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The river life

There's nothing like a classic Dutch passenger river barge. Long and wide, strong and steady, it inspires trust.
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There's nothing like a classic Dutch passenger river barge. Long and wide, strong and steady, it inspires trust.

The barge lies low on the water and moves quickly and with a kind of tough grace, so that when you're travelling through the Rhone River Delta of southern France, you feel, to an unusual degree, part of the landscape.

I learned this on a six-night trip aboard L'Estello, a 29-metre barge operated by a formidable Dutch woman.

The trip, from the Languedoc-Roussillon region into Provence, began near the town of Aigues-Mortes. We would then travel northeast on the Canal du Rhone a Sete, the Petit Rhone and the Rhone River to Avignon, through the marshlands known as the Camargue. And each day we'd explore the town near which we were moored, or drive to a similarly historic sight some way inland.

Built in 1937 and converted for today's standard of comfort - with small, wood-panelled state rooms (port holes appear just above the water) with bathroom and shower, main-deck lounge flooded with natural light, well-appointed dining area, and bow deck for sitting - the barge is now a pleasurable if unusual mode of European cruising. It can carry as many as 20.

L'Estello owner-operator Cobie Lagerburg was born on a barge in her native Holland and lives year-round on one of two she owns. "For me it's natural," she says. "I will never live in a house. This is not my work - it's my life. Last night, when we sailed, I was so happy. We were moving."

Similarly, pilot Christian Duborg's relationship with riverboats goes back, he says in his native French, to "mon pere, mon grand-pere, mon arriere grand-pere." Working together, the two veterans manoeuvre L'Estello through challenging locks and powerful winds and currents.

The crew includes tour guide Nicholas, who ensures that a van that will take us to interior sights accompanies the barge along its route, and two young women who care for the cabins and help Lagerburg prepare the meals.

Good food and wine is a big part of barging. Breakfast includes breads and pastries that Nicholas has just collected from a nearby boulangerie. Lunch - all the dishes are prepared in the ship's galley - might be a chilled soup and several salads comprising Provencal farm produce.

Dinner begins with maybe a heaping plate of fresh asparagus with aioli, followed by a spicy meat dish or the local catch of the day. Lunch and dinner includes a cheese tray and dessert. Wines from the Languedoc-Roussillon, individually chosen by Lagerburg, are served at both meals.

From Aigues-Mortes, built in the 12th century by King Louis IX and still entirely walled and gated, we travelled east through the Camargue, a vast " Wetland of International Importance" and important migratory bird stopover. Big flocks of pink flamingo rested among the beds of reeds.

Early one morning I opened my cabin porthole wide to enjoy the slight lapping of water a few feet away and the sounds of birds and insects. A waning moon hung in a sky sprinkled with stars, bringing to mind Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Night Over the Rhone," painted when he lived in nearby Arles.

Leaving the boat, we drove north to the popular destination of the Pont du Gard. Although termed a "bridge," it's actually a three-tiered Roman aqueduct almost entirely intact, and both a UNESCO World Heritage Site and evocative architectural symbol to the French. On our return through the grassy landscape we saw the white horses and black bulls for which the Camargue is renowned.

Another highlight was a day in Arles. From our mooring below the city walls, I ambled up through narrow streets, past a massive Roman amphitheatre (in great repair and used for concerts) and into the old city.

On a central plaza stands the 12 th -century church of Saint Trophime, with hundreds of apostles, saints and other figures carved around its arched doorway. Intrigued by this antiquity, I took a local bus to the Museum of Antique Arles to see the ancient and elaborately carved stone sarcophagi that were pulled from the city cemetery (the cemetery itself once had 12 churches).

L'Estello sailed on with unfailing steadiness. Says Lagerburg: "The trip is about going back to a more relaxed life - to a bit of yourself. Sometimes people just sit on the barge and ask, 'What are we doing?' And I say, 'We're cruising.'"

We passed the towering chateau at Tarascon, then through the huge lock at Beaucaire and into the ever-widening Rhone.

Another road excursion took us to the feudal village of Les Baux, long isolated on a bluff in the Alpilles region. Well-preserved Les Baux boasts a tiny Romanesque church of great beauty, and the one-time mansion of a powerful Protestant family called the Manvilles (1565-1620), with huge stone windows of Renaissance design.

Finally, L'Estello moored on the shore opposite the city of Avignon, at Villeneuve-lez-Avignon, a lovely hill town in its own right.

In the morning we sailed past the remaining span of the 12th-century Pont St. Benezet and tied up below a city gate. During a particularly turbulent period in Rome, the popes decamped to this peaceful Provencal stronghold, where they built palaces, commissioned and collected art and amassed a treasury.

An audio tour of the massive Le Palais des Papes left me staggered at the size, complexity and lifestyle of the curia of the day - making an ultimate evening return to the humility of a Dutch river barge that much more of a pleasure.

HB Cruises operates the L'Estello and six-passenger L'Etoile. For details go to www.hbcruises.com or www.francecruises.com.