In many sections of the San Marco region of Venice, there are canals that
seem to have a constant train-like procession of gondolas.
It's not easy to row such a long boat through these narrow and twisting canals.
Rowing as part of a tip-to-tail train makes it even more challenging because each gondolier has to do it all at a very defined speed.
A lot of us American gondoliers see photos of our Venetian counterparts
and say things like:
"Eh, I could do that."
But keeping things from bumping on either side of the boat is one thing, worrying about the fore and aft as well brings things to "expert" level.
2 comments:
> each gondolier has to do it all at a very defined speed ... keeping things from bumping on either side of the boat is one thing, worrying about the fore and aft as well brings things to "expert" level.
One could argue that automotive lane-keeping and collision avoidance technologies will never become routine for gondoliers. But in fact, self-navigating Google Gondolas (TM) are already cruising throughout California's waterways at night. They proceed so silently and safely that nobody has noticed their pitch-black silhouettes yet!
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