Gorges De Galamus

Dans ce roc pelé que troue la sabine

Où l'aigle dans son vol osait seul venir

Pendu par une corde avec la barre à mine

L'homme comme l'oiseau a trouvé un chemin

("In this bare rock that pierces the Sabine
    Where the eagle in his flight only dared to come
    Hanging by a rope with the crowbar
    Man as a bird has found a way")  

...translation courtesy of Google Traduction, my French still sucks...

Often, we explore with the intention of finding, yet, there is something magical about turning a corner and seeing something unexpected.  The sense of surprise makes the object stand out in ways that perhaps we wouldn't have noticed, were the circumstances different.  While the Gorges of Galamus are by no means a secret, our discovery of this amazing landscape was wholly unexpected and that much richer as a result.

We were returning from a trip to Barcelona with Elise.  After visiting the chateaus of Peyrepertuse and Quéribus we were making our way back home and happened to take a small road.  Simply marked on the map in small font, the canyon didn't proclaim its uniqueness, but we decided to pass by in the off chance of finding some interesting limestone crags to salivate over (more me than Steph & Elise).  We were fully surprised as the road began to narrow, the cliffs began to loom and the center line disappeared before the highway finally pinched down to one lane.  We turned a corner to find that the narrow, winding road was actually carved out of the middle of a limestone wall that plunged into the cascading river below. 

The natural beauty of the canyon is breathtaking, but the area also has a fascinating history.  Given the engineering difficulty of the highway project, the road wasn't carved through the canyon until the 1890's.  When it finally became a reality, a large part of the construction was done by men hanging from ropes attached to the cliff.  Given the date and technology at the time, I can't imagine how sketchy it must have been.  

Despite the road not being constructed until the late 19th century, several caves in the area have been inhabited regularly since the 7th century.  Hermits seeking refuge in the canyon were some of the first documented inhabitants.  Far away from the noise of society, the hermits sought solitude and peace in the caves shown in the picture below (a chapel and small residence were later built at the entrance to the main cave). 

According to local history, the chapel referenced above (interior pictured below) was constructed in 1782 to honor Saint Antoine after several people from the nearby village of Saint Paul de Fenouillet were miraculously cured of "Suette" (a.k.a. sweating sickness) a mysterious infectious epidemic disease that primarily plagued England and mainland Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries.  

The chapel and hermitage also became popular pilgrimage sites, drawing people on Easter and Pentecost. 

In addition to the natural beauty and religious element of the Gorges de Galamus, the canyon was also a setting in several movies, including Roman Polanski's The Ninth Gate (1999) and Chine Ma Doleur (1989) by Dai Sijie. 

 
 
The Gorges de Galamus offer some climbing and what looks to be excellent canyoneering.  Although the canyoneering doesn't appear to be technically difficult, it looked super fun.  We watched as this group hopped casually from pool to pool on their way toward the chapel.

The natural geography is also incredible because it creates an extremely strong wind tunnel.  We visited the area on a moderately windy day, but at this corner in particular, there was steady wind strong enough to support your weight as you leaned into it.  As we left, we saw a cyclist ride pass.  I was bummed I didn't get to see him come around the corner because I imagine it was totally epic.  :)

A Glimpse of Cathar Country

Ariège has a ton of interesting chateaus, castles and ruins that date back to the 13th century.  Although these sites have long archeological histories, many of them were defined by a short period of time of religious persecution, the effects of which may still be seen on today's landscape.  

Catharism was a sect of Christianity that contradicted certain fundamental Catholic doctrine during the middle ages.  As a result, Pope Innocent III declared Catharism a heresy and authorized a crusade in order to eliminate the opposition to the Catholic Church.  The Cathars, a great many of whom lived in the southeast of France, were hunted down and brutally murdered (usually by being burnt alive).  In order to fend off the crusaders, many Cathar fled to seemingly impenetrable fortified chateaus atop rocky buttresses.  

Living in this Ariège, it is impossible not to notice these buildings towering over the landscape below.  Many of them have fallen into disrepair of the centuries, some were destroyed by the crusaders, and fewer still remain relatively intact (or were reconstructed), but all of them have a fascinating story which has been awesome to explore.  

Elise and Hanan exploring and imagining what the Chateau of Roquefixade, a Cathar stronghold near Foix, might have looked like 700 years ago.  

Elise and Hanan trying to imagine what it would be like to get a clear photo of the elusive Colorado mountain troll. 

Fêtes Du Papogay

Ariège and the surrounding departments are full of festivals and activities throughout the summer.  It seems that every weekend there is something to do and see within an hour's drive.  Last weekend was the Fêtes Du Papogay (Festival of the Parrot) in the medieval town of Rieux Volvestre in the neighboring department of Haute Garonne.

The festival has a variety of activities, but is most known for it's archery competition, where competitors of various ages attempt to shoot a bird shaped wooden decoy (Parrot) off poles of varying heights, up to 45 meters (147 ft).  The archers (all men...see history section below) are divided into three age groups, Petit (14 and under?), Moyen (teens), and Grand (18+).  Each group, consisting of 20+ archers, shoots at a decoy at a height that tests their skill level and it takes several volleys of arrows before a bird is knocked down.  The archer who knocks the bird down for their age division is crowned Roi (king) of the festival for the year.

The roots of the festival stretch back to the 14th century, when King Edward III of England defeated King Philip VI of France at the Battle of Crécy in 1346 (one of the most important battles of the Hundred Years War).  Edward used the Welsh Longbow and superior field position to defeat the French, despite being greatly outnumbered.  Philip realized the tactical value of the bow and proclaimed a series of ordinances to encourage the development of archery in France.  Gunpowder replaced the bow over the next two centuries, but the tradition of archery remained in the culture, especially in the North and South.  The first preserved records of archery traditions in Rieux Volvestre date to 1585 & 1589. 

I'm not sure exactly how the tradition of the festival evolved from the middle ages to the mid 20th century, but apparently the event took on a legendary aspect in 1958 when a Gascon poet named Jules Ponsolle wrote a ballad to describe the event.

Rather than a mere display of archery, Ponsolle converted the event into a tale of seduction and trickery, where the Devil sought to seduce the daughter of the lord of the town.  The lord feared that his daughter would become enchanted, so he ordered the town people to kill the Devil, promising the hand of his daughter to whoever killed the demon.  To escape the horde, the Devil converted into a parrot (Papogay) and attempted to flee, but was shot down by a young shepherd boy named Tantiro.  As a reward for killing the demon, Tantiro won the title of "king" of Rieux and the heart of the lords daughter.  

Today, the archery portion of the festival begins with a parade of all the participants through the narrow streets of Rieux.  It is a lively display of horsemen and horsewomen, bands of various sorts, people clad in medieval garb (frequently displaying the yellow and green colors of the city), and archers (all men) dressed in black pants, a white shirt and a red sash.  The parade ends at a soccer field where the archers set up and arrows start flying.

The birds are difficult to knock off (they weigh 4.5 Kg, 9.9 lbs)  and generally take several shots before eventually getting brought down.  We watched the kids burn through all their arrows before someone realized that the bird was still totally stuck to the pole and wouldn't fall.  Watching the kids shoot at the bird was sort of like watching an inevitable bicycle crash...They all line up directly under the bird, then launch arrows straight into the sky...most of them fly in all sorts of random directions, bouncing off the poles, bird and other random things.  Usually the arrows fly into the field to be later recovered by the overly excited kids, but occasionally, arrows fly directly back down into the archers, or into the crowd of musicians and spectators behind them, making for some exciting sports action.  :)

They fixed it and after a couple more volleys, one of the kids knocked the bird off the pole and was crowned.  We didn't stick around for the men to shoot at the highest bird at 45 meters, but I imagine it would be an impressive sight.  Apparently, there can be up to 100 archers that each shoot 20-30 arrows per volley....

The king of the 2010 Fêtes Du Papogay!

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(edit) R.L.P