Admittedly I’m not one to go out to see the sights. Last week my brother David came to Frayssinet with my sister -in- law Joan. They brought:delicious English gooseberries from their garden,a young damson tree to plant in mine, and their infectious enthusiasm for outings.
So, after 15 years living here, I finally visited the caves and underground river at Padirac.
First you must descend deep into the hole in the ground. You may use the lift {elevator!] but of course we decided to walk.down and down and…..I forgot until it was too late,I’m afraid of heights. This was like climbing the Iffle Tower in reverse, don’t look down .
half way down,half way down,best to look up
hundreds of steps down and finally at the bottom, walking on spaghetti legs to the caves and down yet more steps,underneath dripping water ,constant all year round ,day and night, Finally we are in the cavernous underground cave .
We boarded a 11 seater flat bottom boat;our pole pushing guide spoke rapid french with a strong local dialect He explained that Mr Martel discovered the caves in the 18th century, that the calcium formations constantly grow, drip by drip.
and then,from nowhere, another unsmiling guide appeared . Her job was to inform us photos are not allowed.
“This is a privately owned cave site, you can buy pictures on the web.”All in French to David who didn’t understand a word but knew exactly what she meant. So this is it …. If you want to see more you’ll just have to come and visit the caves yourself.
Once the visit was over , the big decision: take the lift or climb the stairs?
We managed to persuade each other the lift was more practical . It was lunch time after all and in France lunch is only served between twelve and two. As we were leaving I understood the guides remark that this cave would eventually fall into itself, ‘but not today ‘ he added with a wry smile- as he waited for his tip.
