Cougnac first cave

Cougnac has two caves, the second of which is decorated. As is normal, no photography is allowed in that one, but in the first cave - 'decorated' only by nature - photographs are allowed. These are not technically 'good' photographs! The general light level is very low, with patches of bright illumination. The size of the cave means that flash is not always helpful. The route to walk through is defined and constrained, so the 'choice' of viewpoint is: take the photo or don't. And I console myself that the professional photographs on the postcards aren't that brilliant either.

But what is there to be seen is so extraordinary that it's worth the attempt to make images. This seems to me to be almost the archetype of a limestone cave. I described it to a friend as a fairy grotto designed by Hieronymus Bosch!

In the image below the red stripes on the 'flag' of rock are realistic (though slightly too pink in this image - the red is a rusty iron-ore colouring) and this feature is known as the streaky bacon - there are similar features in caves in Britain. The purple/blue colour below is not realistic and is a camera artefact of the generally low light and the deep shade under the overhang.

Below is a tiny horseshoe bat, roosting among the stalactites - in spite of the lights and constant throng of people passing through, there were several of these bats visible in the cave.

And here is a very grainy close-up: