From the Heights to the Depths of Dordogne

First a Little French Geology:

A Gouffre is a chasm. A Grotte is a cave.  A Roque is, one would think, a rock.  But after seeking a proper translation I got everything from a chess move to a form of croquet so let's just believe it means rock.  The gist of all this is that we visited them all.  Some forms twice.  So here we go.

But First Martel 

We headed out one morning towards Martel -- a particularly adorable town nestled among a plethora of adorable towns.  There isn't all that much to say about the town itself except that it has some interesting history.  So, after the British sacked and plundered Rocamadour the commander, Henry Mantel, ambled over to Martel and stationed himself in a house on the main square.  He was in line to become the King of England.  But he died.  In Martel.  This left his brother Richard (Richard the Lionheart) to inherit the throne.  OK, this story is pretty interesting. After Henry (the son) dies, Henry (the father) wants Richard to give up his land in France to another brother, John, who has no land.  Richard doesn't want to because he loves France whereas he cares little about England.  It is argued that he didn't even speak English.  Richard teams up with Phillip of France and subdues his father and thus becomes King of England.  He spends less than 10 years in England because what he really likes is fighting -- like a lot.  Off he goes on the Third Crusade and many, many interesting and weird things happened from there.  But I am REALLY digressing.  Please google Richard.  It is a great story. Well, after a short morning of adorable (not Richard, the town) we were ready for more active pursuits.  Off to the Gouffre.

The old buildings & architecture made this town a noteworthy place to explore, as Deirdre looks through one of the arched entrances to a short tunnel.

Arches were a common theme as can be seen with these arched doorways and window.

Martell boasts of seven towers, this being one of the seven.

No neon signs in this ancient town, just a tasteful sign showing one of the seven towers and indication this shop is a boulangerie.

Every town has a market and a market day. This is Martell's covered market, which dates back to the 18th century. In December & January a truffle market is held here.

On our way back to our car I spotted this huge spider on this tower wall. There was no explanation for its presence there and I have been unable to find or read anything about how it ended up there. One of the many interesting discoveries when traveling.

We also spotted this purple wisteria with two more of the seven towers of Martel in the background.

The Gouffre de Padirac

 The Gouffre  presented with a set of challenges.  Before purchasing a ticket there was a warning:  If you have a heart condition (check), vision issues (check) or are pregnant (fat chance) you should not attempt to tour the Gouffre.  "Well," I thought, "Two out of three's not bad".  So off we went.  The good news is we didn't have to walk down the 300 steps (103 meters) to enter the Gouffre.  The bad news is that we are so old that when the guides saw us they didn't even ask if we'd use the stairs, they just pointed to the elevator.  We were both insulted and grateful.

I got the vision warning first.  It was DARK.  I know, it's a cave so what would you expect.  But this was dark AND slippery.  I know, it's a cave so what would you expect. Too late now, onward.  I negotiated the endless steps and corridors by gripping the handrails with both hands and slithering up/down/forward one step at a time.  But it was truly worth it.  You walk/climb/descend for a while and then you reach the river. Yes, a real river!  You ride in a boat for a while and they explain how the explorers had to build a boat, named the Crocodile that could be collapsed and reassembled as the water level varied and walls narrowed and widened.  The water was crystal clear-- this is the type of water you find in an aquifer.  We really should not deplete aquifers (can't help myself with the environmental laments).

But let's move on to the part where your heart is put to the test.  After you leave the boat an announcement is made that if you need to, you can take the boat back after poking around because the way out goes through the Great Dome.  The Great Dome (97 meters high) requires you to ascend 150 dark, slippery steps and descend 150 dark, slippery steps.  I am ambivalent.  The Great Dome offers a once in a lifetime opportunity to witness the full majesty of what nature can create but also offers the  opportunity to end my life by heart attack or a grand fall.  I decide to go for it.  Michael is encouraging me because he admires my guts but also because he really wants to see The Great Dome.  It does not disappoint.  Michael tried for pictures and even though it was very dark, he managed to get a few.  If you want to see it (and you really should) just google the Gouffre.  I did and there are many pictures (I guess a scientific group that was allowed to light things) of this amazing area.  That was the last big challenge (well there were 75 more slippery, dark steps I think) and then out.  Well, out after two more elevator rides.  We looked at each other and said,"Well, I think that's it for today".

This is looking down into the shaft where you enter the Gouffre and begin your descent.

The bust of Edouard-Alfred Martel, discoverer of the Gouffre de Padirac is fittingly placed in the cavern,.

From here on I will let the photographs speak for themselves of the wonders of this magnificent cavern.

The Roque of St. Christophe

This one is an ascent and not a descent.  The limestone Roque extends for 1 km. and has been inhabited since prehistoric times.  It consists of a series of levels (I think three) which loom over the Vezere River.  Because limestone is soft, people (from "cavemen" up) were able to excavate and create shelters and even things such as cisterns and a church from the malleable stone.  From the earliest days of habitation, houses were formed in an ingenious manner.  First, using harder stone, they would create a cavity in the rock.  Then they would insert a round log and infuse it with water.  As the log expanded, it would crack the soft limestone and they would remove the log, replace it with a larger one having scooped out the broken stone, and repeat the process.  From the widened hole they would ultimately insert a long log to be used to support the roof.  After the roof was on, they would complete the sides.  No back was needed since these houses rear walls were the cliff itself, and in some instances the limestone formed the roof as well.

Michael's pictures and captions will explain the entire village more clearly.  The Roque was inhabited continuously from prehistoric days through the Middle Ages.    It offered a tremendous defensive position and in the later years an intricate warning system was devised.  Small watchtower caves were built into the cliff over a distance of 18 km.  When a signal was sent it took only 6 minutes (as proved by an experiment in modern times) to transmit the danger signal to the village.  The Roque played a significant role in the Hundred Years War during which the French held off the British admirably until the British finally starved them out and took over.  Ironically, the Brits only held onto it for 5 years before also losing it.   But now, after a few (many) photos we must march on to a totally different experience.

Here is an example of the wood placed in holes in the limestone, both perpendicular and horizontal.

This carved out section of stone once held an iron safe to store valuables.

Iron railings have been added to protect the tourists. In the middle of the photo you can make our the original stairs leading up to this level, which are no longer used by tourists.

This pool was still being slowly replenished by water dripping from above through the limestone.

This is a scale model of what the structure would have looked like in Midieval times.

This was the Church built into the cliff with the altar and the baptismal font to the left...

and to the far right is the confessional.

The indentations in the stone within the Church were where sarcophagi were placed.

This view looking back shows the extent of the length of the structure carved out of the cliff.

Several ingenious systems were devised to lift things up from the bottom to the upper levels...

some using pulley systems with hand cranks...

and others like this one involved a human inside the wheel (like a hamster) providing the lifting power.

This was the foundry (note the giant bellows).

Limestone pillars were left in place to provide passageways or doorways.

In this room wood logs were cut to provide supports and fronts to the cave rooms.

Here were some of the tools used to dig into the limestone...

and this demonstrates how once the stone was carved out with the iron tools above, wood was placed in the gap created and soaked in water to expand the wood and crack the stone.

Deirdre standing next to another lifting device.

This doorway was only four & a half feet tall. 

Stone steps were carved out to reach the next level (but are not available for tourists to traverse).

There was even a tunnel carved out of the limestone (with the more recent addition of a handrail). The handrail was welcome due to the very uneven nature of the floor.

Here is the dining room...

with the next series of photos showing the kitchen.

The earliest denizens of the roque had to deal with other creatures who wished to use the caverns as well.

A soldier stands guard over the one doorway and entrance to the roque.

In prehistoric times this individual would have kept out intruders.

The views from Roque St. Christophe were spectacular, which was just a side benefit of being a troglodyte.

Le Moulin de la Rouzique

I had read about this paper mill that had been functioning since the 15th century and still had functional machinery and was, in fact, still making paper.  I noted also that they had a boutique (EVERYTHING has a boutique these days) and I thought it would be tres chic chic to obtain some handmade french place cards to use at our very unchic chic pizza parties.  Well, I didn't find them but the place was fascinating.  Thank God that it was a very visual, step by step type tour because it was given in lightning speed French.  This means that by viewing the pictures you will understand exactly as much as Michael and I understood from listening to the verbal description.  While we were there a group of exuberant French 10 year olds were trying their hands at creating their own paper designs.  They were having a great time and their products were quite impressive.  All in all, the paper mill and an excellent lunch preceding our tour provided a fulfilling (and filling) afternoon.

One view of the exterior of the paper mill...

and another showing what powered the paper mill.

This was part of the paper mill complex and shows how structures were built right into the limestone throughout the area.

Some of the very creative and colorful designs created on the paper by the children.

This water wheel powered the machinery in the paper mill.

Our French guide opened the gate to the canal from the river which powered the water wheel, which in turn powered the wheel to the left...

transferring power to the belts and machinery within the paper mill. This is an example of a large slurry machine which turned the shredded cotton mixed with water into a slurry.

This is a more modern and smaller version of the slurry machine...

which our guide showed us with the cover open to explain the process.

Once the slurry is turned into a soupy mixture it is emptied into a large vat. The contents of the vat are stirred prior to placing a frame into the slurry. When the frame is removed you have a paper with the dimensions of the frame.

The paper is removed, pressed and then hung up to dry.

Frames were designed to create different sizes and shapes for the paper.

This is an example of the old fashioned paper press, which fascinated the father far more than the baby.

As we were leaving the village we walked past this old abandoned building with the dual arches.

What's Next?

Up next on the extravaganza of French blogs are visits to the Grotte de Rouffignac,  The Breuil Cabanes and an amazing Strawberry Festival in Beaulieu-Sur-Dordogne. So until then.....