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Loarre Castle
1. We stop to discover the superb castle of Loarre.
2. Its fortified walls are still almost intact.
3. The main porch…
4. …and the staircase which leads to the different courtyards and interior buildings.
5. Gallery…
6. View on the plain.
7. Marble stained window…
8. Glow…
9. Nave…
10. Within the walls.
11. Last look as we leave to find a boondocking place.
12. Nice trail in the pine forest…
13. Quiet place under the pines. The shower will be great after a new hot day.
Discovery of the Mallos de Riglos and other curiosities in the next update. 😉
Southern foot of the Pyrenees
To protect ourselves from the heat wave that has been raging for a few days, we decide to discover the Ordesa valley, hoping to find some freshness there. In the summer time, access roads are closed to individual vehicles and after a night in the small campground of the San Nicolás de Bujaruelo refuge, we take the shuttle to the valley.
1. After an hour of hiking, we are in front of the “Cascada del Estrecho”.
2. Continuing up the river…
3. Emile playing at our picnic spot. I won’t bring back other images, a heavy rain shower forcing us to shorten our walk.
4. Boondocking near a small river…
5. My son happy to play with his feet in the water. 😉
6. The next day, the track rises in a limestone range.
7. Landscape and geology change rapidly.
8. We reach the “Mirador de Los Buitres” shortly after noon and enjoy a magnificent view on the “Mallos de Riglos”.
9. As we eat, many vultures fly over us.
10. Squadron…
11. Glider…
12. Ruin along the trail…
13. Late in the afternoon, we arrive in sight of the “Castillo de Loarre”.
Images of our visit are coming in the next article… 😉
Pyrenees: heat and geology…
1. After a quiet night at 8,600 feet above sea level, the good weather is in the game.
2. We take the trail again for the descent.
3. We head West through the southern foothills of the Pyrenees, sometimes on small roads, sometimes on trails, discovering pretty villages…
4. It is the hottest day with 110°F in the shade. We camp under the trees, near a river and take advantage of the new VLV shower installed before departure to refresh ourselves. A flock of sheep comes to drink right next to us.
5. The next day, we leave early to avoid the high temperatures. Panorama from Coll de Boixols.
6. And still these beautiful villages…
7. We arrive near the Congost de Mont Rebei, a deep canyon of the Noguera Ribagorçana river in which a vertiginous path has been dug. Parking is prohibited to vehicles over 6 feet high and we have to park along of the access road, 1.5 miles from the trailhead. View to the south from the “Mirador de les Lludrigues”.
8. Despite of the 104°F, we leave for the 4 miles leading to the beginning of the path dug in the cliff. Emile crossing a pedestrian suspension bridge.
9. Gradually, the trail rises as you enter the gorge.
10. In the heart of the canyon, the path is aerial !
11. Congost de Mont-Rebei in its upper part. The path is 400 feet above the river!
A gust appropriates Emile’s cap; we therefore improvise a headgear for the way back with a small cloth and a lace because the sun always beats down hard!
12. Back to VivaLaVida after 4 hours of hiking under 105°F, we take the road again, then a trail to get to the Muralla de Finestras. We get there in late afternoon as the sun starts to go down…
13. The level of the artificial lake which sometimes bathes the foot of this wall is very low this year…
14. From the ghost village at the end of the trail, we hike to the small hermitage of San Marcos which offers a nice viewpoint.
15. A last look at this geological curiosity before going back and finding a nice spot to sleep in the middle of nature and enjoying a shower…
To be followed in a few days…
2023 Holidays, here we go!
After a spring somewhat upset by Emile’s diagnosis, it was not until July that VivaLaVida left its winter quarters to resume service.
Three days for a big engine, transmission and running gear service – thanks to the Garage BN in St-Martin/FR for the loan of the place – two additional days to reload all the stuff and we’re ready to leave towards South on July 15th. Emile is in heaven, he who has been asking me for two months “When are we going to travel again in VivaLaVida?!”. After a first night in the campground where we had waited for the wheel studs two years ago – Emile was hoping to see Lilou again, a little girl he met during our last stay – we continue towards the Pyrenees.
1. First spot that we are gonna discover, the “Fontaine des Amours” (Fountain of Loves), a pretty natural pool.
2. Not very far, we explore the remains of a Roman bridge…
3. It was rebuilt identically after a major flood thirty years ago.
4. We find a quiet boondocking place not far to spend the night in the hills of Ariège…
5. … and we make the first and last campfire of this vacation for our barbecue. While it has rained a lot here and the risk of wildfire is non-existent this evening, it won’t be the same later…
6. After reaching Andorra la Vella where we shop some groceries to fill the fridge, we decide to drive up to Pico Negro. The trail has become so busy that there is a guard of Guarda Civile who charges €25 at the start of the trail. As it’s already late afternoon, VLV climbs without stopping too much on a track in places very washed out by storms and reaches a first flat area at around 7,200 feet elevation. We don’t meet anyone there.
7. After approx. an hour’s drive, she arrives in sight of the summit, at about 8,900 feet above sea level.
8. After the summit, we go further to the famous VW van carcass near which we spend the night.
9. VLV at the camp…
10. Climbing on the small summit overlooking it…
11. … to enjoy sunset.
12. Evening quietness…
13. See you tomorrow sunshine !
14. Dusk…
See you soon for more! 😀
Happy New Year 2023 !
It’s time to wish all of you who faithfully follow VivaLaVida’s journey, a very Happy New Year 2023 filled with positive discoveries and adventures!
Thank you for your loyalty in following this little blog. !
See you soon for the rest of the journey..!
Last outing of the year in the Doubs
While I was hoping to do another 2-3 weekends in VivaLaVida before storing her for the winter, a family celebration and an episode of gastroenteritis for Emile only let us make one last bivouac of the year on the last November weekend.
We went discovering two natural arches located in the Doubs department, south of Montbelliard in France.
1. Here we are not far from the first arch.
2. After a short climb, we walk along the cliff towards the arch…
3. … which soon appears through the fog.
4. Called Cave of Bisontin, the arch was created by the collapse probably several thousand years ago of the roof of a large cave created by infiltrations in the limestone rock.
5. The arch is quite impressive with a span of about hundred feet. It is the largest I have seen in Europe so far.
6. Emile gives the scale as the fog creates a particular atmosphere.
7. To reach the second arch, the path is steep as it follows a limestone ridge with cliffs on both sides. While the fog makes everything very slippery, I give up going there with Emile as a slip would certainly lead to a serious accident.
We go boondocking on a viewpoint above Maîche where we cook a good sauerkraut on our last campfire of 2022! It is also an opportunity to break a “Marmite de l’Escalade” (chocolate pot) a few days in advance, a Geneva tradition which commemorates the attempted invasion of 1602 by the Savoyards.
8. Chilly wake up…
9. … above the mist…
10. … with beautiful colors.
11. On the return trip, VivaLaVida crosses the symbolic bar of 300,000 km (186,000 miles). It’s not huge for a vehicle that drives in America – those with between 300 and 500,000 miles are quite common – but given the miles driven on trails – probably approx. 35,000 since I converted VLV to 4×4 – and the twisty roads of Europe, that’s already a respectable mileage. 🙂
After this outing, VivaLaVida went back to its winter shelter. I am already looking forward to the next adventures she has in store for us!
Thank you again to all of you who follow our modest peregrination on board. I already wish you Happy Christmas time. 😉
Last day before heading Home…
In the early morning, we go discover an altitude marsh spotted during our walk the day before..
1. A source there creates a stream that meanders on a flat.
2. At its end, a small pond formed.
3. We don’t hang around too long because it’s chilly this morning.
4. Change of place to discover the bottom of the valley of Vallouise Pelvoux, at a place called Le Pré de Madame Carle. We discover a sub-glacial zone where the floods of the river create a gravel bar like those visited in Alaska.
5. We are at the treeline altitude, which causes a certain alpine aridity at this place.
6. View from our lunch spot. They are worse, isn’t it?
7. On the way back, between Briançon and the Lautaret pass.
8. Thanks to the off-road capabilities of VivaLaVida, we find a nice promontory to boondock on the northern slope of the Galibier pass.
9. Out of sight of the road, our afternoon end is perfectly quiet there.
10. A last campfire for grilling some corns and meal.
11. And a last image of this short week of travel with pretty colors at sunrise Sunday morning…
Back at home, we plan one or two more weekend outings before VivaLaVida returns to its wintering place. I’ll tell you about those in a while.
Thank you for your loyalty to follow this little blog! 😀
Back to Clarée Valley
Still unable to walk much because of my sprained ankle, we decide to go back up to the beautiful Clarée Valley that we had discovered last year in the same season and discover the Fontcouverte waterfall, taking advantage of the golden larches to take some pictures.
1. The Clarée River upstream from the waterfall.
2. Fontcouverte waterfall.
3. I’m playing to look for some compositions.
4. Variation.
5. In the morning, we’re almost alone at this season while in summer, it is constantly crowded.
6. A little further up the valley.
7. We have our lunch under a mountain pasture.
8. Last view of this beautiful valley before changing corners… Since last year, signs prohibiting wild camping have grown everywhere and the only campsite there is closed for the season.
9. After a few tens of miles, we are at the very top of the Vallon de l’Orceyrette, above the Chalets de L’Alp. We are completely alone there for a quiet bivouac at about 7,900 feet elevation.
10. We discover the surroundings of the camp. This bottom of the valley is still wild.
11. View looking north.
12. We enjoy a nice campfire to cook our meal there.
Continuation and end of this few days trip shortly! 😉
Jafferau fortress, then Vallée étroite (Narrow valley)…
While setting up camp, I badly sprained my ankle. Despite the ointment applied quickly and a bandage to try to succeed in putting the foot on the ground, I will have to revise the plans. Damn! Here I am forced to give up a hike planned in two days. So, after having slept just under Fort Jafferau, we decide to take a look at this fortress in ruins.
1. South portal or what’s left of it…
2. Here, canon battery bases with the arcs indicating the directions of fire.
3. And one of the many vaulted chambers which likely served as cantonment.
4. Bird’s eye view of an alpine pasture below.
5. Panoramic view of Ecrins mountains to the West.
6. Descent to Bardonecchia via the northwest side.
7. We take advantage of the afternoon to discover the Vallée Etroite (Narrow Valley) straddling the Franco-Italian border. The enfilade towards Mount Thabor is magnificent with the fall colors.
8. Opposite, by where we arrived.
9. The river that carved out this valley, called Narrow Valley Stream.
10. I take advantage of varying the compositions since I can hardly walk. Variation 1.
11. Variation 2.
12. And one last before leaving to do some grocery shopping in Bardonecchia and refuel VivaLaVida since the strikes in France make the refill difficult.
The rest with a return into the Clarée Valley in a few days. Thanks! 😀
Discovery and re-discovery…
Still going down in the valley that leads to the Col du Sommeiller, we stop to discover a vast alcove created by the collapse of a friable cliff.
1. The cavity visible on the other side of the torrent, at the top of a steep slope.
2. Here we are. Emile gives the scale.
3. I take this opportunity to “frame” the landscape…
4. Back to VivaLaVida.
5. VLV in the switchbacks of the track above the Scarfiotti refuge.
6. The surrounding mountains as the sun slowly turns West.
7. The valley below the refuge.
8. Wake up!
9. This is the period when the larches are all golden!
10. Rochemolle village.
11. Ascent to Colle Basset that we drove in the other direction this summer.
12. As we rise, the view opens up to the distance…
13. VLV on the trail above Colle Basset.
14. Valfredda valley.
15. Fort in ruins.
16. We sleep just above, with a superb panorama!
NExt to come soon… 😀
D5 Creation