Climbing, Paddling, Fireworks, Eclipses, Cheese and Bread

Checking in from France. Been keeping plenty busy. 

One day Jeff had a day off and he showed me a really cool chasm nearby. The entrance is absolutely enormous. I tried to capture the size of it but failed miserably. 

Then after about 200 feet it narrows down into a small tube. For most of the year there is a river that flows into and through the chasm but in the summer it is quite dry. We were able to hike a couple hundred feet into the chasm before reaching a drop-off requiring canyoneering equipment. Here's a shot of that spot illuminated with our cell phones.

Then came the lunar eclipse! Here's the moon rising the day before.

I was fortunate to be in Europe during the eclipse as totality wasn't visible from North America. Unfortunately it was quite cloudy out. But the clouds managed to move out of the way every now and then for a few minutes, causing a panicked scramble on my end. Without a tripod photographing the moon proved difficult, but here is a shot of the eclipsed moon hanging above Mars. The eclipse was longest lunar eclipse that will occur this century. Also, Mars is the closest to Earth it has been in 17 years. It was awesome to see 2 very red celestial bodies rising over the horizon together. 

Here's the moon towards the end of the penumbral phase. With no clouds the photo came out much sharper.

Camille and I also went to see some fireworks in the village of Autoire, the same place where I've been climbing a lot. In this photo you can see the climbing cliff  towards the top left of the photo. They lit up the cliff and the old castle that still exists at the base of the cliff. The lights and some music were coordinated with the firework show. It was very impressive for such a small village (seen in the bottom right of the photo).

I also met Camille's parents. They live in a village 2 hours away. They have a beautiful home that was once a working farm. That night we all went out for dinner and live blues music in a nearby village. It was a really nice time. This pavilion where the band performed was built 800 years ago... The history and subsequent preservation of it is beyond impressive to me.

There's also some nice swimming holes nearby. Limestone cliffs everywhere!

A 15 minute hike from Camille's house brought us to some ruins with a nice view of the valley. And she thought my beard could use some sprucing up.

For a couple months I've been experiencing symptoms very indicative of Lyme disease. Being the more responsible person, Camille strongly encouraged me to see a doctor. We did, then I had some blood work done and it turns out that I do indeed have Lyme. No worries, I'll be getting antibiotics this week. This is the second time I've been to the doctors in 8 years (first time was contracting staph last year), both times being in Europe conveniently where health care is easier and more affordable.

Either way I've been driving around to labs and whatnot on my own, providing me with an opportunity to explore nearby villages. This village had a very nice church.

I also enjoy going to bakeries and buying baguettes and walking around as proud as can be. If I don't talk, I think people assume I'm a local!

Camille and I also paddled down the Dordogne River during one of her few days off from work. We happened to run into some of her coworkers and joined them for most of the journey down the 19km section of the river.

During the paddle we were aware of 2 different caves along the river. The first one being a dry cave which was pretty cool. The entrance was obstructed by a tree but once you passed that, there was a big room with lots of mud hand prints on the walls.

The second was a wet cave with a fresh water river running through it and emptying into the Dordogne. The cave was super cool and seemed to go for a long time. Unfortunately without proper lights and equipment we couldn't explore too far.

This week will involve more climbing (I've picked a 12c route as a project while I'm here) and who knows what else. On Friday Camille and I head out. She's flying to a wedding in Sardinia for 4 days and I'm heading to Paris to pick up Tim and Tim for a week of climbing and drinking in France and Belgium. 

À plus !

Bonjour la France

Alors! I made it to France! The direct flight from Boston was quick and painless. Camille graciously picked me up from the airport in Paris and we made the 7 hour drive back to her home in the department of Lot. 

I've already done a lot here in the first week. I've met all of her roommates and they're all wonderful people and more than willing to speak English with me despite having to deal with English all day at work. At the same time I think my French is progressing much faster, now that I'm surrounded by it at all times.

 Camille lives and works in the countryside. The nearest real city is about an hour away. During the summer months there are many markets to be found in the various villages nearby throughout the week. So of course one of the first things we did was stock up on bread and cheese. Mon Dieu, the cheese here is so good and so much cheaper than what can be found in the states.

We also did a little hiking and climbing early on. About 20 minutes away is the town of Autoire which has a beautiful waterfall as well as lots of climbing.

Here's the view while hiking to the climbing area.

The climbing is on beautiful limestone cliffs full of tufas. The climbing is very physical and technical. It makes me happy!

Camille's roommate Matthieu is very strong. Here he is working his way through a 7c+ (5.13a).

Then I visited Camille's work, Le Gouffre de Padirac. It's an enormous chasm located nearby. They offer guided tours of the chasm (including a boat ride down the river which carves its way through the chasm) as well as other outdoor activities above ground. Here's Camille working in the geology workshop where she's giving a presentation on the various famous caves from around the world. She also educates visitors on the processes involved in the creation of the chasm as well as the various types of rocks found on Earth.

And here is the giant hole in the ground! It's too large to capture all in one photograph. The entrance is 35 meters wide and descends 75 meters into the earth.

Camille hooked me up with a free tour so I could see the chasm and see what her job was like on days when she was assigned to paddling the boats.

The cave system contains more then 40km of galleries but only about 2km is open to the public. The experience begins with a self-guided, walking audio tour.

Then you reach an area where a boat is necessary to continue further. This is where Camille often works, paddling boats back and forth on the river. The boats fit up to 10 people and she must navigate the narrow river while avoiding the walls and other boats as well as educating visitors on the chasm in as many as 4 different languages! And they must stick to a strict 8 minute schedule... It's a lot of work!

Reasonably so, photographs are not allowed during the boat section of the tour. But eventually you reach another section where you're allowed to walk around on your own. There you are greeted with beautiful pools, incredible features and a massive room referred to as la Salle du Grand Dôme. 

This unique feature is called the pile of plates.

This is the Grand Dome. I tried to capture its enormity, but it's impossible. If you look at the bottom of the image you can see tiny tourists to gain a slight perspective.

So the chasm was awesome.

I was also here for France's independence day on July 14th. Several villages has fireworks that night but we were too tired and lazy to go see them. Autoire will be having fireworks this weekend so maybe we will go see those.

And I was also in France to watch them win the World Cup. Pretty cool. We went to the bar near the chasm to watch the game. It was almost entire employees from the chasm which was nice because I was able to meet many of them.

And now I will continue to go climbing, eat lots of cheese and explore the region!

À plus !

This is a Blog Update

As I've begun preparing for my trip to France (5 days away!) I've realized that I've been letting this blog slip away a little bit. Partly due to being home and having less photos to share but also due to having written just under 600 posts since I began this blog 3.5 years ago. 

What once acted as a creative outlet for me to share my experiences with others has taken on a more chore-like feeling. But as I've done in the past, I like to remind myself that there are quite a few of you who have stuck with me through this journey since the beginning, and for that I'm eternally grateful. I love hearing stories about people feeling inspired or motivated by something that I've shared.

Basically what I'm getting at is that I'm going to dedicate less focus to this blog and spend a little more time away from a computer screen. But I still want to provide a source of entertainment and inspiration! As well as provide myself with a place to share my photos (if merely as a personal archive) that isn't the cancerous monster we know and love by the name of Facebook.

With that said, I wanted to share a little tool that might help us stay more connected on here. If you click this link below and enter your email address, you will be subscribed to my blog and receive an email any time I add a new post. That way I don't feel the pressure to update on a regular schedule and you don't have to try and remember to check this thing on a regular basis (because there's enough other crap that we have to remember daily already...). Sounds like a decent plan, right?!?

CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE

Once you submit your email address you will receive an email with a link to confirm your address.

I probably should have offered that a long time ago...


IN OTHER NEWS!!!!

Chloe has been baptized and I became a Godfather. I immediately set expectations by forgetting her card at home. Sorry Chloe, but I'm going to forget your birthday every single year.

I've also played some poker.

Went for a little paddle down the Swift River (it's the least swift river I've ever been on).

Drank plenty of beer with friends.

Fixed a leaky roof and a temperamental AC with Mr. Pat.

Attended the 3rd Annual Croquet Soiree.

And now I'm cutting my hair and telling my banks that I will be out of the country for 6 weeks!

Cheers folks...