Apocalyptique

I pack boiled eggs, melon, strawberries, yoghurt, tea and of course, baguettes!  We’re off for breakfast en pleine aire.   We leave at 6.00am, when the mists swirl around the Pyrenees and the fields have a silent mystique of their own. 

We roll past Katrin and Gerard’s house, past Edward and Martyn’s closed shutters and head down the lane.  “Traffic’s bad as usual” is my feeble attempt at humour, as we look down a road, devoid of traffic, arched by trees and swaying corn on either side.

Cauterets is our destination.  Finally, we are off for a walk in the Pyrenees.  

I love the fact that when you plan an exchange, you have a certainty about what you will do and of course, it’s always so different.  Last year, in Cluses, we planned excursions, lunch in Italy, dinner and theatre in Geneve,  but ended up spending most of our time walking in les Alpes.  So this year our expectation was that we would be spending day after day walking in the Pyrenees… not so!

We have spent our time exploring castles, villages and churches.  Drinking far too much wine, laughing, eating and socialising.  Can’t be bad.

But now we have taken ourselves in hand.  Swelling midriffs must be addressed. So off we go to walk at Cauterets.  Breakfast is at Aire de Pyrenees, where there is a stunning sculpture of “Le Tour”.  

It overlooks the Pyrenees, which as the day warms have shed their mist and stand out magnificently.  As we eat, we watch sleepy headed tourists, slope out of their huge campervans ”Home Alones’ as we call them, seeking strong, black coffee at the petrol station. 

Onward we move, faithfully following, Marguerite, our SAT Nav who has a tendency to avoid any major road and veers towards a farm track at any chance that she has.  So we had a wondrous trip, over hills, around lakes, switch back after switch back.  Of course I was driving.  We might take the Peage on the way back says Roger thoughtfully.

Our drive takes us through a delightful village, Luz St Sauveur, but no time to stop for French delicacies, walking is the focus for the day.  So up we go, the road skirts around the mountain, reminding us of the treacherous passes of Colorado.  Nearly there, when a French couple wave us down.  “Pas possible d'y aller la route est fermée.”  Sure enough, just down the track there is a Gendarme who explains patiently that the route is closed because of “inondations”.

So we wind our way down through spectacular scenery, now noticing that the river is raging and that the road has collapsed in part.

Ah! Ha!  Back down to Luz St Sauveur.  What to do?  Well drink coffee of course. une noisette et une Grande Café Crème, buy some yummy cheeses, meats, and wine and have a haircut! 

We meet the most wonderful man, Pascal, who is greatly amused by the fact that a man would trust his wife to describe the haircut that he wants… especially in another language.  He and I joke about what Roger wants and what I could be saying!  He does a great job though.  If you need a haircut this is the place to go!

We explains that we couldn't get through to Casternet.  He shakes his head and shows us photos.  We are amazed.  We had heard that Lourdes had had a flood but all the news was that it had been quickly cleaned up.  No word of old people dying, roads collapsing and villages left stranded though!  

On his advice we decide to leave walking in the Pyrenees for another day!