August means HOT, almost anywhere, & this week was no exception here in Languedoc. Saturday morning over coffee on our already steaming terrace, we looked out at the mountains in front of us, & agreed that we needed to escape the predicted 105 degrees in Villevieille. And we had 3 destinations in mind, 2 in the Cevennes: 1. The Maison Mazet (a little Cevennes Mountain history) & 2. La Cascade de Vis (a little "soak your feet in cold mountain water"). From there, we could head down to 3. the Mediterranean & dinner (a few mussels, some good wine, & a great view) on the beach.

1. La Maison Mazet: a good place to HIDE

The Cevennes mountains have a long history of protests & commitments of all kinds. During WWII, Les Maquisards (the French Resistance) were very active there, & one small village (Chambon-sur-Lignon), organized by 2 Protestant pastors, is credited with hiding 3,000 Jews, including many children. During the period before WWI, women silk spinners & coal miners protested their lack of pay & poor working conditions, sparking a determined union movement. But 200 years before that, in 1702, a small but determined guerilla group, the "Camisards", lead by a man named Abraham Mazet, committed to keeping the Huguenot (Protestant) religion alive. His house, the "Maison Mazet" was our first stop on Saturday morning.

The Camisard story starts with Martin Luther in 1517, when he pounded his 95 Theses on the wall of his university's chapel, starting the Reformation. His overlying belief was that one achieved salvation through individual faith with no need for the intercession of church hierarchy. With the help of Guttenberg's printing press, this new protest spread over Germany in 2 weeks, & throughout Europe in 2 months.

Mazet was born & lived in a small hamlet called "Les Falguieres" at the ultimate end of a small road on top of a mountain. His family was part of the wool industry, & he was a "carder". The house was big & rambling, built of local stone (limestone, granite & shale), which they likely shared with their animals. They were practicing, in 1702, a French form of a religion that started with Martin Luther's protest in 1517.

When Louis XIV, the Sun King, revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1698, many Huguenots (French Protestants) made steps to leave France permanently. Some say this emigration of a valuable merchant class severely hurt France's economy & bumped up the ecomony of the countries where they went. We do know that Louis XIV was always out of money, & could have used a little help from those people he had pushed out.

Some Huguenots, however, went underground, retreating to their mountain strongholds, meeting in small groups to pray, sing psalms, & create small bands of guerilla fighters, called "Camisards".

Louis XIV, to enforce his revocation, created "Les Dragons", "gestapo type" forces instructed to capture Huguenots & their homes & villages, use or burn their belongings, & take away their women. Mazet's role as "chef de guerre" started on 24 July, 1702, when the Camisards crashed through the door of Abbe Francois de Langlade de Chayla, who had caused the arrest & emprisonment of multiple Huguenot men. Mazet, using a saber, first killed the Abbot, then set the prisoners free. Talk about PROTEST!

That night started the "Guerre des Camisards", a 2 year bloody war of vengeance againt priests & Catholics. Mazet, "chef de Guerre", was a major target, & was captured, emprisoned, escaped, & eventually put to death. In an attempt to keep him from being immortalized, the Dragons cut up his body, & buried it in pieces all over the countryside. And of course, they destroyed his house.

We learned his story as we toured through the house, & saw his hiding place, & the stairway & window through which he escaped before his final entrapment. The "Association Mazet" bought his ruined house in 1995, & created an organization devoted to protest against injustice & work for basic human rights. Check out our album called "Les Camisards" for a look at this personal & incredibly moving place. We could feel the spirit of Mazet, the Camisards, & the Cevennes still alive & kicking.

2. La Cascade de Vis: a good place for a DIP!

Our next stop was great fun, quite refreshing, & a fascinating look at how the French cool off. By mid-afternoon, it was about 94 degrees (F) in the mountains, & the water felt delightful on our sweaty feet. No protesting here, for sure! The big kids lined up to dive in, the little kids splashed & crawled along the very mossy rocks, & lots of "mimis & pappies" snapped pictures of both. The biggest thrill was to watch the brave kids who jumped off the bridge into the water below, knowing that these kids didn't belong to US! Whew!

3. La Grande Motte: a great place to watch a weather change!

In an hour, we arrived at our third destination, a lovely port & beach on the Mediterranean Sea. It was still HOT (around 94 F) when we arrived at 5:00, & found our way to a beach front cafe (in the shade) where we waited for our "Gypsy Concert" to start. 2 hours later, we'd heard a lot of speaker adjustment & 2 lovely songs, & decided to move on to dinner nearby. Little did we know that we were about to experience the wind shift that changes weather here in the south of France.

See our album "A Hot Day in Languedoc: Mountains & Sea" for some fun pictures of our Saturday seeking cool temperatures.

As we finished our 10th weekend with our usual Sunday morning "balade" & a classical concert in a "temple" (the French name for a Protestant church), we were struck by the serendipity that sometimes occurs. We'd spent Saturday morning learning about the history of the Huguenots, & their efforts to keep it alive. Here we were Sunday evening in a Protestant church, whose mission is also PROTEST. Here's how they explain it:

Protestantism implies the courage to say "no" when it's necessary.

Because Protestantism's base is a direct relationship with God, man is left alone in front of God. It is HIS responsibility to act as he see fits.

Protestantism is a double protest: for God & against all that reject him, & for Humanity against all that destroy it.

And by the way, this concert series was dedicated to the 500th annivesary of Martin Luther's 95 Theses.

We hope you are all enjoying your August, & are keeping cool. When I checked this morning, it was a cool 71 F in Chicago, & an amazing 83 F in Charleston. Not bad for the dog days of summer.

Here's to history, cool water, & cooling winds.

Cheers,

Elise & Les"