Day 51 - Grotte de Sainte-Marie Madeleine

In honor of her upcoming feast day on July 22, today we took the pilgrimage up to the secluded mountain cave where Mary Magdalene withdrew herself for 30 years after arriving at Saintes Maries de la Mer.  If you are coming from Rome on your pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela, you would stop here.

You can almost make out the sanctuary at the bottom of the cliff, above the tree line

La Sainte Baume sanctuary is suspended from the cliff

As we were driving in what we hoped was the right direction, directed by Tina who is taking us to "unpaved road", we couldn't help but wonder how Mary found this place?  It is located high up in a cool forest of beech, oak and pine trees which create a canopy above us - a rare and stark contrast to our arid surroundings.

Walking up to the Holy Cave Mary Magdalene

A serene, cool 20-minute hike up to the sanctuary under a canopy of trees

We have reached the stairs up to the sanctuary

Door to the sanctuary - where silence is requested

The only place in France where dogs are not allowed.  This sign is obviously a mere suggestion to the French, who brought their dog and were talking on their phone.

A scene likely scarred forever in Mary's memory

Amazing view from the top

Imagine Mary had this same view!

Other than the church, the only public access was the boutique and pilgrim's room

Entrance to La Grotte

Inside La Grotte after the 11:00 daily mass had ended

The cave of Sainte Baume is a sanctuary run by the Dominicans.

This was a great activity for a hot day!  It is short, beautiful, interesting, spiritual and rewarding.  It is completely unlike anything we could have done in the U.S.!

Logistics:
- The sanctuary is open every day of the year.
- There is no public restroom.
- The boutique opened at 11:45 am for about an hour, and then again later in the afternoon.
- Try to program your GPS with "Plan-d'Aups-Sainte-Baume"
- Directions: From Aix-en-Provence (or Nice), take the Saint-Maximin exit of the A8, and take the direction Nans-les-Pins, through the village towards Plan d'Aups Sainte Baume and climb up plateau of the Sainte-Baume. Once at the top, at the intersection where D80 meets D95, continue straight into the dirt parking lot at the base of the trail.

Viewpoint of D80 and D95 intersection from parking lot