The Red Marble Dance of the Pyréneés-Orientales

At the starting point of the scenic Yellow train in the Pyréneés-Orientales you find the “Château Fort Liberia” fortress. This area around Villefranche-de-Conflent is also well known for skiing, rock slates on roofs, and yes, red marble. Thus the fortress is luxuriously laid out with this precious material. I followed the red marble and so learnt about: a special prison for women, WW2 soldiers escaping through the latrines, sophisticated gun powder storage, elaborated underground escape routes and the strategic location of the fort. My favorite spot was a sunny area, up on the fortress wall, offering the imaginary view of three valleys, though I could only catch a glimpse of those from the tiny fortress windows. Next to me was a cute little chapel with the most beautiful praying/kneeling support device I have ever seen, and the most ugly, broken, yet charming-in-its-own-way piano, I have ever seen. The chapel was practically covered with beautifully grafted, slender stone slates. The warm sunrays lured other creatures as well, it did not take long for the a main inhabitants of the castle to show up: the slates were home to wasps and the chapel crevices housed ants. Though I noticed only one ant, it was a big red one. Her grace caught my attention, she seemed like she was performing a modern dance for me. Probably just normal ant behavior, running here and there, nobody knows what for. She could easily have disappeared, but she stuck around, like a puppy dog seeking for attention. Maybe she enjoyed being hovered by the red color of my camera? No idea. I love how the back of her body is attached to the rest with just a tiny little “bridge”. How her delicate legs effortlessly carry the weight of her body and up to 5000 times more, as recent studies show. Scientists are looking at ants in order to improve robot technology. Those simple ant might have a major impact on our future. My foto session with the ant got interrupted by a group of tourists who were curious about what I was up to. Noticing my rather unspectacular subject of attention, one man posed to step on my ant. A long “Noooooooooo” left my mouth. “Please don`t” My heartbeat increased. "If he steps on my ant, I am seriously going to be pissed off", I thought to myself. “She is a beautiful model, isn`t she” I stated with a serious tone. I ignored him and kept taking shots. She was moving so fast, it was hard to keep up with her. Luckily, the tourist moved on and I could continue shooting. I noticed the wasps on the slates checking us out. I enjoyed the company of those insects. I enjoyed following their movements, speculating about their daily lives. Did they use insect poison here? Was the cleaning lady up here sometimes annoyed by the little critters she had to deal with? What kind of food does a fort offer? Did the ant like the red marble? Does the surface make any difference to her? Does she have preferences? I love cool marble on a sunny day, but most of the time, I prefer warm wood. It just feels sooooo good. The ant kept running here and there. I have watched many ants, as a child I was always mesmerized by ant hills and how they make you smell if you put your hand too close. My ancestors used to make ant-vinegar that way, I was told. While watching the ant dance, childhood memories of times spent in the forest with my dad surfaced. I smiled. Occassionally, I help ants to carry heavy items, by placing the ant struggling with their baggage on the anthill. Not sure if I really help them, or if I just confuse them with my human interpretation of things. This time, I did not mess with the ant, I just documented her red marble dance.