At
the end of a minuscule road winding along the Bouinenc valley, passing a
thousand and one geological curiosities - stratified, striated grey and
black cliffs topped with conifers - you arrive at Draix, a little village
nestling in a majestic cirque of green hills, yellow meadows and craggy
black ridges typical of the foothills of the Alps near Digne.
Both amateur and professional geologists will be in seventh heaven when
they discover these hills scoured by ravines, in a lunar landscape of
black marl clay (sedimentary rock containing a high proportion of limestone),
that must be millions of years of old.
This
provides an original backdrop to the peaceful village of Draix, all the
more so since here the land is fertile. Pines, willows and pear trees
grow here, as well as the tomatoes in the kitchen gardens and the wheat
in the fields. 
There's little risk of being stressed out at Draix. It's a smart elegant
village full of flowers, with its church and wall-belfry (dating back
to 1854) standing proudly on the forecourt, its large covered wash-house
and two or three streets, where you will be surprised to discover several
old stone-built barns currently being restored ... Pure air, fragrances
of hay and lavender, strolls through the "black lands" ... in
Draix you will be left in peace! |