 |
| Edelweiss, edelweiss... You know the rest |
 |
| Made it! All downhill from here... |
 |
Glorious colours accompanied
our journey |
Got to a remote campsite on the footsteps of the Pyrenees,
where we had a captive audience during the erecting of our tent (don’t worry –
we’re not going to go over the allotted boundary. Some people!). An added bonus
was that someone had kindly put their underwear to dry right in our eye line –
a perfect way to enjoy the mountain view during our dinner!
 |
| At the foot of the Pyrenees |
 |
Fortunately no undies this
evening meal! |
Relief all round – the undies were still there in the
morning! After somehow breaking the language barrier to order jam and toast, we
were off on our merry way to explore the mountains by foot. The first hour and
a half was pretty tough going – a multitude of switchbacks with a harsh
gradient – we were propelled forward by enjoying overtaking a variety of plebs
on the way. The views at the top were fantastic, and made even more special by
being surrounded by hundreds of edelweiss – M&D Sturge would have loved it!
It was only during the gentle walk down and around back to base that we
appreciated how much we’d ascended, and following the river and its variety of
waterfalls was very picturesque.
 |
| I say a little prayer for you... |
 |
| Sunset at San Sebastian |
Kept near to the Pyrenees the next morning, deciding that
we’d head into France as we were so close. Said a prayer or two at Lourdes,
where we also eased our ailments with some holy water. Not wanting to socialise
with the French too much, we were back in Spain that afternoon to soak up some
sun in San Sebastian (which is what everyone knows the city as, but they call
it
Donostia – go figure!). Pintxos and txikito
(
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pintxo)
were calling that evening, not just for us but for the masses – bar etiquette
isn’t quite the same there!
 |
| Pintxo time - and some wine to wash it down! |
 |
Hectic bars - gave up after waiting
at this one for 10 minutes with
no hint of being close to being
served - my bar presence has
obviously reduced! |
 |
| Looking back over San Seb |
 |
| Beach time |
Got a full appreciation of the city from the nearby lookout,
then rewarded ourselves with some beach time – didn’t want to overdo it on the
exercise! We were definitely in the minority being ‘rare’ on the sand – there
were quite a few mediums and some people were excessively well done. Why some
people go on tanning themselves is beyond me…
Completed the walk in double quick time, so there was no
rush for the ferry. That is, no rush until we realised it was setting off in 45
minutes and we didn’t know which road we were on. Not ideal – perhaps the
burger king wasn’t such a good idea after all! Ended up being the penultimate
vehicle to board, something we vowed not to repeat (until it happens again – we
need to follow your example Jumbo!). Bikies galore on the boat, which was
fairly intimidating, especially when a member of the group on a table next to
us showed a disturbing propensity to expose his rear end and display the injury
sustained on his trip. Thanks mate.
 |
Good to see by day,
annoying to hear in the night! |
 |
Impossible to describe how glad we
were to get aboard! |
Key Learnings:
1. Cows wear bells in the Pyrenees and are known to
walk through campsites at 4am.
2. Even when only 5 minutes from the ferry you
should leave enough time to allow for getting lost in the confusing road
systems…
