I love fish …

Whether they are sliding through the water or lying lifeless on a bed of crushed ice at the fishmonger’s … I have a real fascination with fish. How come? I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’m a very poor swimmer and water isn’t exactly my favourite habitat. I like the sea though … mind you, only to look at! During my numerous summer holidays on the Kentish coast, I thoroughly enjoyed sitting on the sea wall watching the waves crash onto the shore, taking the little pebbles back to sea.

And until the Herald of Free Entreprise capsized leaving the port of Zeebruges on the night of March 6^th 1987, killing 193 passengers and crew, I always looked forward to the four hour ferry crossing between Ostend and Dover. I haven’t been on a ship since … and I can’t really say I feel a need for it.

But I still like fish, in the water, on ice and on my plate. When visiting a market, I just have to stop at every fish stall to look at the colourful display of fish, big and small.

Imagine my surprise and delight when I found out that the Loire Valley has its own aquarium of river and sea fish in the village of Lussault-sur-Loire, near Amboise. On a very hot day in June 2006 we finally got to visit it. The afternoon temperatures were well over 30°C, and we were looking for a spot where we could escape the burning sun for an hour or two.

At the time the place was straightforwardly called ‘L’Aquarium de Touraine’. Since then the name has been changed into ‘Planète de Touraine’. The first part of the exhibition is entirely dedicated to fish populating the Loire River and its tributaries. The different species are displayed in small and medium size tanks. Several didactical boards explain the migration routes of the fish, their reproduction and feeding habits and their natural predators.

The further you penetrate into the building, the more spectacular the fish get. Instead of river species, bigger and more impressive sea fish occupy the tanks. And as usual they save the best for last … an immense pitch dark room with in the middle a gigantic tank.

At first you think it is empty with just some pieces of driftwood floating in it. But then, as you start walking around the tank, you notice that the pieces of driftwood seem to follow you. When you finally give them a closer look, you’ll notice that two tiny gleaming eyes are peering at you from one end of each ‘log’. Fearlessly you approach the tank to take a closer look, when suddenly one of the grey brownish logs lying in the mud on the bottom of the tank, stirs and launches itself at you … Fortunately it is stopped by the thick glass wall of the tank that slightly trembles when the beast bumps his blunt snout into it.

I have no idea if the three or four prehistoric deep sea creatures that are floating in the tank would actually attack a man if he were to go into the water with them. But I’m certainly not going to volunteer … in spite of my love for fish!

While leaving the room, the creatures – I can’t bring myself calling them ‘fish’ – followed our every move before settling down again, waiting for the next unsuspecting visitor to walk in.

The contrast with the following room couldn’t have been any bigger. The major part of the ground space of this large hall was occupied by a shallow basin, in which dozens of koi fish (colourful cultivated forms of the common carp) were happily swimming around. A sign invited you to put your hand into the water and to caress the koi. As soon as my hand touched the surface of the water the fish moved towards me in a large colourful swirl. One of them started sucking my fingertip, a very weird but not unpleasant sensation.

2006 - Playful Koi carpers in the shallow basin at 'Planète de Touraine'.

We ‘played’ around with the koi for a while before leaving the ‘Aquarium’. On the way out we made the obligatory stop at the gift shop where I bought an oven mitten in the shape of a bright green fish …

If you’re in the Loire Valley and you are looking for a change of scenery from the usual castles, drop in at the ‘Planète de Touraine’. It’ll keep you out of the burning sun – or the rain – for an hour or two. I bet the ugly deep sea fish and playful koi will make an everlasting impression on you too.

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