Rarely have i been quite so pleased to see flat ground..Valle de Pineta.
This will do - very nicely thank you.. it gets dark quickly in early September - none of the lingering light of more northerly climes.
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| Idly drifting clouds... |
Usually, by the following morning, the previous days exertions - have turned into -
-"Oh it wasn't that bad really" -
However, in this case it took a couple of days at least - i think on balance I'd prefer it going up - with fresher legs - another time perhaps - maybe do the whole crossing in one go ?? A girl can dream at least ..
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| A well stacked logpile - always pleasing to the eye |
So then striding out along the valley bottom - nice flat walking after a brief river crossing.
Legs are relieved.
Looking back up to the previous days heady heights..
This is what happens if you don't wash the sinks at the campsite.
Shabby chic can go too far ..
Campsite closed at time of visiting.
And this is what spring meltwater can do to bridges..
What a place for a kick about - i often wonder how it must be to grow up somewhere like this -
The rest of the world must seem dreadfully pedestrian after this.
Vast flat lands just seem a trifle unsettling to the eye..
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| Yup its really just an endless succession of coffee breaks - with gentle strolls between.. |
Aha Hola Bielsa ... Mmmn more food , and another bed - signs of middle age creeping in ..
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Further signs of middle age - reading glasses !! I was born somewhat too early to be a part of the selfie generation - It still feels very odd to take my own photo. Such a rare occurrence in fact, that this one has been used several times now, as the conference programme headshot - and so forth - little do they know that this 'learned visage' was snapped while i perused the pizza menu - i like to imagine they ( the glasses) lend an air of gravitas - 50 + IQ points just for wearing them But then i like to imagine, all sorts of things ... |
Thenceforth. hitching out of town northward towards France - poor timing as it was midday - and rather hot - oh well - its not as if we didn't know .
Once we got going - after a modicum of roadside shenanigans to effect a lift - little dances and songs and suchlike - it was fairly straightforward. We were dropped by our obliging driver at Aragnoet Fabian, and idled up the sideroad to visit some more scenery.
At the carpark there was a signboard depicting these nifty one wheeled chariots - I've never seen them in use - but a brilliant ruse for getting the less mobile into the wilder places - i'm wondering if they're available in the UK anywhere ..
A lot of money has been invested in concrete for the dam at Lac d'Oule.
The eye popping prices at the refuge there, when we stopped for refreshments, would suggest that we were funding a good chunk of it ..
Its always a bit of a shock returning to France after such civilised hospitality tariffs in Spain..
But no matter - we wandered up the lake edge and found a nice spot to camp.
For the next few days its fair to say we took to more of an ambling pace through the Reserve de Neouvielle,
"Alpine" is probably a fair description a sparsely treed landscape dotted with just the correct number of lakes.
Hills enough, but nothing too precipitous where the paths run.
Good spots for lunch stops .
Not exactly 'a walk in the park' by many folks standards but it definitely feels a bit closer to 'civilisation' the GR10 runs through here - and very scenic it is too ..
And sometimes - Day walkers !!!
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| The solar panel does actually work pretty well for charging phones and powerpacks, even on the move. |
Just a little bit of boulder hopping here and there, to delight the toes..
Interspersed by the occasional snooze, with a view.
The grey Stratospire fits in ok with the geology - not quite full stealth - but not obtrusive either
Even my companion finds himself fairly well camouflaged.
More time is found for this kind of behaviour..
And for leisurely breakfast stops.. Well travelled Moma porridge - just add hot water - and its not too sweet - unlike my companion of course ...
The bovine appreciation society, It's not necessarily mutual, of course.
Yes i am looking at you moo moo.
You get the feeling she knows how good she looks ...
Eventually. after much wandering about - yes i know i could describe the route in more detail - but at the same time would hate to think of anyone using this journal to find their way .
That's what sensible maps and guidebooks are for ..
At last we emerge onto the road just below the famous Col de Tourmalet - Famous among cyclists who like climbing up big hills - or at least those who like watching others do it..
The campsite at Luz San Saveur.
Luz is a very pretty and well supplied town - on a river - A good quality, and priced, evening meal was taken in the Auberge that sits on the GR10
Kitty in a niche.. on the way back to the campsite..
Returning to Pau by various means bus mainly .. Always so hard to leave - but he looks pleased enough..
After more trains - and fairly minimal transport dramas - Its back to the farm - to find that the early autumn fruits have been keeping the troops happy in our absence..
So extraordinarily lucky to have those willing hands to hand to keep everything going..
What a team .... Warms the heart.
The next mission - is to stitch together a route that takes in all the favourite bits - and encompasses those parts missed due to bad weather - or even possibly poor planning previously.
To fashion a more linear coast to coast route ?? Rather than the 'drunken spider on a map' meandering loop, that has become the norm.
I'll need to get better at plotting - thats organising for farmsitting for six whole weeks - to make it worthwhile..could that even be a thing ??
Remains to be seen.
As does this all remain to be revisited.
2015
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| My hat and gaiters were very new and clean back then ... |
2016 was very hot - but spectacular being up above thunderstorms at some points
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Monte Perdido in the background as we headed towards Sestrales.. |
2017 - lots of new areas explored - looking forward to revisiting many of those - via different ways - weather at the time has precluded some higher routes.
2018 you've just seen.
2019 was a pretty good year for weather and we got further east than ever before..
Some gnarly parts of the HRP were mostly enjoyed.
The current circumstances are making it look like perhaps no Pyrenees 2020 for us??
A shame, but absence, and the heart, and so forth .
Maybe a chance to plan for a longer trip ??
A full crossing from Mediterranean Sea. to Atlantic Ocean in 2021 ??
Taking in mostly the HRP but with side diversions here and there -
Not generally being ones to one to stick slavishly to a plan..
Got to keep hopeful anyhow ...
The pointy parts will keep calling you back..
