Today was family day. Neil had a rest from the bike after 3 days of riding. With the weather forecast as dry with clouds increasing, we had planned to go back to the funicular railway in Lourdes to see the views from the top of the mountain it climbs. Instead we woke up and much to our amazement the cloud had already increased and were at street level and it was raining (which was not forecast at all). No use going to top of a hill to look at clouds so instead we decided to go underground and explore one of the many caves around here. The one we chose was Grottes de Betharram as it had extra attractions for the kids such as a boat and train in the cave system. Once again it was a very organised tourist attraction where first we were loaded into a bus and taken to the entrance of the cave which was up the hill and around a few bends. Then our bus load of people were ushered through the pay gate and organised into a neat line while our guide opened a door and revealed the first enormous cave. At various spots he talked about different formations which were highlighted by lights so we knew generally what he was talking about. It was an amazing cave where you could see how it was first formed by the river markings on the ceiling. After exploring the main cavity of the cave we went down onto another level weaving our way through crevices and over streams. It was then down to another level where our boat awaited. It was a double ended dragon boat on a wider deeper part of one of the rivers within the caves. It gently guided us across a stretch of water where we recommenced climbing some more stairs and exploring through crevices with the odd openings showcasing years of work by Mother Nature. Just as the kids' patience was just about done, a train appeared much to their excitement. We all jumped aboard and it took us back to the outside world and the original car park on the other side of the mountain where we began. It was an incredible cave and an enjoyable underground adventure that lasted about 1.5 hours. Looking at the hill that we had just been under it was hard to imagine how anyone found the cave that had turned into this amazing tourist attraction. Tomorrow rain, hail or shine Neil is riding the HC Plat d'Adet while Heather, Callum and I spend another morning in Arreau. Thursday is market day so we shall see what is on offer.
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