Green Venice

In Malayalam, there is an old idiom that translates to: the patient desired milk, the doctor prescribed milk.

When I woke up yesterday, I thought to myself, “I would like to visit some wetlands nearby.” I am writing a children’s story on ecosystems and wished to immerse myself in the subject. ChatGPT suggested the Marais Poitevin, the second largest wetland in France, with some 800 km of canals. Quite serendipitously, our hosts had the same idea—independently!

We drove to Maillezais, the site of a tenth-century Benedictine abbey, now in ruins but still grand in appearance. The monks were responsible for draining the saltwater marshes and creating the network of canals.

We boarded a flat-bottomed boat—a punt—skippered by Paige, a schoolgirl of 16 or 17. I can’t even begin to put in words the scenery: the canopy of willows and ash trees on the banks, the waters at places covered with duckweed that, as our boat glided through, felt like we were in a green tunnel on the way to heaven. No wonder it’s called Green Venice.

The 3 km trip took us an hour and a half to complete. A delightful experience.