INTO THE PYRENEES-ORIENTALES

BEAUTIFUL CLEAR ETANG DES BESINES

ESTANY DE LANOS FROM COLL DE COMA D'ANYELL

BOOT REPAIRS IN THE WILD

DIDN'T EXPECT TO SEE YOU HERE!

MY PICTURE WINDOW IN THE WILD

DOWN TO PYRENEES 2000

It was nearly 10.00am by the time left the gite in l'Hospitalet, but I was in no hurry. It was one of those days that just felt 'right' for some reason. That fact that it was dry, the sun was shining, the peaks were clear of mist and the temperature was perfect for walking might have had something to do with it.

I was feeling energised too. Maybe that was due to the excellent meal I'd been served at the gite the previous evening. Maybe it was because I felt that there should be nothing else to impede my final trek to the Med. Maybe I have finally got used to the weight of the rucksack.

Whatever the reasons for this feeling of wellbeing, I found myself enjoying the steep climb away from the village.

Initially it was a woodland walk, but then I got above the treeline to see the the mountains to the east beckoning to me. I quickly reached the Etang des Besines where I found the Belgian family from the gite sunning themselves on the bank. They would be staying at the Refuge des Besines which was visible on the hill at the far end of the lake, so I thought it deserved a visit. It was about 1.30pm by the time I got there; too early for a night stay, but perfect timing for a bowl of potage and a tin of beer.

Half an hour later I was on my way again. I needed to climb to the 2,470m Coll de Coma d'Anyell to get into the next valley. There were a few medium-sized snowfields to contend with on the way, but nothing more difficult than I had already faced.

When I reached the Coll and looked over to the other side, the view almost blew me away. Before me lay a magical valley with steams carrying the melting snow waters down to the huge Estany de Lanos. The backdrop was a sunlit vista of snow-patched mountains, including the 2,921m Puig Carlit, a popular target for climbers with lighter rucksacks. I was now entering the region known as the Pyrenees-Orientales which would see me all the way to the sea.

It took me nearly an hour to work my way down to the lake. I found a nice viewpoint at the northern end where I ate some of my food. It was 6.00pm, but I still wanted to keep walking, so I spent an hour climbing up to the next col, the Portella de la Grava. I haven't checked the translation of this yet, but I wondered if the circling vultures were giving me a clue. 

Anyway, what greeted me when I looked over the portella was yet another magical valley! Now I'm just being spoiled.

The climb down from the portella into the valley itself was not too steep, and I soon found myself walking briskly alongside a stream. Ahead of me I could see two tents pitched by a little lake called l'Estayol. When I got close the owners hailed me. David, from Toulon, and Thomas from Corsica were also on a walking holiday. However, the heel and sole assemblies had come off both of David's boots - well, actually, he'd borrowed them from his Dad. Could I help, he wondered? Well, as it happened, I did have some special glue in my emergency kit, so I got to work sticking things together again. I advised them to leave the glue to set overnight, and gave them my email address so that they could let me know if my efforts had been successful.

They invited me to camp with them, but I declined as there was still enough light for another hour of walking and I wanted to maintain my forward momentum. We exchanged farewells and I continued my eastward progress. The sun was low and I was walking in the shadow of a mountain, but I could see, not far ahead of me, the sun reflecting from the grass. I increased my pace.

They say that you can never catch the sun, but in this case I did, so I was able to walk in the evening sunshine as my shadow lengthened in front of me. Quite by surprise a donkey appeared on the path ahead of me, trotting in my direction. It stopped abruptly as soon as it saw me, giving the young girl who was chasing it a chance to catch it.

Eventually my shadow faded completely so I knew it was time to make camp. For my own reference, my campsite location was GPS 04165 47157, and there were beautiful waterfalls to be seen on the opposite side of the valley.

The stream I had been following had now become a river. As I ate supper in the fading light, I watched the cows wander in single file towards their watering hole, their bells clanging discordantly. A bull was also watching over them. It had been a perfect day. I knew it would be.

The sun streamed inside my tent as soon as I unzipped the outer flap in the morning. The sky was cloudless. I lazily ate breakfast. As I started to pack up, the girl with the donkey passed by, this time with her family and another donkey. The donkeys were being used to carrying their camping gear. When I met them again later it turned out that they had hired the donkeys for a family camping holiday. I'd not heard of that before.

I continued my trek down the valley, only this time heading towards the sun. The river ran into a large lake, the Lac de Boullouses, so when I reached it I walked along its western shore until I reached the dam at the southern end. It was obviously a popular spot because I saw more walkers here than I had seen on any other part of my walk. The glorious weather had no doubt also encouraged them to come out.

I had ice cream and tea at the Auberge du Carlit before continuing south-east towards the oddly named Pyrenees 2000, a ski resort presumably completed in time for the millenium. I could have followed the main trail down, but chose to deviate up to a viewpoint called Coll de Pam for lunch. Then I followed the line of the Belvedere ski lift down into the resort.

It was only mid-afternoon, but I had walked a long way over a two day period and had now run out of food, so I thought I might stay at a gite marked on my map called Les Ramiers. What a find - hospitable owner, clean, WiFi, pre-supper aperitif, excellent food with wine, supermarket just round the corner, sensible price - perfect!

Supper was shared with a couple from Nimes who were using the gite as a walking base.

I had come down into the valley to recharge, refuel and resupply. Now I had a long climb up to the French/Spanish border ridge where I will reach the highest altitude yet. The gite owner assures me that the snow has gone, the good weather will hold and I will enjoy the walk.

I can't wait.