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Passage
Through Time: Itinerary Page
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[Return
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[Tour
Cost] [Reservation Form] |
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Day 7 -
Fri, Sept. 13
San Sebastian - St. Girons, France
B/D
Spend this morning exploring San
Sebastian’s Old Town, wandering its charming streets, strolling the
beach or enjoying tapas at a sidewalk cafe.
This afternoon, we’ll cross the
frontier into France and drive east along the foothills of the Pyrenees
to the town of St. Girons. To the east and south of our hotel lie
the snow-capped Pyrenees and the limestone caves of Niaux Cave and Les
Vaches Living Site. These sites offer insight into the geological
creation, living conditions and painting techniques at the end of the
Ice Age, some 10-15,000 years ago. Tonight, we
will dine on fine regional French cuisine in St. Girons.
Overnight: Hotel Eychenne
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Pech
Merle
Cave |
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Pech Merle cave is in the south of France, department Lot, 280 m high on
the eastern slope of the hill of the same name. Pech Merle was discovered
in 1922 by two teenagers, H. David and A. Duterte. It is the main element
of a system, consisting of the neighbouring caves. |
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The average
width of its galleries is 10 m and the height of the ceilings
is often from 5 to 10 m. It lies in two levels but the
paintings are seen only in the first one; total length of the
painted walls is 300 m. The paintings include painted and
graphic depictions of animals and different signs. Besides,
there are
anthropomorphic figures too, some of them are rather realistic. On the
whole there are about 700 depictions on the cave walls. But the traces of
prehistoric peoples are not only on the walls of the cave: imprints of
children's feet, fragments of charcoal, the remains of a deer shoulder-
blade and three silicic tools: a burin, a lamp and a shaped stone. All these
finds may be dated to the Upper Palaeolithic. A small number of finds
and other traces, left by a man on the cave floor testifies to the that it was
not intended for a long inhabitation and was visited rather seldom, only in
connection with some ritual actions. |
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Day 8 -
Sat, Sept. 14
Niaux Cave - La Vache Living Site - Foix
B/L/D
This morning we will visit the most
famous cave in the French Pyrenees, Niaux Cave. Its contemplative mood,
simple line art and contrasting black images on cream colored walls
never fail to impress and move each visitor, as it must have done
for the children, women and men of the Ice Age.
Many modern visitors find this experience can be
inspirational |
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because of the long walk
to the Salon Noir (Black
Room)
where the paintings are arranged within a "chapel", the
ceiling towering sixty feet above. Upon leaving the cave, a peaceful
valley of green and snow-capped mountains stretches before you.
Later, we will visit La Vache Living
Site, one of the greatest archaeological sites in the Pyrenees - more
than 1 million artifacts, including animal bones, fire places, flint
tools, and weapons for hunting and fishing have been discovered here.
Some the best are on display at the small but excellent museum.
Our stay
in the Pyrenees concludes as we drive north through the city of Toulo to
the Lot Valley, the most picturesque river valley in France.
Towering vertical cliff limestone closely bound the meandering Lot
River. Upon
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Niaux Cave
Monochrome
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arrival in Cahors, we cross the
beautiful Valentre Bridge, which spans the Lot River and sits beside
ancient wellspring that still provides the city's water.
Overnight: Hotel Terminus (two nights) |
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Day 9 - Sun, Sept.
15
Pech Merle Cave
B/D
After breakfast we will
visit Pech Merle Cave. This spectacular cave is noted for its image
of the famous spotted horses, as well as some of
the most enigmatic images of "injured"
men and tectiforms, a
geometric form yet to be deciphered. In the afternoon, we'll stroll
the streets of Cahors to see the fortress like St. ...tienne Cathedral
which dominates the old town and provides a fine example of medieval
architecture. |
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Day 10 - Mon, Sept.
16
Dordogne Vly - Medieval Castles - Les Eyzies
B
This morning we'll depart
Cahors for Cougnac Cave to gaze upon its black, ochre, and
brown drawins representing ibex, mammoths, and a horse. Later
we will drive through the |
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romantic Dordogne River Valley, where we will take a boat trip down
the Dordogne River to the village of La Roque-Gageac,
which clings precariously to the face of a steep cliff.
Our afternoon will be devoted to the rich local history of medieval
castles and fortified towns fought over for generations. We'll
tour the majestic English castle of Castelnaud and its superb
Museum of War, which displays weapons and armor used during
the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. From the Castle, we'll
gaze across this beautiful valley to see Castelnaud's French rival,
the massive Chateau de Beynac - this is
one of the greatest panoramic views in all of France. Later, we will
arrive at |
our home base for the next five nights
in Les Eyzies, on the Vezere River.
Overnight: Hotel Hostellerie du Passeur (5 nights) |
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Day 11 - Tue, Sept. 17
Font de Gaume - Les Combarelles Caves
B/L
This
morning is free to become acquainted with the richness of the pre-history,
geography and cuisine of this most beautiful region of France. There
are wonderful walks in and around the village, an abundance of fine and
reasonably priced restaurants, an important recently expanded National
Archaeological Museum, and the impressive site of Cro-Magnon, the
place where prehistorians first discovered fossil humans anatomically like
ourselves. This will be among the most photogenic villages you will
visit in France.
In the afternoon we will break into small groups and visit nearby Font
de Gaume Cave. These paintings reflect early man's spiritual
attachment to powerful animals, when the chase was something more than
just hunting. Later, we'll visit Les Combarelles Cave which
is like the workshop of an ancient engraver. It is a great sinuous
corridor along which engraving after engraving was carved into the
limestone. Truly a wonder! the hundreds of images are not only
of animals; rare engraved humans and tectiforms are also depicted. |
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TRAVELQUEST INTERNATIONAL
Tel. ++928-445-7754 / USA & Canada: 800-830-1998
Fax ++928-445-8771
For detailed itineraries and pricing information,
please contact TravelQuest International
at:
800-830-1998
or press here to request a brochure be sent
to your postal box.
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Copyright 2002 TravelQuest International. All rights
reserved.
Revised: October 25, 2005.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
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their respective companies or trademark holders. |
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