The depopulated mountains (5)

Next morning, as we visit the Musée Cévenol in Le Vigan, it becomes clear that the golden age of this small town on the southern edge of the Cévennes is long gone. When the mountains were still well inhabited, cultivation of silk-worms (caterpillars) brought the farmers a little extra income which made life easier and made the town prosperous. The caterpillars were kept in house lofts and fed with mulberry leaves, their only diet. After they had fed for five weeks and were fat and round, they would spin a cocoon out of silk so they could pupate. They were then quickly killed so that no worthless butterfly would destroy the valuable silk thread by hatching out. The silk cocoons were brought down to the valleys for further processing and the women and children of the region followed this 'silk-road' to become day-workers in the factories and silk mills.
The Musée Cévenol has set itself up in a former silk weaving mill. The well-situated buildings on the banks of the Arre vividly describe the hard and deprived life in the mountains. On our travels through the Arre valley we are confronted time and again by the remnants of faded wealth. Along the roadsides lie formerly magnificent villas, long abandoned mills and old stations from which the last train has long departed.

On ascending the Causse du Larzac, we leave the industrial past behind us in order to turn to the culinary present to be found at the other end of the Causse. With our thoughts concentrated on a mouldy delicacy(!), we drive to our next destination, the cheese caves of Roquefort. In Roquefort-sur-Soulzon, to give it its full name, everything revolves around cheese. The warehouses, refrigerated trucks and the large sign at the town boundary make it abundantly clear. In order to see the 'Object of Desire', we go into the caves. After the sheep up on the plateau and the cheese dairies in the area have done their work, the sheep's-milk cheeses are made and inoculated with the spores. Then they come to ripen and mature in the caves at Roquefort. The cheese needs four months in the special climate of the caves, under the permanent control of the cheese officials, to become a real Roquefort cheese. At the end of the tour, one can taste a variety of cheeses, each with its own distinctive flavour, depending on which cave they are matured in. The only things missing to make the occasion complete are a powerful red wine and a piece of bread.
After the various festivities and selected delicacies, we are ready again for pure nature. A little south of Le Vigan, after crossing the Causse de Blandes, the Cirque de Navacelles on the edge of the limestone plateau opens up in front of our studded tyres.

Here, the little river Vis has cut a stadium-like gorge 400 metres into the chalk. In the life of a river, it's not unusual for a river loop to cut itself off and dry up over the course of time but it is rarely as imposing as here. In wide sweeps, the road leads down to the village of Navacelles which now makes use of the fertile sediment from the dried out ox-bow lakes.
At a short stop in the village, we make a surprising discovery. Instead of the customary southern French 'squat-toilet', we are confronted with modern technology. After flushing, a large box that occupies about a third of the room takes the seat and vigorously cleans it and returns it to the toilet itself - something not often found even in Paris. Still somewhat amused, we leave Navacelles on the south slope of Cañon but it is hard to concentrate on the road with such a fantastic view.