Breathless in Beynac from Passing Through

Passing Through: Stories and Art About the Road Less Traveled

Breathless in Beynac 
by Cherie Magnus

At the foot of Chateau Beynac, I watch the swallows soar and wheel, catching thermals, gliding over the River Dordogne. The Chateau crowns steep cliffs that look like war: scary, forbidding, awe-inspiring. The river, so peaceful and feminine, flows below the Chateau. A village of golden-colored stone and red tiled roofs connects the Chateau and river into one whole, masculine and feminine.

Black clouds gather behind the castle, golden in the light. The warmth of old stones against the sky’s blackness dazzles my eyes. Now pitchforks of lightening make Beynac look like a scene from a horror movie. Huge raindrops assault the terrace, and rain blurs the views into Impressionist paintings. The quiet river has turned dark and bouquets of white flowers that grow like seaweed in the Dordogne swiftly move downstream in the summer storm, glowing points of light. It is May and night doesn’t fall until after ten, and sometimes it is difficult to wait until dark to go to bed.

During the day I fly around country roads with a joyous abandon. I sing the names off the road signs: Grotte du Grand Roc, Capdenac-le-Haut, Razac-de-Saussignac, La Roque-Gageac.

I seem to be alone, in the middle of golden grain fields, on dusty side roads, crossing and re-crossing the river on bridges. I look up and see a castle, go for it like a crow. I dance over the Dordogne.

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BIO

Cherie Magnus is author of the award-winning The Church of Tango: a Memoir, and its prequel, Arabesque: Dancing on the Edge in Los Angeles, and has published many articles on dance, travel and international culture. 

Photo from Givenchy, France by Roger Taylor

BIO Roger Taylor is a retired oil and gas exploration manager. He lives in San Mateo County with Sherry, his wife of fifty years. His interests include nature photography, astronomy,  hiking, and gold prospecting.