Inspired by Werner Herzog we added to our itinerary. Actually, we are always inspired by everything Werner Herzog does except getting shot www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrRNM9cMBDk, but specifically we were inspired by his documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_of_Forgotten_Dreams so we added on a visit to Grotte de Font-de-Gaume Cave to experience prehistoric paintings.
Due to damage from human exposure, most of the caves in France are no longer accessible to people, rather recreations are (including the Herzog filmed Chauvet cave). The cave-viewing tourist is directed to the big center at Lascaux and we are sure it is wonderful. https://lascaux.fr/en/ ; but we wanted to go to an actual cave so we went to the one exception; the Font-de-Gaume Cave near Les Eyzies, Drodogne department of southwest France. The only original cave with polychrome paintings dating back 17,000 years that is still open to the public. Most cave paintings only used black coloring, these had pigments of red, brown and black.
The cave is located in a sparsely populated area of southwest France. We first took a train from Bordeaux to the small town of Perigueux to spend the night. Arrived at a rather boring little train station, that opened to a pretty unattractive street, unusual for France. We continued a few blocks to our Ibis Budget, which basically is a closet sized bathroom attached to an even smaller bedroom, dropped off our backpacks and continued to walk around what we thought was an “eh” town. But no French town seems to be “eh”, and it turned out neither was Perigueux. First we stumbled on unique Roman ruins, the temple to the Gaul goddess Vesunna, (very Game of Thrones), Vesunna was the original name of Perigueux.
There was a requisite massive cathedral (built in 1669) and designed on the model of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice..
Plus a central square with fountain. Each area of town felt very different from each other architecturally.
But, the highlight was finding a long-searched for Magnum Double Starchaser ice cream novelty at the tiny, nondescript train station kiosk. Our daughter and granddaughter had raved about them. We thought it was okay, table wine level, but it made up for the missed frozen Mars ice cream bars.
After a cramped Ibis Budget night (prep for the cave?) we took an early morning half hour train ride to the tiny town of Les Eyzies. A two kilometer walk through the gorge nested town, dotted with overhanging cave dwellings .
Fully committed to prehistoric commerce. It was quiet, beautiful, and very kitsch .
The museum prepped us to the geology, ecology and timeline
and we were ready for the final approach to the caves. (and gift shop), Grotte de Font-de-Gaume https://www.lascaux-dordogne.com/en/patrimoine-culturel/grotte-de-font-de-gaume/
We were very fortunate to be on the English language tour as there was only one other English speaking tourist joining us and the tour guide, 15 people were waiting for the French tour. No cameras were allowed.
A tight squeeze through the entrance (felt like we were back at the Ibis Budget), but it gradually opened up and there was plenty of room for the four of us. The tour guide’s flashlight led us through the minimally lit cave as we passed drawings of reindeers, horses, bison and mammoths and handprints (kind of startling). The guide would dramatically turn off the lights and illuminate the painting with his flashlight and laser pointer illustrating how the contours and ridges of the walls were incorporated into the paintings of the animals bodies, pointing out aspects of the paintings like the hump of the bison’s shoulders conforming to the convex out-pouching of the wall. I would have never thought to do that, it’s embarrassing to realize Cro-Magnon were smarter than me.
Walking through the narrow caves, seeing how these drawings, captured the art of living and story telling 20,000 years BC made us feel differently about ourselves, about humans, kind of about everything. Maybe the most sublime thing we’ve ever seen.
France has been taking us time traveling. From the absolutely glorious cave paintings and megaliths to the magnificent boulevards and buildings then de-evolving to the ubiquitous evidence of the destruction from WW1 and WW2. Everywhere is history that we continue to choose to forget and repeat. Our Existential French tour continues..
Chosen Fugue 