2019-05-18 Pont du Arc

Remember the rail strike? We took the bus to Nimes? Well the strike is still going on. Harvey had rented a car while we were still home, to drive to Pezilla deRiviere on the frontier of Spain, to meet up with Cathy and renaissance man-farmer extraordinaire, Thierry Sandre.

Having the car for 2 days, we got the car with the plan of a leisurely countryside drive to see Pont de Gard

and Caverne duPont de Arc

We expected the smallest car in the universe, as this is Europe and there are no large cars. We got a SUV. Not a huge one, but larger than what we both drive in the US. 

HAHAHAHAHA.

It also makes shrieking bird noises when one drives too close to the curb or other inanimate objects, which is quite upsetting when one is not expecting it.

A good, old fashioned Rand McNally map was purchased in Nimes. The Renault SUV has its own GPS system, (as well a being a hybrid). This silly place called France wants to conserve energy as well as save the environment. First on our list of things to do with our” vehicle” adventure , is figure out how to exit the city of Nimes. I am the driver. Harvey is the navigator. Having procured the car, we ascend from the bowels of the parking garage beneath the train station. Immediately we pull over so all of our internet devices can reconnect to the net for GPS. It’s almost impossible to park in an old city like Nimes. I find a spot after much screaming and recrimination. Harvey sets the GPS on the car, sets Maps in google and folds the physical map to the correct section for our drive.  Chaos ensues.  For the rest of the day, none of the directions will reconcile with each other.

We finally make it out of town without the police or ambulance being called. First stop is Pont du Gard, the 3-storied aqueduct built by the Romans to supply this area with water from the nearby mountains. It is situated in a gorgeous area crossing the Gardon River about 30 minutes from Nimes. The aqueduct is persevered incredibly well, because after the Roman Empire fell, it was used by the locals as a toll bridge across the river. Got to keep up a good income stream.

The bridge beside the aqueduct is chiseled with graffiti, all dating from around the early 1800’s, when it was undergoing renovation. Beside the names of workers carved into the stone, are pictures of the stone working tools they used. 

Onward and forward to Cave Chauvet. We have a confirmed tour to catch. The narrow lane roads twist thru rows of vineyards and sunflowers.  More often than not, when approaching the multiple, small villages, the road is lined with towering trees; beautiful, but narrowing the road even further.

This is when 2-GPS and road map system totally and completely falls apart. There are several issues: 1) The famous cave I want to visit is Cave Chauvet 2) It is located above the Pont du Arc which is also a historical site in and of itself 3) The actual tour is located at Caverne Pont du Arc which neither of us are aware of.

There are no stop signs in France (at least they are a rarity), everything is a roundabout. When we identify that we are finally 5 miles away from our destination, the signs point one way to the cave and other to the arc. None say Cave Chauvet. There is much yelling, oops, I mean “discussion” within the roundabouts. I make an executive decision, as I am driving, that we are going to the place that says “cavern” even if it doesn’t say anything about Chauvet.

We arrive slightly late – one must arrive 30 minutes prior to the tour (there are only 3 English tours a day, so we don’t dare be late). The ticket person is a little snippy with us about our lateness, but immediately withdraws when we say we got lost due to GPS – I believe they have heard this before.  Plus, in retrospect, it makes sense that the French government does not want the cave’s physical location to be known.

Outside of the recreation of Cavern Chauvet

 The cave tour is in a massive recreation of the original site. That itself, is amazing, the technology it took to recreate the cave. Also 5 Million Euros.

The cave was discovered in the late 90’s and holds some of the the oldest drawings done by man: 30, 000 years old.  Lascoux cave in the north of France, drawings are 17,000 years old. The drawings in Chauvet are not simple either, like the ones at Lascoux. These drawings have a sense of motion, there is shading, there is perspective and there are stories being told with the art that even modern man can relate to.

By the handprints left behind, one can tell that not only were there adults who visited the cave, but children too. There are several places where footprints remain in the soft clay that built up within the cave. Close to many of the drawings are the remains of lamps used to light the way.

30.000 years ago. It is so hard to wrap your head around that number. The Ice Age.

There are over 200 bear skulls in the cave dating back to the same period. You can see the hollows in the floor where they made their beds during hibernation periods. There are scratches on the walls where they stretched and scratched themselves during the active period of hibernation.

The site was preserved by a landslide which sealed the entrance of the cave, who knows how long ago. It remains a time capsule of a world unrecognizable to it’s future. 

This is the oldest archeological site I have ever visited. One more off the bucket list.