Du rocher aux Causses
June 2 & 3, 2012

Saturday June 2nd

Organized on Didier's initiative, 27 people and 14 Avantime meet at the Hospitalet on the heights of Rocamadour.
After lunch in the restaurant for some, a picnic for others, we start the guided tour of Rocamadour around 2:30 pm.
We descend by the Way of the Cross under a blazing sun. The terraces allow us to observe the panorama overlooking the Alzou valley. The situation of Rocamadour and its strategic position over the centuries is better understood.
We continue our descent by the pilgrims' stairs. The guided tour ends with the 7 chapels that make up the sanctuary dedicated to Our Lady since the Middle Ages. At the end of the day, we reach Gramat by small roads typical of the Causse, sometimes narrow, sometimes lined with stone walls. Dinner and night are spent at the Hostellerie du Causse. With the help of heat, some people take advantage of the pool to relax before dinner.

Sunday June 3rd

Radical weather change (cool and rainy) this Sunday! We go to Lacave to visit the caves of the same name. Access to the cave is by small train and then by elevator, the guided tour lasts about 1 hour and 15 minutes. We walk through about ten rooms. The most representative are the sunken city, the room of black lights, the room of lakes and mirages. Throughout the visit, one can imagine or see different animals carved by nature in the rock like a spider, an elephant, a dragon. Even the Virgin appears at the turn of a concretion.
Back in the open air, we return to Gramat and make a stopover at the borie d'Imbert. This goat farm produces Rocamadour cheese. After having walked through the stables (the goats remain locked up and eat only hay), we discover how cheese is made thanks to panels along the various rooms used to make it. It is at the end of the lunch taken in Gramat at the Relais des Gourmands that this event ends. Thanks to Didier for this great weekend !