Bordeaux

Portable Sundial

This was our day of leisure in Bordeaux. Mary and I took a walk along the quay in the morning and managed to get caught in the rain. At least, we had our raincoats with us! In the afternoon, we took the tram to the Musée d'Aquataine, which provided a great history of the region. The upstairs exhibits which covered the 18th century through today had English explanations throughout. (Unfortunately the videos were only in French.) It focused on Bordeaux’s importance in the 18^th century as a shipping port to Africa, and the West Indies. They had models of some of the ships from the 18th to the 20th century including the Conquerant, a 64 cannon ship that participated in the American Revolution. There was also an interesting portable sundial, different than anything I've seen before. We had a better explanation of the slave trade here than I've ever seen in the U.S. The history focused on the French islands of the West Indies, their importance for the sugar trade, slavery on the islands, and eventually the abolition of slavery. They also had some voodoo dolls from Africa. The most interesting one had chains and two alligator heads which was used to chase evil spirits from people who had to be chained because of the violence of their insanity. It was also interesting to learn about the 300 nobles beheaded here during the French Revolution. 

Voodoo Doll

This was our last day aboard the Chanson. We never got more than 30 miles or so from Bordeaux as we cruised the Garonne and Dordonne rivers. The crew has been wonderful, all of them very engaged with the passengers. The captain was the most outgoing we've encountered. Lastly, the food has been superb. Our only complaint: the lower cabins are pretty tight, with little room around the bed. 

River Chanson