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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! 😀
Cahors and Massif Central
It is now time to leave the Pyrenees with a taste of the unfinished while our forced stop in Valence greatly reduced our stay in Spain…
1. Leaving Montgarri in a sunny morning.
2. Pla de Beret.
3. …
4. After a night in a forest of the Gers, we stop in Cahors to discover its famous Pont Valentré.
5. Quite impressive and well maintained.
6. Neighborhood on the edge of the Lot, the river which surrounds the old town by one of its meanders.
After dropping off Emile in Corrèze, on the way back, I go to sleep in the Monts du Sancy, in the Massif Central.
7. Arrival at the end of the day, when the North wind blows in gusts.
8. The mood is wonderful.
9. Sunset sky.
10. …
11. I find a corner between two hills to spend a windy night.
The next day, I will go iscover some beautiful spots in the massif. I will tell you that in a last update dedicated to these summer holidays.
Thank you for your loyalty to follow this little blog. 😀
Pyrenees (2)
1. Wake up at the Pedró dels Quatre Batlles. It is cool but the view is gorgeous.
2. …
3. We take a spectacular trail to go down from the plateau.
4. View toward South.
5. Escarpment.
6. Flower in the limestone rockery.
7. Further, a narrow passage in which i had to fold mirrors. We crossed it in both directions, the trail having been washed out 1.5 mile further.
We found several trails closed by recently installed barriers, undoubtedly the price of the hordes of 4×4 which crisscross them more and more.
8. Nice boondocking spot.
9. Emile is always ready to play with his small cars…
10. Smal village in the mountain.
While we were stopped by a barrier at the entrance of a trail which should have lead us to discover a pretty mountain lake, Emile said “We just have to walk there”. I explain to him that the lake was at a 7 miles walk with more than 2,000 feet of elevation gain but he insisted. So I parked VivaLaVida and here we were for a day of walking. My little guy had bravely swallow the more than 14 miles round trip! A real mointain goat!
11. The lake we hiked.
12. Picnic in the shelter of a rock while the wind blows in gusts.
13. Before the way back.
Other discoveries in a few days…
D5 Creation