Paddle into a gorge on water the color of a swimming pool

The Verdon leaves its gorge and runs into Lac de Sainte-Croix under the Pont du Galetas, and the water at that spot is a turquoise that looks fake in every photograph and is not. Boats from the lake may go into the first two kilometers of the gorge itself.

The boats are nine minutes from Moustiers-Sainte-Marie, and in summer the first ones go out at half past eight. Canoes take three and kayaks take two, for two hours on flat water. Petrol engines are banned on the lake, so the only motors on it are electric.

Inside, the limestone rises on both sides and the loudest sound is a paddle hitting another paddle. Nobody lands and nobody swims in there, and paddleboards are not allowed in at all. The cliffs make a good argument for all three rules. In a strong wind the gorge is closed to boats by order of the prefecture, and the paddle stays out on the open lake.

The lake behind is 2,200 hectares and did not exist before 1973, when the Verdon was dammed. The next morning the same river turns up again, from the rim of its canyon.