Down in the Valley

June 14, and our last day in Sarlat.

There were new guests at our bnb, a young couple who knew English well enough that they could help us converse with Annick--something of a relief, because we had all three been struggling over the past couple of days to have some good conversations. So the usual excellent breakfast was made even better with the 😐new guests.

Back down the hill for our big day out. We first wanted to experience the Wednesday market, which is a very big thing in Sarlat. The old city center was transformed, chock full of vendor stalls selling everything from fresh produce to walnuts to foie gras and truffles to handmade items of all sorts--and meats, lots of choices of sausages, confit, etc.

One of the more intriguing buildings is an old church (dedicated to St. Marie in its past) that was fitted with huge, tall (seven-ton) doors:

Above, the night before

Below, inside on market morning:

Just a fraction of the crowded scene through the center of the old town...

CHEESE!!! Lots of cheese...

We also managed to get into the cathedral that morning--can't pass up any opportunity to see church interiors! This one is certainly simpler than the urban cathedrals we'd been seeing, but so beautiful.

We also visited another small church, the Chapelle des Penitents Blanc, that has been turned into a gallery; at the time of our visit they were showing an exhibit of a photographer, Francois Lasfargue. I didn't take photos there (seemed presumptuous somehow), except of the floor (!), which was still vibrant despite the hundreds of years it's been walked on:

The photographer's work was ethereal, but I can't find him on the internet so I can't do more than rave about it with no proof... ☺️

It was finally time to return to our favorite bus stop to meet up with our afternoon tour guide. As the meeting time approached, we wondered if we were in the wrong place, because there were no other people obviously waiting for anything. A driver in a van appeared, and told is that we were the only ones on this tour (gee, that must be why it was so expensive...!). And thus began a tour of a lifetime. David had scheduled us for a tour of a privately-owned cave--one of the oldest in the area--where he knows the owner and can bring his customers into the cave behind a regular tour group of 25 people--but our tour was just for us, away from the group. What a treat. AND, as we waited for the appointed time, he gave us a full demonstration of how the drawings might have been done; how they started their (hand-held) fires so that they could see in the cave; the materials they used; and why researchers believe that these people didn't live in the caves (no smoke residue, for one big reason).

Our "classroom"/waiting room

While David is not a geologist or archeologist, he clearly has a deep passion for the history of the Dordogne Valley, where he was born and reared. (He also went to college in Santa Clara for a couple of years...which has nothing to do with this except that his English is excellent.)

David was full of fascinating facts, theories, and stories. He emphasized that the researchers don't call these drawings art (we can differ on this), but they also don't have any great explanations otherwise. Except that they liked to draw things? Given the circumstances in which they were drawing, they had to really want to do this.

Onward. The time finally came when we were admitted to the cave, and what an awesome experience! First of all, this cave, unlike (most of?) the other caves, is also a geological wonderland, full of stalactites and stalagmites. David showed us how the (probably) Neanderthals had actually cut certain stalactites and stalagmites to form a cleared circle, perhaps for some sort of spiritual rituals. To think of their going in there, in the total darkness, creating just enough light to see their way initially--that alone is mind boggling.

Imagine coming into this space for the first time! (With a feeble little light...)

I neglected to mention that the reason this particular cave wasn't found till relatively recently is because its opening had been filled in by a large mudslide, and the farming family whose land contains this has been very careful about its stewardship. (We felt even more fortunate to be there.)

We weren't allowed to take photos ourselves, but David shared his small supply with us:

There are a few animal figures in this section. Researchers believe the dots are fingerprints.

This is one of the most recognizable figures, perhaps an ibex type animal.

It's intriguing how the "artist" used the stalactites as part of the image. This was a really large figure. The drawings that were done with charcoal have been carbon dated, and they are substantially older than the drawings and paintings in, for instance, the Lascaux Cave.

We left this cave full of awe at having been in the close presence of such history.

One of the bonuses of touring with David: Because he's in the midst of building a house in the area, we learned a lot about the rules for building in such a historically protected area. We also learned a lot about contemporary growing and harvesting of truffles, as he is in the process of starting his own truffle plantation. Truffles grow on the roots of a certain kind of oak tree, and the roots must be inoculated with the spores of the fungus before planting them. There's a lot of waiting--10-15 years--for the trees to grow to the right size before they can begin to produce. Pigs are no longer used to hunt for truffles--because they want to eat them. So now they train dogs (male only, because the truffle scent is appealing only to males) to hunt them, since they don't expect to be paid in kind.

So there's your truffle-growing lesson on a nutshell.

It was time for the next phase of our tour with David. We headed toward the Chateau de Beynac.

But first a stop in the town of Domme, where David prizes the view of the river and the valley.

Here we are, standing above the river we had canoed the day before. We had passed under that very bridge.

Of course we had to step into the church in Domme, the simplicity of which was really appealing:

Moving on to the Chateau de Beynac, a castle built over a span of five centuries, beginning with the Keep, which was built in the 12th century.

This was not really meant to be lived in; rather, it was a place of refuge during battles, and originally it could only be entered via a ladder that could then be pulled up into the tower to prevent the enemy from following.

Additions were built in the 14th and 17th centuries, with every addition making the castle more livable. David showed us through the entire place with the assuredness of someone who knows his material. What follows here are Cindy's and my glimpses into this history of a period that shaped France as we know it today. It's impossible to convey the thrill of going through that castle with David, so a small assortment of our photos will have to suffice.

A cannonball has lived in this wall for centuries.

David expounds

Cindy ponders

A Great Hall

Two of the other many castles along the river that Beynac could keep an eye on. As I recall, this is one that Eleanor of Aquitaine held; her son Richard the Lionheart then was involved in this area of the Hundred Years War. My history knowledge is fuzzy at best, so I apologize for any misstatements (of which there are likely many).

The tapestries were beautiful...

...as were the frescoes

Walls were thick and windows scarce and narrow--all to prevent invasions

When the lord finally took up residence here, he slept very high, and access to this room was not easy.

There were many defenses built into this structure. This is just one.

An early coat of arms?

We left the Chateau de Beynac after a very full afternoon with David--with too much new information for my poor brain to retain. But the experience in general will remain one of the highlights of our Grand European Sampler Tour.

One last dinner in Sarlat, one last trek back to our residence, pack the suitcases, to bed early to rise early and walk to the train station before dawn.

And on to Girona--our very brief foray into Spain!