TMB, France & Spain

French Catalonia Mon 18 Sep 2023
Woken up by the roosters in the small farm next door at 5am and got up. Others got up after 7am and we had breakfast. Left the traditional French Airbnb in Chemin de Laborite Foix in the Ariege department French Occitanie region around 9am for the Grotto de Niaux in the Ariege Department French Occitanie region. We managed to get into the 10am tour to see some 16,000 year old prehistoric drawings in a horizontal limestone cave system. The guide took us to the Salon Noir (Black Chamber) which was about 850 metres into the cave system. We were first shown a panel containing a series of hyphens, sticks and dots. Red oxide and manganese oxide were used to make the red a black colouring. Inside the Salon Noir we were shown drawings of bison, horses, ibex and a stag which may have been the local favourite prey of the Magdalenian communities that made the drawings. These animals had a very strong symbolic meaning to Magdalenian people. The majority of these drawings were sketched in charcoal and then painted over using a manganese dioxide based black paint.
,After about 2 hours we emerged from the cave and drove down to the valley and lunch at the village of Niaux in the Ariege department French Occitanie regionfor a steak roll with chips in a paper bag and cake on a plate with knife and fork. Left Niaux in the Ariege department French Occitanie region after 1.30pm and drove towards our accommodation in Villefranche-de-Conflent. On the way we drove through a very long toll tunnel at L’Hospitalet in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence departmentRead more