| Aug 7, 2006 - Cambridge
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 | | show all 5 | | Kings College, Cambridge | | Cambridge street | | 'Punting' on the River Cam | | |
| | Yesterday we took the train about an hour north of London to Cambridge, home to one of England's oldest and most prestigious universities. It was nice to get out of the craziness of London and back into a more mellow atmosphere, even if it was just for the day. We walked around town, touring the various Colleges of the university, and then went 'punting' down the river Cam. Punting is done with long, low, flat boats, where someone stands on the stern, using a pole to push along the bottom of the river, propelling the boat forward. The pole is then used as a rudder to steer and maneuver through the water. It has always looked so peaceful when seen in movies or old photos, but this was total mayhem. You can either hire someone to take you down the river (usually a university student) or do the punting yourself. We opted to hire a student to take us on a tour, which was much more leisurly, and boy, was that ever a wise decision. The river was clogged with people who didn't know what the hell they were doing. Boats were colliding into each other, punters were losing their poles and a few even fell into the river. Our punter (a very polite college student) was getting pretty annoyed, telling people in a polite yet stern tone of voice 'Please don't push my boat, thank you very much, hands of my boat please!' It was all pretty entertaining and after seeing the novices flounder down the river, I was glad we opted to go with the guide rather than try it ourselves. |
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