Bugs!

We’ve seen some great bugs recently. We’ve managed to catch the less shy ones on camera! Lisa: these pics are for you because there weren’t many bugs for you to see when you visited us!Please identify them all!

Ceuse

We stopped in at Ceuse for just over a week, and enjoyed the world famous climbing. We both agreed that the climbing in Ceuse is the some of the best we’ve done anywhere. The rock is exceptional and the routes are brilliant – so many great climbs. There were, however, a few downsides… The more popular routes are quite polished, which can make some moves more challenging. However, this didn’t generally spoil the routes too much. The biggest challenge with climbing at Ceuse was the walk in. The crag sits at around 1800m, some 500m climb above the parking area. The walk was a 2 mile (doesn’t sound much) steep walk, which took around an hour. It was quite an effort, especially in the heat, but it was a lovely walk. The flora and fauna at this time of year are stunning; so many wild flowers and lots of bugs (see ‘Bugs’ post) and lizards to look at (the lizards were a little camera shy though)!

We also spent some time with a lovely French couple – Fabien and Amelie. We met Fabien and Amelie in Spain and they told us to get in touch if we went to Ceuse. They live in a beautiful house, with stunning views, just below the crag of Ceuse. They were extremely kind and let us use their shower and internet, and invited us for a great dinner one evening.

Fancy dress

We (reluctantly) left Spain and began the final part of our trip through France and home. We stopped for the weekend to stay with Adrian, Delphine, Liam and Luka in Toulouse. We had a lovely stay and were lucky enough to time our visit with Delpine’s fancy dress birthday party. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any costumes in the van, but (fortunately) their neighbour had many costumes. Claire went as a clown and I ended up in a grass skirt – not for the first time! We ate, drank got merry and danced lots! The Sunday was spent relaxing and recovering!

Pyrenean hike

We choose to leave the van for one night and headed for an adventure in the Pyrenees. We loaded our packs with food, clothing, and a sleeping bag and trekked off into the wilderness. The Pyrenees are particularly beautiful at this time of year, with the many wild flowers blooming and most peaks still capped with the winters snow. Another advantage of hiking in May is it is still very quiet – we saw only a handful of people. One disadvantage is that the snow is still lingering on the Cols and we had to do some creative side-stepping to avoid the deep, wet snow.

When passing one lake we met two French guys, they were particularly friendly and offered us an aperitif! We don’t normally drink on a hike, but thought it rude to decline! We joined them and they poured a generous helping of Pastise and took a ‘Sigg’ bottle to add some water. A red liquid poured into the Pastise and the French guy looked particularly embarrassed. He’d mistaken his bottles and poured red wine into the Pastise. We hurriedly tossed the mixture aside and we were soon drinking Pastise with water. We chatted in broken ‘Franglais’ for half and hour and continued our hike.

We arrived at the refuge early afternoon and made ourselves at home in the great (free) ‘winter’ room. The ‘winter’ room consisted of three rooms: one for storing shoes and packs; one for cooking; and a bedroom with room for twelve on bunks equipped with mattresses and blankets. In the summer the refuges are fully open and serve food and drink and have many more rooms available (this isn’t free!). We were joined by two other German guys. They were friendly, but one of them snored loudly!

We left early (8.30am) the next morning to avoid the impending afternoon storms. The hike back went smoothly, but we didn’t meet any friendly French guys, but we did meet a marmot!

Cavallers

Cavallers is an area by a large dam and reservoir high in the Spanish Pyrenees. It is a beautiful national park with many crystal clear streams and rivers, and majestic, towering peaks. The area is home to many granite crags and boulders with lots of (mostly) slab climbing and great bouldering. We climbing a little on the slabs, but unfortunately seepage rendered many routes un-climbable.

We spent one day bouldering and played on some great problems in a pretty wild flower meadow.

Collegats

Collegats was one of the first climbing areas to be developed in the Lleida region of Northern Spain. It is a dramatic canyon, which has been carved by a large and furious river. The climbing ranges from great multi-pitch routes to equally good single pitch climbs. We only climbed single pitch routes, but some were 45m – quite an epic journey! We went to sector La Pedrera which is only accessible via a tyrolean traverse. This involved crossing the torrent of a river on a single steel cable. We used of climbing harnesses and steel Mallions to run on the cable and hauled ourselves across the 30m span. It was very exciting and particularly hard work when wearing a heavy pack – the stomach muscles had to work hard to stop our bodies folding backwards under the weight. Sector Pedrera was very stunning and sported some massive endurance routes on a slightly overhanging wall. I was pleased to onsight a (45m) 7a+ and (38m) 7b.

Abella de la Conca

Abella is a tiny village nestled in a dramatic mountain environment. The surrounding area is festooned with massive limestone fins. Not only are these fins stunning, but there are many climbing routes. We were both feeling tired here, so did a little easier climbing and went for a great walk and swim in a (relatively warm) stream!