A Day "In the Saddle"

One of our annual pleasures is following the Tour de France. For our day in the French Pyrenees we decided to find some of the 'cols' that the tour will ride this year. Its their 100th anniversary in the Pyrenees and there will be four days of riding in this beautiful part of France.

Of course our views were of snow capped peaks and in some places still lying a metre deep next to the road. These are two of the mountains we traced - the Ax 3 Domaines and then the Col des Ares, and we only just made it through, although we could not get through the Col de Portet d'Aspet.

Does not look steep - but wow, impressive gradients! Look forward to lying on the couch under a quilt and watching the cyclists tackling these glorious mountains. On our way home now......

Into the snow in the Pyrenees

As we made our way ever higher northwards towards the French border with Spain in the Pyrenees, the landscape transformed into a winter wonderland and unlike Martie I seek out winter holidays.

And it was snowing!

From the greenfields and spring flowers of La Garrotxa to this black and white heaven, such a joy for Fred and I.

Our destination was Arties and a hotel I had booked right in the heart of the mountains. This was the view of the village as we arrived in the early evening.

The temperature kept dropping and it was 0 degrees when we went out to dinner.

The Parador de Arties....

and a view from a bedroom window.

Dinner of Paella, perfect for a cold evening out.
Waking up this morning to this cold, fresh white world is quite blissful. We continue today to traverse these mountains and make our way into some of the valleys.

Egyptian Vultures in the Pyrenees

The temperature kept dropping as we made our way from Besalu into the pre-Pyrenees and then into the impressive Pyrenees themselves, a journey of over 400 kilometers. We had beautiful views along the way and coming across this shepherd adds to the authenticity of the scenery. The rock formations can look tortured with vast stretches of outcrops jutting into the sky.

Mike had marked my map where we were likely to find the Egyptian Vultures along the route.

And find them we did, wonderful views of this distinctive vulture with its wedge tail, its black and white markings and the small pale orange face. Thrilling, special lifer for me in a glorious place - the Catalunyan Pyrenees.

Besalu and the final leg of the 'Hills of Girona'

The last stop along our ATG Oxford Hills of Girona walk was the well preserved town of Besalu. While the gang slogged out the 20 km in the rain, I checked into the hotel and once again an amazing view from the bedroom, this time over the historic 11C bridge into the old town.

While doing some research for our final road trip of the holiday I realised that Mike Lockwood, the well known birder in this part of the world was based here in Besalu. I called him and he graciously made time to meet at the delightful tea shop in the old town to share some local knowledge on birding sites.

Extract from Iberian Wildlife Tours:

Mike Lockwood
I have been living in Catalonia - or Catalunya - in northeast Spain for more years than I care to remember. Arriving in small-town Catalonia in January 1984 was a real eye-opener: however, after the initial shock of the cold, I quickly realised that the wildlife here was bigger, more abundant and more colourful than at home in Britain! Since then I've thrown myself fully into leading wildlife trips, writing walking and wildlife guides and helping to promote butterfly and dragonfly studies in Catalonia.

Gentle Time in the Volcanic Region of the Garrotxa Park

Well I did not walk here but it is a pleasure being here and as my friend Sharon said, enjoy it in a different way which is what I am doing. These are the views from our bedroom balcony at the Hotel Cal Sastre in the delightful mediaeval town of Santa Pau. To sit quietly and take in these gentle views is a priviledge. The clan walked almost 20 kilometers to get to Santa Pau and had a good walk and did miss me too, Fred kept in contact via sms along the way.

I popped into the old town of Santa Pau with its castle walls and imposing Gothic Church of Santa Maria and its views over the Ser valley. As is my wont I found good food and bought the regional specialities to take home - beans, the famous Ferols de Santa Pau, grown in the rich volcanic soils and justifiably famous, I have dined out on them all week and they are quite sublime as well as Ratafia the local digestif.

This is one of the dishes, a haricot salad, we had as part of out tapas extravaganza for Sunday lunch - tuna, anchovies, boiled eggs with the beans and a dressing, heavenly, as was the layers and layers of flavours and textures that rolled over our table at the Restaurant Masnou - croquettes, pates, anchovies, cured cod, mousses and even dark chocolate shavings on toast....

The Volcanoes of the National Park here in Garrotxa are a destination and a real feature of the landscape as well as creating an agricultural industry that flourishes. I caught a taxi to the Volca de Santa Margarida and we all met up in the circular crater with its chapel in the center which has been there since the 14C. Fred managed to get a people free pic of the little chapel, even though it was a Sunday and busy.

This aerial photo is taken by Fred from a post card that I bought at the information centre....

It was a simple pleasure to be walking, albeit slowly along the paths again, I was wearing two pairs of socks as well as plasters and managed to cover a few kilometers with no problem. We walked on to the interesting Volca Croscat, where the strata can be seen on an abandoned mining site which is now being preserved and restored.

The lilac bush in bloom at the entrance to the Restaurant Masnou, even on an overcast and rainy afternoon the scenery is special and the flowers beautiful.

I have now moved on with Miguel to the end point of the walk - Besalu, another medieval town and our hotel is right next to the impressive 11C bridge across the river from the well preserved village, my soon to be stop for coffee and a sandwich.

Hills of Girona, day 3 14.1 km from La Salut to El Ferres

Room with a view! The beauty of the morning mist as we woke up at La Salut.

Marti and I met Dorothy, an English woman who lives in Catalan, while having coffee in Rupit a few days ago and she told us of a book written by a family member - Matthew Parris, called 'Castle in Spain' . Needless to say we both bought a copy of the out of print books, as he retells the story of renovating an ancient Catalan farmhouse near our village.

In the opening chapter Matthew describes the mist shrouded views here in Catalan and waking up to see the real thing is a joy. There is still snow on the high peaks of the Pyrenees.

The walk into the heart of the Collsacabre following the ridge was lovely in the fresh early morning air. I was chuffed to see Cirl Bunting at last and was also treated to a glimpse of a Corn Bunting calling on the telephone wires. We followed a country lane and then made our way to the church of Sant Miquel de Falgars high above the valley perched on a rocky outcrop. It made a lovely picnic spot. Huge wedges of cheese and the local ham sandwiches.

The route to our next stop El Ferres was a 3 kilometer steep descent through thick woodland and I knew I was in trouble, my feet were in agony and I was on the edge of my pain threshold stumbling down the path oblivious to any scenery.
We have been made so welcome by Carme our host at El Ferres, its a working farm and smells like on too! She cooked us hearty regional fare last night, this time chickpeas made with pork crackling, such a sumptious rich flavour. The old barn behind the house is a gem and must have seen many things in its day......

Hills of Girona Day 2 , 11.9 km from Rupit to La Salut

I am blogging with a heavy heart, I have just said goodbye to the clan as they leave for today's leg of the walk. My feet have let me down, huge blisters on the souls of both of my feet have left me incapacitated.

The walking over the last two days has taken us through wonderful countryside, spectacular mountain views along the edge of the Collsacabre as well as into beech woods coming into La Salut and through quiet river valleys.

The rocky outcrop in the background of the photo of Fred and I is the landmark of our days hike from Rupit - the 'L'Agullola de Sant jaon de Fabregues.

My first views of the Griffon Vultures which soar gracefully on the thermals above the cliffs and the details of the spring flowers continue to enchant Marti and me as we ambled along the paths.

Our destination for the overnight is the sanctuary of La Mare de Due de la Salut, which at an altitude of 1000m has spectacular views across La Garrotxa. Here we are crossing into the Garrotxa having had far too much wine, beer and food! And still having to walk 3 kilometers with a fierce uphill.

One of the foodie treats here are the famous 'patatas volcanicas' , deep fries potatoes stuffed with minced pork and they were quite delicious. Our stop over was the rather austere La Salut, more functional than pleasurable. The photo below is the view from our room across the Hostoles valley and the series of mountain ranges rolling back to the horizon.

At this point I was already starting to get concerned with the blisters on the souls of my feet.....