We set off from camp and drove over to a great boulangerie in Castelnaud that we had discovered earlier in our stay. It was Sunday morning so we had to get our bread for the day before it closed around lunch. We headed in and it was super busy with everyone doing their Sunday morning bread run. We got the last pain (wider than a baguette but same shape), a chausson aux pommes and an oranais (kind of like a Danish, with custard and apricots). 

We then set off to Lascaux II, a cave with prehistoric paintings from about 17 000 years ago. It is called Lascaux II because it is actually a replica of the original which was closed to tourists in 1963. Lascaux was discovered in 1940 and between 1948 & 1963, more than one million tourists visited the caves causing the paintings to deteriorate more in those 15 years than in the previous 15 000 years. As a result of that, the caves were closed. In 1983, Lascaux II was opened in a carefully duplicated cave using the same materials and techniques as when the original was created. We showed up ten minutes before the last morning tour at 11:45 and were able to buy tickets right away. We had been anticipating spending a few hours in the parking lot writing postcards because our guidebook warned us of the lines and limited number of tickets per day. Instead we stood in the sun for a few minutes while we waited to head in. In the end, there were only six people – four adults and two kids which made it seem like a private tour. I had asked earlier if they had any tours in English that day but they didn't. The lady leading the tour spoke very clearly and checked with us often to make sure that we understood. I translated as we went filling in the bits that Anoop hadn’t caught. Lascaux II reproduced two main sections of the original caves which amounts to about 90% of the paintings. We headed in and after a brief intro (allowing our eyes to adjust to the light) on how the caves were discovered and how they were later replicated, we entered the main sight. The caves were incredible and the paintings were amazing. There were mainly bison, reindeer, horses, and the predecessor of the cow. The bison were amazing for their size – some of the biggest paintings found so far. The reindeer were particularly fine and detailed. The paintings used three different colours (made of ground rock), blended to create up to twelve shades. It was really interesting to see how the artists used the natural rock formations and contours to create their paintings. Where there was a hole, they might see an eye and create an animal based on that shape. The bellies, legs, shoulders or leg muscles were often where there was a bulge in the rock which made it look 3D. The guide was excellent and pointed out the many features of the animals as well as providing different angles for lighting which changed how the animal looked entirely. Depending on where you stood and where the light shone, the perspective changed completely; what may have looked too long from one point, looked perfectly proportioned from another. Our guide mentioned that the paintings are best in low light since you can see the contours much better than if they are brightly lit. She said that they used small lamps which burned with animal fat to light the caves when working. Also, if you view the caves in a flickering light as they were originally painted, the animals really seem to move with you. Since there were so few of us, the tour guide was able to point out a few more details and personalize the tour a bit more. One of the kids had been studying prehistoric art in school and she was great at asking him if he had learned about this or that. He was more than happy to fill her in on what he knew and it was neat to see how much he remembered. I think that is the great thing about studying history in a country like France; you can learn about history in a book and then go and find a real example of it which really brings it to life.

After touring the cave we headed in to the town of Montignac which we had passed earlier. It had looked like there was a market going on so we decided to check it out. Sure enough, there was a market which seemed to mostly be selling plants and other assorted gardening stuff. There was also a "vide-grenier" (attic emptying) sale with people selling their miscellaneous items. We had a wander, picked up a sugar crêpe to snack on and enjoyed perusing all there was for sale. It really made me miss having my garden back home though because I’m usually planning and getting ready to plant at this time! We enjoyed all the spring colours of the primulas, acacia trees and flowering quince before heading back to the van. We then headed off to camp and arrived at a semi-farm camping off in the middle of the countryside. Farm camping here is usually a bit more rustic and only has a certain number of pitches. This one was larger than the official farm campings and had more amenities, but it was on a farm and there were cows grazing nearby.

The next morning we set off for the Font de Gaume caves. They are the only prehistoric polychrome caves left open to the public. They only allow 80 people in per day, in groups of twelve, with a maximum time of thirty minutes in the caves themselves. Our guidebook had warned us that we would have to show up early to get a spot. Seeing as we had such an easy time of it at Lascaux II, we arrived at 10:30 to see what the wait would be. There were about four other cars in the lot and we didn’t think it was going to be a problem. Sure enough, we were in time for the 11 am tour and there were only six of us in the end. Our guide later told us that there is a two week lull right about now and then usually there are lines that start at 6:00 am with people trying to get a ticket for the first tour at 9:30. We were really glad to be visiting during this lull! We had been told the tour would be in French but everyone in the group spoke English so the guide did the tour in English instead. He was an incredible guide and very enthusiastic about the caves. Since these are the original caves, we entered at the same point where they would have 15 000 years ago. We weren’t allowed to bring in anything with us, not even our purses, since they are extremely careful about things touching the walls. We climbed in through very tight spaces, ducking down in many spots or twisting sideways to go on. We passed by the first of the paintings, many of which were covered in carved graffiti from locals who knew about the cave long before prehistoric paintings were of interest. The ones nearest the entrance were the most heavily damaged. These caves also had many bison and deer. They also used the contours of the rock in their paintings and in some cases had carved out sections to make features more pronounced. Perspective was also very important in these caves and they really had a 3D feeling. Our guide talked about movement again and how if you view them in candle light they have the feeling of moving around you. Many animals were carved with a hollow of the rock as their stomachs. The guide said that if light is placed below, on the ground instead of higher up, the shadows fill in the hollow and makes it look like a rounded stomach instead. There were paintings all around and far above our heads. The caves are about 10 m tall in some points and the paintings are sometimes 6 m up the walls (imagine the scaffolding needed)! Unfortunately, because this cave was not sealed for millennia as Lascaux was, many of the paintings are now covered in calcite which means you can’t see them anymore. Archaeologists did discover some incredible well preserved bison paintings which were under a layer of clay. It was amazing to see the difference in clarity between the ones that had been sealed for ages and those that hadn’t. It was really incredible to stand in the caves and see paintings that were painted about 15 000 years ago. In both caves, the paintings had only been of large animals and it is still unclear why that was so. One of the most popular theories is that these animals, vital to the livelihood of the Cro-Magnons, were perhaps revered and worshipped. Regardless of why they were painted, the accuracy, skill and techniques displayed in these paintings are phenomenal. We agreed on the way out that we were very lucky to have seen the caves because we could imagine that they will also be closed to the public in our lifetime.

After visiting the caves we headed in to the town of Les Eyzies to see about getting a baguette for lunch. All the shops were closed so we opted on going out for a crêpe for lunch instead. We both had a ham, egg, cheese & mushroom crêpe which was loaded with toppings. To finish it off we went with a nutella crêpe which was very tasty.

After our quick lunch we headed in to the Prehistoric Information Centre. It didn’t have a ton of information, but did give some very useful timelines to put the caves and paintings into perspective. These were helpful in placing the Cro-Magnon people (our ancestors) who painted the caves and the Neanderthals who lived mostly before the Cro-Magnon people. They are believed to have lived in this region at the same time for about 10 000 years before Neanderthals disappeared. There were also some interesting videos showing how some of the artifacts found in the region (bone flute, axe-like tool & other tools made of rock) were made and could have been used.

We quite enjoyed our prehistoric cave painting tours and were glad that we had been able to see them, especially in such small groups!