With the front curtains open we can lie in bed and watch a lovely sunrise over the vines.
We don’t have far to go today so we have an easy morning, setting off around 11:40
Instead of going directly to our destination we make a small detour to Montreuil-Bellay and park outside the fortified walls. Ali has a quick recce to see if it’s worth visiting. She thinks it would as it’s a typical French walled town, but today is very hot and because there are lots of restaurants, none yet open, it would be better to come another day and take our time.
Just after 13:00 we arrive at Cave Vivante du Champignon a France Passion that grows mushrooms in Troglodyte caves.
From an outside temperature of 30C we descend the steep path into the entrance of the cave, where a sign advises to wear a jacket as it is 14C inside. Today, no jackets, it’s refreshingly cool.
The owner, Jacky Roulleau, gives a short introduction before collecting the €6 each entry fees and leading the group through a door. In French, simple to listen to, with key facts in English, he explains how first horse manure is steam cleaned to sterilise it then micellier is added to retain moisture.
Mushrooms are culivated from spores shed onto paper [everyone did this at school] which are germinated in gelatine. He never waters his compost, its humidity, retained in the stable air, is all the mushrooms need. After the soil has done its work it becomes mushroom compost, used in farms and gardens. We are shown beds of mushrooms, on stands like billiard tables and told the growing time for various sizes, anything from 4 days to 7 weeks.
The caves were mined from the 15th century and much of the white Tuffa stone was used to build Paris, so the mushrooms grown in the tunnels were named Paris mushrooms. Whole families lived their lives underground complete with their animals, farmng in the compost. Sanitary arrangements were not mentioned!
He mentioned there are 90 miles of tunnels in the area, and we are left to explore a small part of his tunnels alone. In various caves and niches are portrayals of the troglodyte homes, farming implements and mining equipment, including a Davy safety lamp.
At the end of the visit we can buy some mushrooms, €3.50 kilo, help yourself and pay in the honesty box.
Rising from the tunnel the outside air hits like an oven, but good news! There’s an air conditioned wine cellar outside offering tasting. We are invited [encouraged] inside by two boys about 8 or 9 years old. Inside are two more lads who can’t see over the counter.
But they know their stuff, pouring out tasting measures for a group of us and asking how many bottles of the ones tasted we want to buy. It takes three of them and a wall mounted corkscrew to open one bottle but offers of assistance from grown-ups are politely dismissed.
We choose pur purchases, the bill is quickly and properly done and our bottles packed.
Whether they’re on 10 cents a bottle from Dad we don’t know, but they did a fine job anyway.