurable amount of rain - a delight for the tourists but getting to be a desperate situation for the farmers. We had been struck earlier in the week with how low the river is but flying over we got a clear picture of how bad it is.

The very low Loire

 The whole of the sand bank on the left side of the river should be filled by now. It is not a very deep river but even so it is in a crisis situation and water rationing abounds. Watering restrictions have been in place for some time and now the swimming pools are not to be filled. Surveilance aircraft check to make sure that the law is being followed.

It was fun too, to see the little villages and to even fly over the hamlet that we are staying in and have our hostess come out and wave as we buzzed the site.

Montreuil Bellay

Of course the highlight for me was to fly over the chateaux, to see ones we had visited on the ground and to see a few more that we wouldn't have had a chance to see.

Chateau de Brissac

Chateau de Saumur

As expected, many of the grand country homes are impossible to see from the road as they are well protected from the trees - but not from small low flying aircraft!

A small private (!!!) chateau

It was a wonderful experience and it could prove to be quite expensive because I was captivated and now think that in addition to starting my new business, adding french windows, shutters, wrought iron gates etc to the house, gardening (I will tell you about that tomorrow), we also need to get a small plane. I can't believe that Gord isn't just dying to get one after all the fun we had today!