Dordogne - Day 3

When you drive around the Dordogne, you see lots of areas of overhanging rock and many towns that are partially built into the hillsides. We decided to check out La Roque St Christoffe which I think is one of the largest Troglodyte settlements in the area.

La Roque is a huge fissure under a rock cliff, a couple stories above the ground. There are displays to show how people lived in these cave-like rooms and the everyday items they used. I have to say it was a little unnerving to walk around under this giant slab of rock. We would be tiny human filling in a big rock sandwich if any of it came down. Even so, it was very interesting to see the settlement had a safe, stables, blacksmith shop, church, etc. The entire settlement in its heyday was very large, several hundred meters I think.

La Roque Gageac is a pretty town at the base of a hill, some of the houses are built into the hill as well. It sits right on the banks of the Dordogne River and has a few shops and restaurants.  Two of the gabarre boat companies are based here and we decided to have a ride on the river.  The live commentary was in French but we were given headsets with an English recording.  It was a pretty ride, passing the gardens of Marqueyssac above us on the hill, and also the castle at Castelnaud-la-Chapelle.  There were swans on the river and a couple of them took flight and circled the boat before landing back on the river.

Remember when I talked about the rock possibly falling at the beginning of this post? Well, it happened in La Roque Gageac about 50 years ago, killing three people and destroying several houses. So I guess if it only happens once in 50 years, then our odds of being a human sandwich are pretty small.  Although seeing a bunch of steel pillars holding up some of the hillsides is a reminder that these folks live with that possibility every day. 

Speaking of rocks and caves, we also went to Lascaux to see the replica exhibit of the prehistoric cave art that was discovered in the actual cave at Lascaux.  The actual cave is closed to the public due to calcite and bacteria that built up from the moist breath of the over 1 million visitors to the caves in the last several decades. The replica was interesting and the accompanying exhibits are well done.  I’m glad we went but I determined that cave art is not something that fascinates me - I’m more of a medieval gal I guess.