Jan 31 2011
∞
I lived a couple hours from here, for a time
from The New York Times,
“For End of the World, a French Peak Holds Allure”
I went into a cave that, for centuries, was thought to be the mouth of Hell. The mountains had ancient, mystical significance, and my guide knew all the stories.
The peak of Bugarach has long been called “the sacred mountain”; geologists say that soon after the mountain was formed, it exploded and the top landed upside-down. The mountain is also said to have inspired French authors like Jules Verne in “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” and American filmmakers like Steven Spielberg in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
I like that the article manages to pull through the tone of disdain particular to villages that become, in some way, too touristique.
