For the last 34 years the Venetian authorities have stopped commercial travel on the canals and turned them over to human-powered craft - an event called the Vogalonga. It was simply amazing to paddle in it this year on May 11.
It is one of those transcendental events that must be done - like running the New York Marathon, paddling the Molokai Hoe or scampering along at the Running of the Bulls. So many things come together - great crowds (really enjoying themselves), history, culture and having an attachment to a stunning place (other than just being a tourist).
An estimated 5 000 people were involved this year - paddling or rowing anything that could float - outriggers, dragon boats, dories, rowing shells, traditional Venetian boats and kayaks - all with flags and ribbons flying. The course started in front of the Doge’s Palace and St Mark’s Square, wound its way up Burano Island (known for its lace), back to Murano Island (famous for its glasswork) and back down the Grand Canal (under the Rialto and Accademia Bridges) to the finish - 30kms in total.
I was able to convince Morten, a Danish friend from Split, to come. It was all last minute after I saw a post on Paddling Planet. Morten had never been in a kayak before but was keen. I found out later as we were paddling that he had also never been to Venice before - what an introduction to the Serene Empire. There is no better way to discover a maritime culture than in a kayak.
Below are 3 pictures but many more can be found here.
We finished after 5 hours, totally exhausted, but extremely happy! The weather was just right - not too hot, not too cold. At all times the scenery was superb - either the Venetian Gothic palaces of the Grand Canal or the multi-coloured houses of the small canals of Burano.
We are already organizing baby-sitters for next year so the wifes can come!
Over the weekend of 10-12 May we were able to enjoy the hospitality of Giorgio and Maritzia who organized the first seakayaking symposium - Bibione Kayak - of which we know on the Adriatic Sea. The base for the event was Capalonga Camping, about 1 hour from Venice, in northern Italy. The camp is also only 1 hour from Motovun, in Croatia - which was handy for us.
At the event we met many interesting paddlers, including Nigel Foster (seakayak designer and adventurer) and Kristin (potter to the stars), Jen Kleck (a friend of Ray Fusco’s from the US) and Kay (importer for Klepper Folding Kayaks), and others from Serbia, Slovenia, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands.
On the Monday night Lifejacket Adventures gave a short, mosquito-plagued talk on kayaking in Croatia, our attempt to cross the Adriatic Sea by kayak unsupported and the old wooden boats of Croatia. The above video was included and shows how to paddle (or row) ‘old-school’.
We made the most of the excellent facilities at the campground - swimming, bbqing and bike riding. We couldn’t get the kids out of the pool as the weather was perfect. Next year we plan to attend for the whole week. Seakayakers in Europe should definitely make the effort to attend, as the festival also ties into the Vogalonga event in Venice. Congratulations to Bibione Kayak!
The other day we decided to take a drive from Motovun to Venice just to see how far it is (according to Yahoo Maps it is 240kms) and to see if a day trip was possible.
Our route took us across the border into Slovenia, into Italy near Trieste and, after some difficulty with the typically spaghetti-esque Italian autostradas, onto the E70. We didn’t change any money before leaving, assuming that any service station that we stopped at in Italy would have one. But of course there were no ATMs in any of the stations on the E70 - and then we suddenly hit a unmanned tollbooth! Luckily it accepted one of our debit cards.
After 2¾ hours we crossed the causeway to the Tronchetto Parking Building. Its conveniently located next to a vaporetto stop.
We jumped off at Zattere and had lunch overlooking the Giudecca Canal at the Pizzeria Ae Oche. They have an interesting menu, including the ’shredded horse meat and lemon pizza’. For better quality pizza we paid less than what we would in Croatia - excellent value.
Its was amazing how crowded the city was even late in the season. The white-shoe and shiny track-suit clad groups were everywhere.
Aklie’s favorite shop, of course, was the Ferrari Store with its F2002 Michael Schumacher Formula One car in the window.
