Tarascon sur Ariège - Friday 17th & Saturday 18th August 2007.

Just down the road from Foix is the little mountain village of Tarascon which is a good base for exploring the nearby attractions and they also have a very entertaining festival of world music and dance.

One of the very public toilets in Tarascon.

Some of the participants in the Festival Danses et Musiques du Monde at Tarascon.

The mouth of the cave at Niaux.

Dolmen near Sem, known as the Palet de Samson, which was created by glacial action.

Visiting the cave at Niaux is a truly amazing experience, you have to walk to the paintings (no boats or trains in this cave) and you also have to take a torch (provided by the tour guide) to light your way. Not for the faint hearted - but once you arrive at the black chamber and see these amazing prehistoric depictions of bison, horses and mountain goats you know it was all worth the effort. These are fairly simple paintings (just outlines really of the beasts) but they convey the strength and vitality of these long dead animals. I, for one, could only wonder and stand in awe of the talent of these supposedly primitive artists.