spelunking

I just spent two hours in a cave, hunched up in the dark, my arm wedged uncomfortably against the wall, a freezing wind blowing on my face.

I knew I should have remembered to bring a jacket to the theater.

Anyway, it's not just any cave, but the Chauvet cave, the site of some of oldest cave paintings in the world. Werner Herzog (he of the fabulous voice)'s film.

"A 3-D Documentary?"
I heard a guy sniff to his friend trying to encourage him to see it. "You have to be kidding."

Not an unreasonable thought, but it was totally worth it.
You should see it if you have the chance.




The place is utterly spellbinding. The cave itself, even without the paintings is like a fairyland of calcite. It's gorgeous. And then there are the drawings.

The way the cave artists managed to draw so beautifully and elegantly, the horses, the bison, the mammoths, and especially the lions is fascinating.

And to think that the place had been sealed up for 30,000 years or so, with nothing to disturb it, until 15 or so years ago. It's a terrible cliche, but it truly is like stepping into another time for a few hours.