Les Eyzies, Houses Under Rock

On our first trip we took pictures of houses that were built under huge convex cliffs with a million tons of stone above the roof. The cliff formed one-half of the roof, and chimney smoke blackened the cliff above each house, making inky streaks on the white stone.

We tried to find this scene during our next visit to les Eyzies, but despite my drawings, no one recognized the spot. Next time we must take the photos with us, they give better detail than my pencil scratches on a restaurant napkin.

The tourist brochures call the town of les Eyzies the “prehistoric center of the world,” with its numerous prehistoric sites and decorated grottoes and caves. Tours are available through certain caves where prehistoric people left traces of their activities. Since too many visitors would change the temperature and humidity in these caves, and that might destroy the wall paintings, visiting has been prohibited in some. In one place they carefully copied the prehistoric paintings from the walls of one cave to the walls of a nearby cave, so visitors can at least capture the flavor of the original.