St. Cirq Lapopie

I spent most of yesterday morning exploring the exquisitie perched village of St. Cirq Lapopie. It sits on the south side of the Lot River and at one time was almost impregnable. There are ruins of the original Chateau at the top; the beautiful Romanesque church was built in the early 15th century after the Chateau was already destroyed. The tile roofed village houses nestle in the narrow gorge below the church protected by it and the steep cliffs that go straight down to the river. There are many artisan shops in the village and several restaurants. Laury and I ate lunch here on Thursday and I went back to the same place by myself the next day. I sat on the terrace looking far down into the river valley enjoying a kir framboise and listening to a light rain shower patter on the canvas awning. By the time lunch was finished, the sun was shining and I continued exploring...

After leaving the village, I drove towards Cabrerets to look for Pech Merle, a 700,000 year old limestone cave filled with pre-historic cave paintings. Stopping in Cabrerets to look at the village church, I spied a sign indicating the Pech Merle was a mere 1km walk on an asphalt path. Hmm...that sounded do-able, so off I went in my sandals, long pants and long sleeved knit shirt. The asphalt soon gave way to the steepest, rockiest path I've hiked in a long time. Straight up, every size rock imaginable. Only 1 km, right? I can do this...and I did, but at a price. I was dripping sweat and exhausted by the time I finally reached the cave. Down a gentle hill the other direction about 50 yards from me was the parking lot. If only I had driven! Oh well, the good news was there were still tickets available for the tour (usually you have to reserve in advance), Within 5 minutes I was hooked up with a group and we were descending the stairs into a most magnificent cave. Of course, I have no pictures to share with you...it's very dark down there, and they don't allow photos. But please check out the Pech Merle website so you can see what I saw....fabulous cave paintings of prehistoric bison, woolly mammoths, horses, aurochs, hands. Pech Merle is one of the few caves in southern France still open for tourists; others have been closed to protect the delicate paintings. It was hard to believe that man stood in this place deep beneath the earth 48,000 years ago and left his mark for me to wonder at. I'm in awe!