La Venise verte

The marshland region we visited last week is formally called le Marais poitevin, but it's also known as la Venise verte (Green Venice). The channels that criss-cross the region remind people of the canals in Venice, except that they're located in a green landscape and not a city. But, more than that, the water is very slow-moving and duckweed grows and covers the water's surface in many of them.

A channel that feeds the Vendée river near our rental house, covered with green duckweed.

A sizeable tourist industry is built around boat rides on the canals, either renting boats to people or taking them on rides with a guide. The boats are small and flat-bottomed, and the guides stand in the back of the boat and push them with long-handled paddles, in much the same way the famed gondoliers in Venice drive the boats there.