My Life in the P-O – Twenty Years On: Episode 4
Episode 1 :Twenty Years On
Episode 3 :Twenty Years On
Episode 3 :Twenty Years On
There can be no doubt these days that I look much better from a distance… in dim lighting….. so the photo you see here had to be messed around with quite a bit and cartoonised before I was happy with it. But see those tears? They’re real. My lovely Laura is leaving me after many years of complicity, friendship, gin and hard work – and I’m missing her already!
So all the very best to you my forever friend. You know where I am if you need me. I’ll be the one sitting in a corner trying to understand the instructions, explanations, Excel charts and tables you have left me! Waaaaaah!
The rain has stopped, the sun is out. Yaaaay! I know we need the rain mais il ne faut pas exagérer! Wet walks with a reluctant pooch are not fun – though Olivier (the serious one) was ecstatic to discover a slow-drying, penis shaped puddle on our morning walk around Maureillas. Who says the French don’t have a sense of humour!
On the same walk, just a little further on from the penis wet patch, the waterlogged vineyards have flooded the road in fast running streams, causing damage and holes in the road. A bumpy car ride for those who drive up and down that small road regularly, but compared to so many of the weather-provoked catasrophes around the world we are soooooo lucky.
And talking of water, did you know that Le Boulou, or El Voló in Catalan, gets its name from the Catalan word for “cliff”? Kind of makes sense as the town sits between the Tech and Valmanya rivers, perched above steep ravines.
Back in the early 18th century — a good 150 years before today’s suspension bridge made life easier for travellers heading towards Spain — the River Tech had a bad habit of flooding regularly, sweeping away wooden bridges like matchsticks. When the rain came down hard, crossing the river was simply not an option… or so you might think.
Enter the entrepreneurial young men of Le Boulou. Spotting a business opportunity where others saw a soggy disaster, they formed a human chain and ferried travellers across the raging river on their bare backs. Yes, really.
This unusual transport service was affectionately known as “Les Barques de Cul” — literally “arse boats” — because their backsides stuck out of the water, creating a rather wobbly human bridge. Practical? Surprisingly yes. Dignified? Not especially.
On rainy days, these heroic, and half-submerged gentlemen not only saved travellers from getting soaked, but also provided what excellent entertainment for the ladies of Le Boulou. Proof, perhaps, that necessity is the mother of invention — and that even floods can have their lighter moments.
And that’s not just water under the bridge! The photos below were taken in late January 2026. Usually we can walk, or easily paddle across that part of the river!
If my water babble has left you out of your depth, and less than fascinated, (:-) why not pay a visit to the Maison de l’Eau et de la Méditerranée (MEM), an exciting concept inviting visitors of all ages to consider the vital role that water plays in our way of life. And pretty fascinating!
Join me next week for another ramble? Hope so. Xx
