St Lizier and Luchon de Bagneres

The Midi Pyrenees are breathtakingly beautiful and our stock phrase has been, “Nothing could had prepared us for that!" the narrow valleys all run north to south towards the peaks that rise dramatically in so many differing forms, to heights over 3000m. We began our week in the mountains in the 'Savage' region of the Midi Pyrenees, a wilder, less touristy area, that although it didn't have such dramatic peaks as what we were still to see, the Cirque de Cagatelle took our breath away and we gasped in awe at the natural amphitheater we hiked to. We thought we'd built up a good level of stamina and that our knees were prepared for steep climbs from all the steps in Rome and the Cinque Terra, but nothing could have prepared us for the 5 hour hike. The gradients were severe! At first ones starts in beautiful natural forests but after a while you find yourself above the tree line, staring at massive skree slopes and jagged mountain tops. At the end of the hike up the valley we were presented with a Pyrenean lake in yet another dramatic bowl at the end of the valley. All plans for a swim were frozen by the icy water. We were hampered slightly for a day or two by a radiator coolant light that kept on coming on, so we did have to make a trip to St Gaudens to have it checked, but nothing came of it. Andrew's VW camper is a very well kitted out home on wheels, with all the necessaries to make the nights comfy. Bar two nights, Andrew, Gus and Caitlin have been in three small tents and Carol and I have had the fold down back seat bed in the van. it's our job to get the espresso and tea on in the morning, using the built in gas ring. The fridge is great, thus keeping milk is no problem and we even have ice cubes for our Gin and tonics in the evenings.
Both the Luchon and St Lizier camp sites were great with lots going on as families of French and Spanish went about doing their thing. The heat of the previous two weeks was Broken on our day in Luchon by low cloud that hung over the town that more often than not hosts a leg of the Tour de France, so a day in the saddle was agreed upon by dad, Gus and Andrew, while Caitlin and mom walked through the pretty spa town with all it's pavement restaurants, adventure shops and creperies. It was good to see how French families spent a Sunday, out in the garden with a Braai going or on their bikes like us. Our goal was to ride to the summit of Superbagneres, the mountain standing right behind the town. Well, we'll have to say it again, nothing could have prepared us for the 5 hr ride of which three and a half were spent climbing the many switchbacks up to the ski resort and large, old hotel on the summit. It was here that Gus first began to show his strength as a climber! The bikes Andrew had arranged for us were perfect for what we wanted to do! Froi Grais (duck) for supper with a bottle of very good red wine at R35 went down very well.
Unfortunately the next morning ewe had to wait for a mechanic to come and check on the car again (he couldn't either find the problem), so we only got going at about 10.30 after a shop at the Supermache which we all, especially the younger two, found very interesting. We all had a great time tasting a variety of cheeses.


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