Venice boat ride and Bacaro: Local Venice experience

I remember the moment I started daydreaming about Venice, about seven years ago, while spending the summer with my grandma in a town far away on a different continent. At the time, I was involved in a project with other students and was looking at prospective international conferences to present the same. On coming across one in Venice, my heart started fluttering and my mind conjured up picturesque images of multiple small islands, where we would need a boat even to travel from the conference venue to our accommodation, presumably. Out of all the thoughts I might have had, one fragment of imagination which still remains etched in my mind seemed like a slow-motion scene from a movie, or a dream – with the wind blowing gently across my face, dress fluttering, being surrounded by water and having a Venice boat ride or a typical Gondola, for that matter, as the only means to move around.  Unfortunately, that event didn’t work out for us and with that, my Venetian dreams took a backseat. This is certainly an exaggeration, I thought to myself later. After all, can Venice really be that dreamy? Cut to Easter 2017, when after having moved to Europe 5 years ago, I finally took the train to Venice to see the City of Water for myself. Little did I know that just after exiting the St.Lucia railway station, Venice would instantly take my breath away! I gasped in surprise as I was greeted by blue waters of the Venetian canal with the majestic Church of San Simeone Piccolo in the backdrop, instead of trams and buses as is the case generally. It’s time to explore the magical city, I said to myself, as my heart started fluttering the same way for Venice as in the summer of 2010. Here’s an insight into a local and offbeat Venice experience- rowing during a local boat ride in Venice and visiting local wine bars (Bacaros) as an alternative to the expensive Gondola rides. 

ROWING A BOAT IN VENICE: GO BEYOND GONDOLA RIDES

Over the years, I’ve realized how much I love exploring the local culture, history, and cuisine, beyond just the touristy sights and places mentioned in the likes of ‘Top 10’s’ and Must-sees’. Before visiting Venice, I knew that what I would really love doing would be meeting and talking to the craftsmen of Venice – not just taking a gondola ride, for instance, but finding out more about the people who make them; not just buying any masks available but visiting a local craftsman and asking him about his work routine. With that in mind, I was glad to come across Wanderjack Italy, a startup focussing on creating personalized experiences for exploring the Veneto and Sicily regions, meeting and helping local communities as much as possible. For my first evening in Venice, I was invited to join the Sailing Bacaro Experience with Venice On Board and I was more than happy on finding out that it would involve meeting local craftsmen as well as learning how to row a traditional boat. Bacaro, by the way, refers to local wine bars, and I was curious to try the Cicchetti, or snacks, similar to Spanish Tapas.

Fun fact: Venice has a total of 118 islands, linked by bridges and canals. Isn’t that mind-blowing?

Hello from Venice – the city of water! it is the capital of the Veneto region , situated across a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by bridges.Generally, Gondolas charge 80 euros for groups upto 6 but with the Tragetto pictured here,you can ferry across the Grand Canal for a mere 2 eur!There are many types of boats,just thst Gondola is the most popular and touristy one. More pics and details soon! #shareTravellersTales – – – – – – #travelgram #wheninroams #sharetravelpics #natgeotravel #bbctravel #tlpics #chooseyouradventure #5secondVacay #girlslovetravel #afar

A post shared by Menorca@EuropeDiaries (@menorca_c) on Apr 15, 2017 at 9:57am PDT

Check out some boat tours in Venice:

VENICE BOATS: WHAT ARE THE BOATS NAMED?

While visiting Venice, the most common sight would be that of Gondolas – the iconic boats featured in almost every dreamy picture of Venice you might have seen. However, I didn’t know that in the past, they served mainly as transportation for the rich. In fact, it is extremely expensive to build one and get a license to become a Gondolier (think 20,000 Euros approx). As a result, it is pretty expensive to take a Gondola ride too – 80 euros for half an hour or so. You can decide if you want to get on it alone or with a group of people (up to 6 max). Interestingly, there were 15 other types of boats in use earlier, one of which has been completely out of production now and there aren’t enough resources or demands to make many of the others, as Gondolas remain the focus of tourists. My local Jack, Elena, who happened to be the founder of Wanderjack, met us at the busy St.Lucia station and led us through the quiet lanes of Cannaregio to arrive at the veniceonboard workshop. Just in a few moments, we were transported from a busy area full of people to absolutely quiet and narrow lanes of the former Jewish Ghetto. It was astonishing to see how quickly it was possible to stray away from the most touristy areas to the more residential and local ones.

The workshop that I visited focussed on making Fórcolas, rowlocks needed on boats to rest and operate the oars.  It hadn’t occurred to me earlier how different people or even workshops might be involved in manufacturing various units needed for a boat to operate. So, there could be different workshops for boats, oars and Forcolas. Interestingly, the height and angle of the Forcola influence the rowing and so, every boat owner would have to make sure they have the right one for themselves. I found out that I’d be getting to row a Topa, one of the traditional flat-bottomed boats, and sail across the Cannaregio Canal to reach the Bacaro. The organization utilizes the proceeds from these rowing/sailing tours in the restoration of older boats and supporting the local craftsmen. On meeting a craftsman working on restoring a Gondola additionally, I asked how much time it would take for him to complete the work. Not knowing what to expect, I was really surprised on knowing it might take him about 8 months or so!

VENICE OFF THE BEATEN PATH

I was eager to sail through the Venetian canal, crossing beautiful houses and churches while getting a different perspective of the island. Of course, as I’m more clumsy and less of a sportsperson, it wasn’t an easy feat for me – including climbing down to get on the boat. But, once that was out of the way, I tried to follow the rowing instructions and tell my brain to not get worked up on the angles, after all, it was all Physics! -(not that it worked too much for me anyway ) Nevertheless, Nicola from Venice on board was extremely patient and friendly and it was a pleasure to spend an hour sailing through the canal, musing over potential traffic jams and getting mesmerized by the beauty of Venice. Also, I have a new-found admiration for all you flawless rowers out there!

 

The time I learnt how to row a Topa, a flat-bottomed traditional Venetian boat – thanks to @wanderjack_italy for providing unique experiences as the Sailing Bacaro one and helping local communities. Venice used to have nine kinds of boats in the past, some of which are almost out of production and use now. The Gondolas, which used to belong mainly to the rich earlier, are the most popular and touristy boats now. But some organizations are working towards helping the craftsmen of Venice restore the older boats. The proceeds from this tour in particular are utilized in the Fórcola workshop and in restoring old boats. Fórcola (Venetian dialect, plural Fórcole) is the typical Venetian rowlock used in all boats.Was glad to visit the workshop, run by veniceonboard and also meet some of the craftsmen ! #shareTravellersTales – – – – #tlpics #chooseyouradventure #5secondVacay #igersvenice #venezia #loveitaly #igerseurope #italia #venice #easter2017

A post shared by Menorca@EuropeDiaries (@menorca_c) on Apr 16, 2017 at 9:28am PDT

At the end of our sailing experience, Elena, our local Jack, was waiting for us at one of the Bacari we were to visit. The seating arrangement outside the Bacaro was the most unique kind I have seen so far – a giant, stable boat where you could sit with the snacks and drinks purchased from the bar. Venice has a lot of strict laws, one of which allows people to sit outside on the boats only with drinks in plastic glasses – for safety purposes. If you enjoy seafood, Venice would be great for you. But, even as a vegetarian, I got to sample quite a few delicious snacks.

Fun fact: Prosecco is actually made just outside Venice. So, if you are a wine lover, definitely try the locally produced wines and Prosecco when you are in Venice. Aperol Spritz is another popular drink there, but at least one of the bars we visited seemed to take pride in the fact that they serve only the best local wines and not other popular drinks like the Spritz.

 

That particular lane was full of bars and restaurants, and you could potentially keep hopping from one to the other, taking breaks in between. However, sailing from one bar to another could be the most fun way of bar/pub crawls ever!

I really loved the whole experience and the idea of having a local guiding you through a unique experience in Venice. There’s only so much that a guide book or listicle can tell you about a destination – the best way to experience a place is indeed by meeting and talking to the locals. If you happen to visit areas surrounding Venice or Sicily, definitely check out Wanderjack – take their fun quiz to see what kind of a traveller you are, fill out a form about your preferences and travel style and you can also have their talented illustrator draw out a perfect trip , customized for you. I love the fact that they focus on sustainable and responsible travel and feel that if all of us thought about helping the local communities whenever we travel, it would make such a difference for sure.

If you’d like to live the Venetian way, sign up on Airbnb and consider staying in an apartment. Here are 19 Euros for your first booking. You can also let Wanderjack find suitable accommodation for you, of course.

Here are some other deals for you:

Booking.com

MORE ABOUT ITALY ON EUROPEDIARIES.COM

Check out a detailed post about food in Venice including navigating the local markets.

If you are looking for more Italy posts, you can check out:

Exploring Florence on foot

What to eat in Florence

Milan in a day

The best souvenirs to get from Italy

If you are a foodie like me or planning a Europe trip soon, you might also like :

Droolworthy vegetarian dishes from 24 countries in Europe

Travelling to 4 cities in 3 countries for 110 Euros

A big thank you to Wanderjack for inviting me on this experience. All thoughts and opinions expressed are solely my own. Check out Venice on Board for local activities and experiences.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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