Marcillac Grapes

Marcillac grapes are grown only in a small area around the town of Marcillac-Vallon in the Aveyron department of southern France. Despite this limitation, they make a very nice wine, which we were fortunate to sample when we passed this extended family de-stemming the grapes outside their winery building. (One of the family was a friend of our tour leader.)

Aveyron Countryside

It can't be easy to make a living from agriculture in such hilly, wooded terrain. But it sure is pretty!

Salles-la-Source

Salles-la-Source is a commune (basically a village with surrounding land) in the Aveyron department of southern France. It was the first settlement we passed through on our hiking tour, just outside of Rodez. The waterfall just by the side of the road was a particularly nice touch.

Rodez Cathedral

From the Camargue we drove northwest to Rodez in the department of Aveyron, where we dropped our rental car at the airport (hard to find) and took a taxi (one finally showed up) to the hotel where we joined our Wilderness Travel group for a hiking tour through the Lot Valley. The Rodez Cathedral is an impressive piece of religious architecture - a French national monument - built over a period of about three centuries from 1276 to 1531 in a mostly Gothic style.

Camargue Grasses and Water

The cattle and horses of the Camargue depend on the luxuriant grasses for food, and the grasses in turn depend on water for their growth. (Mosquitoes notable for their viciousness also take advantage of these resources, but fortunately we didn't encounter any.)

Cowgirls of the Camargue

The Museum of the Camargue had some interesting historical photos of women working at ranching tasks, riding the beautiful white Camarguais horses, and competing on horseback for the title of  Queen of Arles.

Museum of the Camargue

From Arles we drove south and west to the Camargue, a natural region that lies between the Mediterranean and the two arms of the Rhone delta. It is famous for its white horses and black cattle (sometimes shipped to Spain for bullfights), both of which are allowed to run semi-wild. In a sense, this is France's version of Texas and Louisiana combined.

We didn't have as much time as we would have liked to explore the region, but we did take a couple of hours to visit the Museum of the Camargue and its grounds.