A view from a previous hike, of the pass, the border of Spain and France toward where we were headed.
The early stages of the climb, magnificent sights constantly, as we face Spain.
The editor has always wanted to spend another night in France, particularly Gavarnie. It seems that ‘jetsetters’ like to visit the south of France—it’s the right place to be seen. It’s also difficult to get much further south than the town as it lies within five miles from Spain. Between the two countries is some of the most beautiful mountains, landscapes, streams and rivers, and waterfalls that we have viewed as well as much cattle and sheep dung. Of course, no country can match Iceland for waterfalls but then the latter country is unique.
To make the journey, we packed our valuables in a case and dropped it at a hotel in Torla that we would return to, all going according to plan. The rest of our possessions (also valuable) we placed in the car and of course, some, weighed us down, in our backpacks. Finally, we parked the car at refugio St Nicholas-Bourgeola, located near the sendero—that’s to impress readers with our command of Spanish. We slept in a hotel in Gavarnie after crossing over part of the Pyrenees Mountains thus splitting ourselves and possessions amongst three locales.
The hike (along part of GR-11 route) was brutal and beautiful if those adjectives can reside side-by-side. We walked, climbed, and whined a little, over 22 miles return distance, gained 3,000 feet each day (6,000 back-to-back) which seemed closer to four for each segment, dropped down the same amount into the town and repeated the procedure the next day, this time from France back to Ordesa, Spain. Over 12,000 feet in elevation change occurred over rough terrain which included the crossing of snowfields, streams, scree and otherwise walking on rough stones, rocks and boulders. Tough? Yes. However, what a magnificent hike and experience while viewing the Pyrenees mountains and valleys. When in this massive bowl, below towering snow-capped peaks and facing steep inclines ahead, we were reinvigorated constantly by our surroundings.
Jen stands on the border between Spain and France. Our greeting changes from 'Hola' to Bonjour'.
Gavarnie Falls is a tiered waterfall of 1,400 feet, the highest in France and very attractive, not forgetting the
snow-capped mountain background. Awe inspiring.
Approaching ground level with weary 'bones', we notice Gavarnie below.
A sight to behold close to sunset.
The snow melts and Gavarnie lets it flow.
Gavarnie is quaint and is arguably in the most beautiful setting, surrounded by mountains, massive waterfalls, rivers and streams. It’s not a place one arrives to look for a business or work opportunity; rather just to live, to enjoy another incredible part of the world. Vive le Français! If our Spanish is poor than our French is worse. This makes life less convenient but we get by. We spent 30 minutes with a Dutch couple, Corrie and Anton, that proved to be interesting which also gave us opportunity to communicate in Afrikaans. We hope we did not inadvertently offend them in our choice of words.
The only drawback of the adventure was that we suffered a bit on the second day as we apparently had some bad food, making the return trip even more strenuous as the stomach was not happy. Other than that, the editor sure knows how to pick them.
A delightful scene, nature in harmony with the editor.
Looks close but still about 1,200 feet of vertical gain and tricky maneuvers to reach the border.
'Big Tex' rides into town after losing his horse to one of the cows below.
As we make our way along the cliff edges, we notice three types of cows. The white cows from which we obtain
white meat and vanilla yoghurt; the brown cows from which we get brown or red meat and chocolate yoghurt and
of course, the mixed colors, producing the yoghurt swirl.
Bon appetit as we cross into France, tired but re-fueling for part two of day one...France just ahead. Towards the left
is the carpark from where French hikers come to stand above Spain and gape.
We planned to depart early on the two-day sojourn as thunderstorms had covered the mountains each afternoon. In five hikes that we undertook, notwithstanding it rained each day, the only drenching we got was from internal sources—our perspiration.
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
No comments:
Post a Comment