Today was a hot day. We rode across the plateau of the Vercors and up to Col de Rousset. Here the chair lift was taking families to the mountain top from where they would descend on mountain scooters. It looked like fun. We watched with a jus d'apricot apiece.
The descent took us via Vassieux, a village raised to the ground in 1944 due to the activities of the Macqui. The roadside is littered with memorials to those shot on the spot. The stories are typically shocking. Injured hospital patients forced to dig their own graves. Men and woman from 15 years to 99 killed for assisting.
4000 martyrs were gathered before 15000 German troops arrived and brought the Vercors to its knees within 3 days.
The village was rebuilt. Only the church and a handful of other buildings are older than 60 years.
In addition to a national museum there is also a large cemetery and a memorial atop the Col de Chaol. It is a sombre, barren place with little growing in the parched landscape.
We descended to La Chappell for another jus then home.
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