Punting in Oxford!

Sunday morning we got up rather late and had breakfast at a charming little French bakery. I was happy to find Parisian-quality quiche and pain au chocolat in Oxford.

After lunch we decided to try punting. I was apprehensive about the chance of the punt overturning, but I was assured that it was a flat-bottomed boat. This only convinced me that if it did overturn, we’d never turn it over again and we’d have to swim to shore. I was pretty relieved to discover that the river was not very wide. The river is actually the same river as the Thames in London, though in Oxford we call it the Isis.

Ashley, Aubrey, Maria and I got a boat together, and since I was the first one on the dock, I volunteered to be the first one to use the pole to punt the boat. That was a bad idea. It looks so easy, but it’s really hard. The pole itself is very heavy and very long. It’s relatively easy to push with it, but very hard to push straight. Plus, every time you push, you have to reposition the pole for the next push. Every time I did this, the pole would drag through the water, working like a paddle to counteract the push I’d just given. The other three shouted helpful advice like: “use your muscles!” Thanks, guys. I don’t really have muscles, but something in my arms was really hurting the next day, so I guess what muscles I have were working to full capacity.

Thank goodness the punting rental people had told us to go up the river and take the branch to the left. Once we were off the main river the traffic was less and we had much less to worry about. We ran into the banks once or twice, but at least we didn’t have to worry about damaging someone else’s boat. Once I was a passenger rather than the punter, the afternoon was very pleasant. The river was very pretty, the trees were very green, and the weather was wonderful!