Jean invited me to remove my shoes and step forward onto the calcite floor. I was now a foot away from the Horses heads. Was it the pain of the sharp points of the calcite biting into the soles of my feet that was making me incredibly aware, or my proximity to the paintings?

I studied the lines of black edges, and the use of smudging to produce shadow. Then I saw that the artist had highlighted the outer edge of the drawing by chiselling into the white rock surface. The incising immediately brought to mind the wonders of Egypt, but they were done 3,000 years ago. Here I was looking at art 10 times older, 30,000 years old.

I moved to the right around a slight edge in the wall, to see what I call the Chagall Horses and the Lion. More wonderment, and then another superb Rhinoceros coming out of the wall at me. I stepped back from the wall and tried to take in the whole scene and all the grandeur that it holds. What a wonderful discovery, and what a privilege to be here looking at it.

More than a little punch drunk, still with no shoes on, Jean led me into the Altar Chamber. Carefully stepping where Jean stepped, avoiding the little walls of calcite, we moved out into the middle of a chamber that is some 25 feet across and broad, and almost circular. Around the backside is a raised area that almost looks as though it had been made to seat an audience.