October 26th

Saturday is open air market day in Sarlat. We walked around town amongst the market vendors. Jan made a few purchases. The scene is not unlike a market day in the US with many small vendors exhibiting their wares under small shelters. The main difference is that the main streets of the town are turned into pedestrian walkways with vendor shelters along both sides of the streets. We stopped for a coffee in one of the squares and watched several larger vendors break down their displays of food products. There must not be a French FDA as food handling was quite casual and cooked chickens etc appear to be transported unrefrigerated. We have noticed this elsewhere in France as well.

During the afternoon we took one of our signature cross country rides (via GPS guidance over shortest route with unhurried pace) to a close by area (20km) with several cliff dwellings. We did not know what to expect at our destination, but the countryside we rode through was beautiful. It was similar to the mountains of north Georgia. We drove through many small isolated communities of a half dozen buildings or so and assumed they were family farms. At each enclave the grounds were neat and well groomed, and the buildings were generally well maintained. Fields were neatly tilled as if in preparation for next spring’s crops. The main exception was fields of sunflower plants. Dead plants were left on the fields with flower heads intact. We assume this is to allow the seeds to dry before they are harvested. The sunflower fields must be beautiful when the plants are in full bloom.

Roque Sainte Christophe Fort et Cite Troglodytiques

A cliff face that has allegedly been occupied for over 55,000 years. We could not get close to the cliff face as they were in the process of filming some sort of documentary. It was easy to see why the cliff location was picked by early residents of the area. The cliff offered shelter and defense and the nearby Vezere River provided water.

Maison Forte de Reignac

A fort and residence built into sheltered areas in a cliff face. It has allegedly been occupied for over 15,000 years. I entered expecting a hokey exhibit similar to Rock City in Chattanooga but was pleasantly surprised to find a well done and thought provoking exhibit of life as it must have been over the centuries at this location. We enjoyed our trek through it.

Vezere River and Valley

The Vézère is a 211 km long river in southwestern France. It is an important tributary to the Dordogne River. Its source is in the northwestern part of the elevated plateau known as the Massif Central. It flows to the southwest.

The Vézère Valley is famed for its prehistoric cave systems, containing numerous cave paintings and hominid remains. UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) collectively designated these a World Heritage Site in 1979.

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