BATS AND BATISSES

August 4, 2014

Today, with rain predicted for late afternoon, we headed off to visit the medieval town of Perouges.  We headed out on the country roads because the peage from Anse to Lyon is always bumper to bumper.  

I took about an hour and a half to get to Perouges.  Along the way we saw an interesting cemetery and we stopped to find out about it.  The walls surrounding the cemetery are painted an adobe red and there are spikes sticking out of the spires.  This cemetery is dedicated to the Senegalese warriors who fought and died in the historic battle of June 19 and 20, 1940 in the surrounding countryside.  The soldiers fought valiantly and bravely, but eventually were forced to lay down their arms and surrender.  Any soldiers who were not killed in the battle were later executed by the Germans.  A somber start to our day.

We really didn't know what to expect in Perouges, but the town was just as advertised--a true medieval walled city with cobblestone streets and houses made of stone.  As with most medieval cities, the village sits atop a hill overlooking the plain of Ain and surrounded with battlements, high stone walls.  Early records of the city put it as an active settlement in the 12th century, but there are signs of an earlier church dating from the 900s.

Entering through the arches where protective gates once stood, we strolled though the ancient village imagining what it might be like to live here in 1100.  We had a discussion of how treacherous it might have been to walk in the streets because there was no plumbing at the time and people just  threw their waste water out the window into the streets, where it would hopefully drain via the small trough in the middle of the road.

We passed the salt store and talked about how valuable salt was in the day.  Since salt was used to preserve food it was an essential product and all distribution was controlled by the king and a significant tax was imposed on each purchase.

We entered the village square and talked about market day and how farmers would set up their stalls to sell their wares.   This was quite a large square and was probably where important news of the day and edicts from the prince were promulgated.  Down an alley we found the local prince's castle and garden.

As we were leaving we stopped at the huge church, which was a fortress church, and unusual for most medieval towns.  The church formed a part of the battlements surrounding the city.  It was built in 1440 and is quite large for the size of the village.

Many families still live in the walled city and the streets and homes are very well kept.  There are several restaurants and shops available to tourists.

We went outside the gates and found a quiet little courtyard where we ate our lunch.  

Next we headed out to the Grottes de Balme.  This is a huge cave with a big, noisy river running through it.  There is evidence of human habitation in this cave dating to 15000 bc.

We hiked along the well-marked path, exploring side caverns and waterfalls and bandit hideouts.  The bandit here was called the Mandarin and he was supposed to be like Robin Hood.  

We squeezed through narrow passages and learned about Francois I visit.  

We didn't see any bats, but we did see a film taken deep into a cavern showing  live bat activity.  This cavern goes miles back into the hillside.

We climbed up and up and up and were able to look far down into the river canyon.  As we walked along we saw pools and calcium formations and the beginnings of stalactites growing.  Some of the huge formations must have been forming for centuries.

We finally made it out of the narrow passages and back to civilization.  Then it was time to head home as the black clouds were gathering and rain would be coming soon.  Grandpa programmed his phone gps for the fastest route home and we got home just as the rain started.  We tucked into our cozy house and appreciated living in 2014.