The amazing , Central Pyrenees in south-western

My Pyrenees Adventures

by Helen Findlay from Eildon VIC Australia - July 2015

“Watching the Tour de France we were always excited to reach Our group of 16 was cohesive, kindled our desire to visit the the destination and delight in the supportive and a lot of fun. The Pyrenees and the Walkabout magnificent views before us. accommodation was of a good Gourmet Tour offered the chance Gabriela and Sabine always ad- standard, quaint sometimes, and to fulfill this dream. justed the pace of the walking so always in spectacular locations. The first two days walking gave us that all the group could manage. The food was always typical of some idea of what was to come. I think the term moderate fitness the region, offering a great variety The weather was quite hot and I required, could be altered to very of tastes. found the walking hard work. Of fit required, to do most of the Thank you Gabriela and Sabine course that was just the begin- Pyrenees walks. Always encour- for making this tour of the Pyr- ning. aging and supportive, we quickly enees possible. Though challeng- Each traveling day gave us the came to realize the meaning of ing at times, we are very happy to chance to recover and get ready the terms, ‘mainly up’, ‘a little bit have successfully completed our for the next walks. Most of the down’, nearly there’ and ‘only 2 first Walkabout adventure.” walks were quite challenging but zig-zags’! Read my story! » » » » » » » » »

Walkabout Gourmet Adventures me it seemed never ending. The fee for everyone. vans were a welcome sight after Some of us played badminton about 5 hours walking. Our first with 10 year old Anna on the long walk was completed with recently mown grass. After this great views over Collioure and most pleasant stop it was on- the contoured vineyards on the wards across farmland and finally steep slopes below. along a shady river path into Mar- After yesterday’s walk we were tinet and a most welcome beer! very happy to have a driving day Fort St Elme from Collioure to Prullans in . Along the way we stopped at Ceret and vis- Our adventures began soon ited the Museum of Modern Art. after arriving in Collioure, a very The afternoon break was at Mont busy and beautiful seaside town Louis, a small ancient walled vil- in the south of France. Our first lage. Further along we drove short walk was up to Fort St Elme through the beautiful Cerdanya on a warm afternoon. We were valley until we arrived at Prullans. all pleased that we completed this initial walk relatively easily. The first walk out of Prullans went from Bellver to Martinet, a The next day we were driven distance of about 12 kilometres. about 20 minutes upwards to Walking along the valley, with ‘a A welcome drink in Martinet begin a longer walk to the Tower, few ups and downs’, on a variety again above Collioure. This walk of paths and with views across encompassed a great variety of the valley to the mountains, was On the way to our next stop in tracks and with gusty winds, con- not too difficult. Tavascan we visited Andorra for ditions weren’t easy. a couple of hours. Tavascan is a The highlight today happened small, pretty village situated in After 2 hours walking, lunch at at lunch time in the tiny village a narrow valley and quite close the Tower was a welcome break. of Olia, when contact was made, to the French border. So that we Downhill began on asphalt but by chance, with a lovely Spanish wouldn’t lose our fitness, we had soon we were rock scrambling family who were holidaying in a short walk to Anieto, an an- and being very careful with our their renovated, historic home. cient, tiny hamlet just 18 minutes footwork. The next section on the from the edge of Tavascan. I real- ‘Balcony’ followed the contours They allowed us to sit on their ly enjoyed this mostly renovated around the mountain and for stone wall to eat lunch and then brought out freshly brewed cof- village and the views of the valley from the wall.

On the way to the Tower above Collioure Walk number 5 proved the most difficult for me although the scenery was sensational. We had a 40 minute drive to Espot and then 4 wheel drive taxis to the starting point at lake St Maurici. Today’s walking conditions en- compassed everything imagina- ble - boardwalk, rocks, shale, tree roots, made road and always up- wards! very pleasant stroll. Some of the and through the 3km long Bielsa buildings in Noarre had been ren- Tunnel to the Parador de Bielsa in ovated or in the process of but the Pineta Valley where we were mostly it was deserted. Lunch in surrounded by high mountains. a grassy meadow looking at the Our 7th walk was up to the water- mountains opposite was lovely. fall, visible from the Parador and again on a wide variety of paths. Always upwards to get the best views, along the Balcon de Pin- eta and just a few more zig zags Hotel Estanys Blaus in Tavascan till we stopped for a picnic and a rest. When Sabine pointed out the A bit further on to the top of the Refugi d’Amitiges and only 3 valley there was a wide open more zig zags, I wondered how grassy area with cattle grazing I could possibly get there espe- and another waterfall in the dis- cially as it was quite hot. tance. We did get there and of course The fittest people walked the ex- the scenery was amazing so all tra distance to the head of the Lunch stop in the meadow near Noarre was forgiven! waterfall. What goes up has to come down? Travelling the next day from Pin- Heading westwards and more ‘Mainly down,’ says Sabine. eta to Gavarnie took us over the skilful driving by Gabriela and Some of our group even walked Col d’Aspin and the Col du Tour- Sabine took us over Port dera Bo- a further 5km instead of catching malet, certainly a highlight for naigua and the Audas mountains those of us who enjoy the Tour to Bagneres du Luchon for our de France. On the boardwalk at St Maurici lunch stop. As there was a local Sportif in pro- We all enjoyed this spa town and gress, there were many bike riders wished we had longer there. After on the road and once again the lunch and over Col de Peyragudes skills of our drivers were evident.

Near the head of the Pineta Valley

the taxis back to Espot. From Tavascan the next day we enjoyed a ‘short’ walk to Noarre, further up the valley. The gradi- ent along the stream was easier and there was shade so it was A cow trying to lick the salty legs of the bike riders on the Col d’Aspin

We witnessed the finish of a race on the Col d’Aspin and watched in amusement as the very friend- ly cattle tried to lick the salty legs

of the hot riders. Near the end of our walk in the Vallee d’Ossoue We met Mike from London who had ridden up Aspin and then as to the Cirque owing to heavy was very pleasant. From the res- chance would have it we met him rain (shopping and coffee shops ervoir, we headed cross country again up Tourmalet, a very fit and helped fill in the day). ‘mainly up and a little bit down’. likeable young man. The next morning we all set off Most tracks were well marked, At the top of the Col du Tourma- up the valley along a rapidly flow- including the Grand Rou 10. We let there were hundreds of bike ing stream in brilliant sunshine rested for a while in a meadow, with many photo opportunities. watching the marmots, before Near Gavarnie The Cirque de Gavarnie was bril- making our way down some liant and owing to the rain there steep tracks to the road. were many more cascades mak- We were all very weary and as ing it beautiful. Unfortunately there was no organised dinner, the rain meant that we couldn’t a quick pizza and an early night go all the way because some was much appreciated. crossings were water logged. Our final walk, number 10, was Lunch on the way back to Ga- around the Cirque de Trou- varnie was at a Crêperie beside mousse. Beginning at Heas and the stream to celebrate the birth- along with many other people, day of one of the tour group. The we set with a spring in our legs. omelette and blueberry tart were delicious, thank you Walkabout. By now we thought we were much fitter than when we started a fort- Even though we were feeling quite lazy after lunch, our intrepid riders and tourists all enjoying a leaders, decided we needed more The end of our final walk around the Cirque fun atmosphere. walking. de Troumouse There was much posing by some This time we drove up the Vallee in our group who pretended they d’Ossoue for about 20 minutes had ridden the Tourmalet! Loved before walking some kilometres the scenery. up a made road to a reservoir. Gavarnie was a little gem, nes- Along the way the marmots tled at the foot of a Cirque. We kept us amused and the tinkling had to wait a day before our walk sounds of the various cow bells “La Grande Plage” of Biarritz, very crowded ! night earlier. Well, it was all uphill Biarritz is a spectacular seaside local teenagers jumping into the for 3 hours and over all sorts of holiday town and as the weather water from the rocks and flirting terrain. After a break and snack, was hot there were many thou- with the lovely young girls before Sabine told us there were just a sands of tourists enjoying the zooming off on their scooters. few zig zags before we reached beaches. Our Walkabout Adventure from the top. I counted and there were Sipping a cool drink at a bar, we the Mediterranean to the Atlan- at least 17! We all made it despite spent some time watching the tic was sadly all over. Our group much huffing and puffing and of 16 came from many walks self-doubt. We had walked up of life but all had good sense of at least 569 metres. Once again humour, making for many funny the views all round were amazing incidents. and well worth the effort. Conversations were never dull After lunch and a well-earned and we enjoyed light hearted break we had a much more lei- banter, but also encouragement surely walk across the plateau and support when required. and back to the vans to be shut- tled down to a hotel and a cool The accommodation was always drink. And so the walking part in delightful villages and towns of the tour was over and the and each had a special charm of next day we drove to Biarritz via its own. I especially liked Tavas- . can and could have spent more time there. Monsieur and Monsieur in the bar at Hotel Marbore Gavarnie Cirque de Troumouse

The charismatic owners of Hotel Marbore in Gavarnie entertained us on many occasions. There were so many memorable meals. Perhaps the last night in Gavarnie was the one I enjoyed most with po- tato and leek soup, fish in a packet and crème brulée. The paella in Prullans was amazing and huge, so tasty that we didn’t leave space for the rest of the meal! Gabriela and Sabine were wonderful tour leaders .They always accommodated any wishes- and supported us through any self- doubt, tailoring walks to suit the weather and our abilities. Surprisingly I discovered I could walk up mountains that seemed improbable at the beginning, despite my ‘medium fitness’!

By Helen Findlay | 2015 WGA Guest

Local cattle enjoying the Australian Touch at on the Cold’Aspin