grotte

While Grandma Watts was here we took a drive up to some caves in the Vercors mountains.  We had been there a few times before the last time we lived here  – it’s an amazing drive up an incredibly twisty, narrow, hanging on the side of the cliff, through tunnels, you can’t always get past the cars you meet —kind of road.  Most people we took on it felt like they were going to die.  Apparently that’s what happened about 5 years ago when a rock the size of a small house smashed a car flat and killed two people, so the road appears to be almost permanently closed now. Of course we didn’t know that – until we got up to the point where we turn onto that road about 25 minutes from the caves.  So we followed the detour- tiny winding roads up into the snow, back down, through tunnels, through villages…and to the caves almost 1hr and a half later.

 

We walked up to the caves and had a full hour guided tour inside – where it was actually quite cool – as it stays 10* all year long.

 

 

After we got out of our tour of the caves we walked a bit further along to a cave that holds an under-ground lake – fed by a 15km long under-ground river.

 

There were some real cavers there – guides taking in a group of people to explore it – so we sat and watched them ride a small dinghy across the lake, and followed their gas-fed head-torches disappear into the darkness.

 

From there we walked a bit further to a huge waterfall that separates into a wide constellation of smaller falls, with the hiking trail going through a tunnel right through it.

 

This sign just past the tunnel warned of fatal falls if you try to walk out onto the waterfall.

But who in their right mind would do that?

 

 

 

 

People’s Exhibit A: Uncle Daniel holding Jonah out in the falls when he was just a wee baby

 

 

 

 

 

 

We chose to drive home the other way round…

 


Comments

3 responses to “grotte”

  1. Kathleen Sprague Avatar
    Kathleen Sprague

    Is that the cave that has the creepy white eyeless salamander things?

  2. chartreusian Avatar
    chartreusian

    These guys?

    Yes

  3. Kathleen Sprague Avatar
    Kathleen Sprague

    yup, they are better looking in the picture! They look like they weren’t ready to be born yet.

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