Cave

Our roadtrip continued from Carcassonne (see below) to Niaux Cave, a cave in the Pyrenees with Paleolithic art. I've always wanted to see one of these caves, so this was very exciting for me. It was really incredible. You go in with a very small group and a guide and a few flashlights, and walk over a mile deep into the cave. After going through all these twisting passageways, you end up in an incredibly large vaulted space, and that's where the paintings are. Bison, horses, ibex, all drawn or painted as though they are floating through space. So incredible to think that they've been there for something like 14,000 years. The cave actually continues even further into the mountain, with more paintings deeper in, but visitors are not allowed any further. It's just as well, in a way, because it is somewhat frightening to be so deep in the cave. Someone in our group burst into tears at some point; it seems she started to fall behind the group and had a little panic attack or something. Anyway, it was amazing and made me want to see more cave art.