Kayaking on the Sau Reservoir to the Bell Tower

The Sau Reservoir, on the Ter about 25 km from Vic, covered the old village of Sant Romà de Sau in the 1960s, and its bell tower still pokes out above the water. Aquaterra Club, based at the Mas la Riba in Vilanova de Sau, takes you there by kayak on a guided hour-and-a-half paddle, with the story of the reservoir told from the water.

Right now, on land

Aquaterra's water activities stop from 31 October to 31 March. The kayak season runs from April to October; in winter the company stays open with land activities, except from 1 to 15 December and at Christmas. The next paddle to the bell tower is in April.

The paddle to the bell tower

Before you get into the kayak, the instructor gives a short briefing on land about handling and safety. You wear a life jacket and use stable touring kayaks, and the instructors hold the qualification of the Spanish Canoeing Federation. Then you paddle across the reservoir to the bell tower and back. It lasts an hour and a half and costs from €20 per person.

You do not need to know how to swim, according to the website itself, which also says that capsizing is rare. Children always go with an adult and with adapted equipment; the website sets no minimum age, so mention it when you book. In hot weather, you can swim afterwards in the areas they point out.

If an hour and a half is too short

The two-hour excursion, from €25, passes the bell tower and goes a little further at the group's pace. The beginner courses are three hours, from €65, and six hours, from €110, to learn to go on your own. The full route lasts a day and reaches the monastery of Sant Pere de Casserres, the Salt del Cabrit and the Riera de les Gorgues, from €75. If you already know how to paddle, they rent kayaks from €13, with equipment and a brief explanation. And there are packs that combine kayaking with archery, stand-up paddleboarding, segway or a walk around the Morro de l'Abella, from €40.

Water shoes, a dry change and the Mas la Riba

Swimwear, comfortable sports clothes, footwear that can get wet (water shoes or closed sandals; no flip-flops), sun cream, a cap, water and a dry change of clothes. Everything is booked in advance, on 620 762 432, which answers every day from 9:00 to 20:00. If the weather is bad, the company changes or cancels the outing and lets you know.

The meeting point is the Mas la Riba, s/n, at the Sau reservoir, 08519 Vilanova de Sau. To sleep beside the same reservoir there is the Parador de Vic-Sau, and to make a full day of it, the morning on the water fits with the afternoon in the old town of Vic.