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| The Cirque de Navacelles |
I’m not a fan of driving on
narrow roads, especially steep, winding, uphill with the risk of rock-fall
ones. Luckily it was a Monday and there
was little traffic around. I drove slowly,
the car inching forward, the road becoming narrower. The road broadened as we got to the top. The hair-raising drive had been worth it. The view looking down towards the
Cirque from
the information centre was breath-taking.
There was a good restaurant here too and we sat tucking into homemade
quiche and salad all the while, enjoying the stunning vista. The imposing
Cirque was formed millions of
years ago when the River Vis eroded a deep channel through the base of the
valley, creating an incised meander which eventually eroded through creating a
cut-off at the neck of the loop. This
left an oxbow lake, which later dried up.
The lush emerald green grass, the only patch of arable land for many miles around, shows clearly where the
water used to be.
Having driven here it was now my
turn to be a passenger. The drive down deep
into the Cirque didn't disappoint! At the
bottom there were small clusters of houses, clearly inhabited. The houses were pinned in on all sides and I
wouldn’t want to live here – busy with tourists in the day and then dark and
deserted. We were surprised to find a
gift shop, creperie and an auberge. The
cascading river Vis made a thunderous sound as it went on its way down the
hillside. There had been storms a few
days previously so the flow of water was impressive. We climbed up to the top of the mound where
a statute of the Virgin Mary presides. A swarm
of bees buzzed around the base of the statue where they had made a nest a good deterrent
to would-be scramblers.
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| View from the other side |
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| The sinuous roads |
After a cold drink at the auberge,
we drove out and up the other side – the road not quite as tortuous as
before. We parked at a swanky new
visitor centre to get another perspective on the view. Unfortunately, it being a Monday, the posh
new visitor centre was closed!
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| The rushing River Vis |
That looks absolutely amazing!
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