Périgord Paddling
We soon settled into the leisurely pace of the Vézére as we paddled toward Les Eyzies de Tayac, where Cro-Magnon’s remains were discovered in the late 19th century. A mighty statue of Cro-Magnon man greeted us as we trudged from the riverbank to our hotel, soaked to the skin by an inescapable cloudburst. It is a short walk from the town center is the Grotte de Font-de-Gaume, home to a remarkable variety of cave paintings.
It is important to get there early. The dry interior of the cave helps to preserve the 80 bison and human figures, and excessive exposure to human breath can severely harm these paintings, requiring the authorities to restrict the number of visitors to just 200 per day.
A huge fortress and majestic chateau tower over Rocamadour, our next stop. They were designed centuries ago to police the river and protect the vertical cliff-side village far below. Built into the bluff midway between the castle and the town is the Sanctuary of Notre Dame, where the Black Virgin still wears her jeweled silver crown in the Chapelle de la Vierge Noire, a key pilgrimage destination during the 11th and 12th centuries. It was here that repentant sinners were forced to climb on bleeding knees up the 216 steps of the Via Sancta to reach the seven churches, basilicas, and chapels adjoining Notre Dame. Today ascenseurs (elevators) are there to carry us up, even if we have sinned.
The next evening, a bit tired and stiff after eight hours of effort on our longest river day, we finally beached at Marcilhac, a tiny farming hamlet of such charm it made every stroke worthwhile. With a population of 156, it is actually one of the larger villages in the Célé Valley. Its original Benedictine abbey was pillaged in the Hundred Years War, rebuilt in Gothic style, and then ravaged by Protestants in the Wars of Religion. A walk through the badly battered Romanesque courtyard graphically illustrates the turmoil that racked this region in post-Medieval times.
