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On our travels around the most beautiful Gorges du Tarn in the Cevannes National Parc, we stopped at a typically picturesque village of Le Roziet. Here we purchased the ‘world’s most expensive cheese’ or at least the most expensive cheese either of us have ever purchased. It was a hard cheese matured for many months with some champignons, garlic and some sort of special onion infusion. I can’t remember exactly because my memory wiped, as my eyes alighted on the cost of the cheese at the same time as I heard John making the purchase. System overload rendered me speechless. Neither of us spoke for some time as we carried the precious cheese back to the van.
Thankfully It was very good cheese and we actually ate the whole thing, almost, in one go. To give a bit of context - we are on a tight budget and we had just been congratulating ourselves on how well we were doing saving on camper stop fees, when we took the cheese hit.
During our stay here John renewed his love of The Tyrolean and purchased the necessary gear from a local climbing shop in Florac and I purchased a new helmet to replace the orange one which turned out to be several sizes too big. If you can remember from a previous blog, the Tyrolean or zip wire is the thing that I am happy never to do. Here you will find a photo of John setting off. He was being watched by a vulture waiting for him on the other side. It was quite late in the day when John set off to do the Via Ferrata and Tyrolean. I sat on the top of the hill and did some sketching as the last of the sun crept up the face of the limestone pinnacles.
The next day we found some lovely climbing in Gorge de la Jonte and did 4 or 5 sport climb routes. It really was a nice spot tucked away in the trees, cool for the belay. The route to the climb was a little extreme with rucksacks having to be passed down a large rock. Around us was evidence that there had been rock falls not so long ago, and the rock faces above us had some deep cracks angling through them. The thought of the incredible forces and the knowledge that the mountains are always moving brought a touch of fear that hurried me back to the van. That type of pinkish limestone is soft and chalky and not very stable.
Departing from Tarn Gorge wasn’t easy. This whole area was stunning, the people friendly and the towns and villages small and pretty, and full of people enthusiastically selling Les Produits du Terroir. The Tarn gorge itself was filled with beautiful rock formations on either side of creamy pink rock, interspersed with deep forest. We followed tiny roads that snaked through the gorges sometimes going through archways of rock, affording stunning views. We will definitely return to this place.
