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| VIEWS BACK TOWARDS AMELIE |
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| FONT AT SALINES |
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| ROC DE FRAUSA |
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| ROMAN WATCHTOWER |
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| OK, IF YOU WANT TO SIT ON THE PATH, I'LL GO AROUND |
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| SUPPER ON TERRACE AT CHALET L'ALBERE |
I'm very focussed today because I have a long climb ahead of me. My objective is a 1,450m high mountain on the border ridge called Roc de Frausa, otherwise known as Roc de France. The altitude probably does not seem great compared to where I have already been walking. The reason why it is such a long climb is that Amelie-les-Bains, at about 200m, is very low.
Anyway, I wanted to get as much climbing done as possible before the midday sun made it even more exhausting.
The ascent away from Amelie was initially steep, but when it levelled out the views of Fort-les-Bains and the Mondony river gorges were brilliant. I shortly reached the village of Montalba where I found a church and a farm. The church looked rather tatty from the outside, but I was amazed to discover how similar the church's intricate internal decorations were to those of the Church of Saint Pierre in the centre of Ceret, only on a much smaller scale. The farm advertised fruit, so I called in and bought a large bag of fresh apricots from the chatty farmer's wife. Yum.
It took another couple of hours of walking before I reached Coll Cerda, which was a perfect place for lunch. The mountains on the border ridge teased me as they looked so close, but it would be yet another hour before I would be able to see into Spain.
That pleasure arrived when I reached the Col de Sant Marti at 1,400m. I was an exciting moment. The air was clear and I could see many miles into Spain. Behind me on the French side I could see Ceret clearly. I could even see the waters of the Mediterranean for the first time, although it would still take me several days to get there.
I proceeded east along the border ridge. After an additional 50m of scrambling I reached Roc de Frausa, the day's main target.
I got the clearest view of the Mediterranean from the most easterly viewpoint, el Moixer, as there were no further peaks in the way. I could even make out the seaside towns that bejewel the coast.
It was now 5.30pm so I continued briskly along the ridge, passing the remains of the hilltop fortress Castell de Cabrera along the way, until I reached las Illas. I had vaguely considered staying at a gite here, but that would have involved going downhill into the village centre and I did not like the idea of having to climb back up again in the morning. Besides, although I had now joined the GR10, I noted that many of the route markers had been removed or painted over. Perhaps the villagers don't like walkers?
It took a lot of effort to navigate myself away from Illas without the help of the route markers. I set about climbing the hill overlooking the village to the east, but it was 8.00pm and I was running out of time. I needed to find a flat piece of ground to camp. Behold, the village's underground water reservoir with a nice grassed-over flat top. Perfect. That's justice.
I was very warm overnight and temperatures soon increased further once the sun rose. Three factors have combined to produce this heat: a) It is a month later than when I started and we are now fully into summer. b) I am now at the warmer eastern end of the Pyrenees. c) I am back down at lower altitudes, where it is hotter.
I am using photocopies taken from my final 'Rando Editions' map covering Rousillon, which also happens to be the oldest, least up to date and most poorly reproduced one. Fortunately the GR10 route markers began to reappear once I got a couple of miles away from Illas. The walk was on dirt tracks and pretty dull until Fort Bellegarde, which overlooks Le Perthus, came onto view. Before reaching the fort I came across the remains of a medieval priory alongside the path. It was apparently built on top of a monument to Pompee, the Roman General who subdued the revolting Spanish. There was also a watchtower of Roman origin nearby. Until now, I hadn't really appreciated just how big a legacy the Romans left in France and Spain.
A quick tour of Fort Bellegarde cost me €4, but I was getting thirsty and had run out of water in the now sweltering heat, so I headed down to Le Perthus.
Le Perthus is an odd place. It is essentially a long street lined with supermarkets, restaurants, tobacconists, clothes shops, etc. The French/Spanish border runs right down the middle of the street. People come here to stock up on duty-free booze and fags for much the same reason that we Brits cross the channel to buy from the French hypermarkets.
I popped into a restaurant for lunch and wolfed down some eggs, bacon and chips - something that I hadn't seen on the menu since I left England. Boy, did that taste good! On looking around the restaurant I noted how many of the customers were fat. It had been rare to see anyone overweight on the hills.
I didn't take me long to conclude that this was not a very special place to stay, so a nice man at the information office phoned the Chalet de l'Albere at the Col de l'Ouillat on my behalf and booked demi-pension. That meant that I had four and a half hours to climb 650m in the oppressive heat if I was going to be there in time for food, which was served at 7.15pm. I filled my water bottles from the pump opposite the information office and got on with it.
I can't say it was easy, but I got there with an hour to spare. By 6.45pm, after a refreshing shower, I was supping sangria on their west-facing terrace, from which the view was spectacular. My supper was consumed as I watched the sun setting behind the Pyrenean mountains, including those of the Canigou massif. The peaks just seemed to go on forever. The profiles of each distinct mountain range appear as a different shade of blue/grey depending how far away they are, and the various ranges overlap each other. I think there might have been fifty shades of grey in all. Only joking.
This is my last gite before reaching Banyuls, since there are no others. It is therefore fitting that I should stay here.