Pyrenees

Times are tough

Mountain walking

We have been walking in the mountains whenever we can -- the weather is unpredictable at this time of year and I am practising my French by translating the weather predictions -- they are published every morning in the village square.

Three days ago we went on a fantastic walk among the peaks -- we walked all around a huge peak called the Pic de Midi d'Ossau - you can see it in the background of some of the photos. We really feel as though we are on the roof of the world -- there are snow capped mountains all around.

We take a picnic of local sheep's cheese (Brebis), bread (baguette), saucisson (Salami), salad and walnuts and usually find a spectacular site for lunch. Ash is doing very well and we have done some good long walks with plenty of climbing. Yesterday after another wonderful picnic we walked into a storm with rain, hail and thick mist -- we lost the trail and ended up descending a very steep, slippery, densely forested mountainside. Luckily we had plenty of daylight left and we knew roughly where we were -- we just didn't know where the track was. At one stage Ash slipped and grabbed a hazel branch, the branch broke and Ash landed in the mud and rocks -- he bounced up with the branch in his hand saying "He cut and peeled a hazel wand" -- a line from a W B Yeates poem we read together.

We found our way down eventually a bit wet and muddy.

Water - beautiful water

Lavage - village washig place - Pyrenees

Irrigation - Alsace

Snow melt - Massif Central

Water

Have I mentioned the water here in France ?? There appears to be water everywhere -- perhaps that is an Australian perspective ! and it could also be the season -- Spring with snow melting everywhere and unseasonal spring rains and storms.

However, I do think it is one of the big differences we are observing. In Alsace there is the Rhine, a huge river and in many places in Alsace there is water a few metres below the surface. Farmers use this for irrigation and have wells everywhere, a big pipe in the ground and they have portable pumps which they move around and connect up to irrigate. The village fishing clubs have little dams which are really a hole with the water table exposed and village water supply comes from wells not far below the surface. As we travelled from Alsace down to the South West we were amazed by the number of large flowing rivers, streams and creeks. In the mountains here in the Pyrenees and in the Massif Central there is water everywhere, just pouring off and out of the mountains, out of the ground, between the rocks, out of the grass -- all into streams then into big gurgling rivers that are running to their banks all the time at the moment. The snow is melting and the ground must absorb a lot of moisture during the winter -- now it is all released and is running happily downwards whereever it can. There are waterfalls everywhere !! We drink the water in the mountains -- fresh and cold and clear.

The water is used here in the mountains for hydro electricity and there are hydro stations regularly. There are also channels throughout the towns and villages and you can hear urgling water as you walk through the villages. The water is diverted higher up and runs through the village, there are public taps and in the old villages here there are old public laundries -- the water runs into a big long trough/wash basin and out the other end. The whole structure has a roof and the trough has a sloping side -- that is where the washing was done in the old days. They must have been tough -- the water is freezing !! Stock watering troughs are similar -- they are in the villages as well and throughout the mountains -- a trough with water running in one end and out the top at the other end.

The snow melt must support an enormous amount of the water requirements for agriculture and urban use as France has mountains all around -- the Pyrenees in the south and the Alps in the north east and the Rhine in the North.

I will attach some water photos to demonstrate.

Week-end at Laruns avec Charmie, Julien, Hugo & Olivier

Ian's cousin Charmie, her husband, Julien and their two children came on Friday for the week-end. It was looking good for a while with clear blue skies welcoming them to Vallee d'Ossau all the morning and then the afternoon skies clouded. They were busting for a good trek on the mountains with Hugo keen to play Hide and Seek in the clouds. His wish was fulfilled as the mountains offer a constant changing pattern of mists, clouds, patches of warm sun, all in rapid succession. (Ian is studying French, also, via the weather report. He considers it very poetic.) After lunch of Pyreneen brebis (sheep) fromage, salade et pain avec un verre du vin rouge in the sunshine overlooking mountains shining with their remaining snow, we enjoyed exploring up a rocky stream bed overhung with thick, vivid green Beech trees and some tall, beautiful conifers. Lichens and mosses clothed the branches, tree trunks and rocks. We climbed steeply, hoping we would break out into a high mountain field from which we may look out. The trek for that was longer than time permitted so apart from the leafy forest floor opening out from the top of the stream bed and a small clearing the boys discovered with a cave or two, we had to return to meet with an extremely English Australian we first met in Pau. This man has a delightful story of how he came by the house he lives in overlooking the valley. It is for another day. Suffice to say, Ian, Ashur and I had a most relaxing evening the previous night sipping French wine by his fire in "the library", marvelling at his impressive book collection.

A wonderful noisey night together with the walkers, the bikies and the bycycle riders at the auberge. The easy, friendly atmosphere is uncomplicated by any "precious" menu. In my opinion, it is best to go for the traditional thick soupy stew of harricot beans and a little duck for interest and flavour. The two brothers who run the auberge are young and avid lovers of fishing in the local streams for trout and skiing when they can. They cater without any visible stress and keep things tres facile. I am going to try to learn from this! (Perhaps those menus created for the week-end workshops are a little more complicated than they need to be!)

Saturday morning -- wet with rain -- how else does a place like this stay so green?! We swapped stories before Charmie's delicious carrot and potato soup, warmed with ginger. The plan was a mountain hike so we headed out on a goat track that led us high up the mountain overlooking Larens. We climbed up through the cloud in our cars until the passengers collectively and individually decided it was time to walk. The kids were out in a flash, hiking up the steep, grassy slope way beyond hearing or any adult fun squashing behaviour. Distant bells floated out into the mountain air, there was a mob of cattle grazing high up above us. The cloud below us broke up and moved away revealing a breathtaking view through air clear as crystal after the rain. We hiked on along the track marvelling at vistas of windswept oaks, fresh rushing waterfalls streaming down steep slopes and the valley below. As the afternoon progressed, misty clouds came in once more, swiftly swirling into the mouth of the valley and upwards to envelop us. The cows were coming down the mountainside, mellow bells clanging like a melody as they moved. As they passed above us, cloud swept around us, obscuring them from sight. It was time for Hide and Seek in the clouds!

Sunday, we are off on a drive to St Jean de Luz, by the ocean, to have lunch with some French people we have been fortunate to meet. Afterwards the children run on the beach, the water is cold and clothes are soon wet! We promenade above the beach and Cattarin graciously helps us with our French as she shows us the old parts of St Jean de Luz. Ian works very hard with his communication with Gerard who vows that his head is too full now that it cannot take in English as well!

The Laruns Valley

The fresh snow is disappearing rapidly - we are very lucky to be here at this time.

More snow

Our hostel

This is the view out the window of the hostel. the sheep come through the street every morning and evening.

The hostel is full of people doing things in the mountains - walkers, cyclists, bikers and tourists. The French just love the mountains and getting out in the fresh air. The cyclists are obviously completely crazy, everywhere we go and in all types of weather you will see groups of cyclists and individuals, it seems that as the roads get steeper there are more cyclists. All ages especially older men and do they look fit !!

We have some beautiful days here and some not so good - as the photos show we walked up into the snow - there was plenty of fresh snow and we had snow fights - and just looked at it and wondered at the beauty of it all. It is fantastic in the middle of Europe to be able to be alone in the mountains.

This is the mountains

Ash in the daffodils

I wandered lonely as a cloud when all at once I saw a crowd, a host of of daffodils

How lovely it is to be able to say that !!!

No.2 Greetings from Sue 15/5/07

We are staying at Laruns now having had a riding experience of perfection on the weekend in the Gers with Gerard, Harold, Cattarin and Harold’s wife, Helene and kids, Delphine et Tahice. We were introduced to Gerard by Judy, a dynamic and unstoppable whirlwind from Canada who has been living in France for quite some time now. She is a restauranteur of note and whips up a sumptuous feed in no time. She loves to network, introducing people who seem to have similar interests or aspirations. Charmie, Ian’s cousin living near Toulouse, put us in touch with Judy and we house sat her little place and dog, Pebbler, for a week in Vic-Fezensac. It was time to settle after being busy with getting on the road with the help of our French families, sightseeing and farmworking in the Alsatian countryside and from there driving down to stay with Charmie and Julien, Hugo and Olivier (11 and 7 yrs) all the way down near Toulouse at Fabas where we stayed for a week doing markets, mountain forays to the Pyrenees, dance class with Olivier, lovely lunches with Charmie, internet and some French language practice, some writing and drawing.... life goes on where ever we are.

One of the highlights of this time with Charmie and family was the week-end we headed to the Pyrenees via St.Mantory, Foix, etc. to Montsegur, one of the last stands of the Cathars. It was built out of the rocky pinnacle that rose out of a steep sided mountain overlooking the village of Montsegur itself down below. The feeling of the place was moving. We hiked up at about 6pm, risking that the advertised closure times that may lock us out, tours in French and entry payments absent, happily. The kids were like mountain goats and I just had to trust that their natural senses kept them from slipping and falling down the steep rocky paths. With the inspiration of the company of other children, Ashur was filled with enthusiasm and energy. The light at this time of day goes on for hours, not like our quick dive into darkness where we live in Australia. We were delighted to find ourselves alone on the mountaintop with just a sprinkle of young blood on an adventure of camping in the fort, having hitched from the south of Germany for just that.

The village of Montsegur itself was a dream with curved pathways between the houses paved with river stones. It was washed clean and everywhere there was the sound of water running. Water gushes out everywhere in the mountains. The energy of it is palpable, enlivening. The clean, fast water, the green mystery of the mountain forests, the awesome mountains themselves, snow adding light when the deep valleys cast shadow and the deep green of the mountain sides brings their presence close and massive. The streams are crystal clear, bubbling, cold, good water. In Spring it is like this with the melting snows but I can imagine there is always water coming out of the mountains, it must sink in deep to be released over the hot summer.

If only we could read French !!

Pyrenean Heaven

Back in the Mountains

We are back in the mountains and it is almost indescribably beautiful. We are staying in a small simple walking hostel in a small village called Laruns, south of Pau right in the mountains. The hostel is run by two laid back young brothers, one of whom made it possible to connect the laptop by WiFi for the first time in France and the other promises to take Ash (and Sue and I if we wish) trout fishing in the local streams. Sheep walk through the streets every morning and evening on their way back from pasture and possibly for milking. The sheep and goat cheeses are just delicious. We can cook for ourselves or they prepare meals and at the moment I think we are the only people here - apparently that will change over the weekend. There is a hot water pool here in the town and we can just walk into the mountains.

Yesterday, the weather was absolutely glorious after rain and fresh snow on the mountains, so we spent the day walking. We were on a relatively small mountain with sheep and cattle around us with bells around their necks and stone huts and fences, the peaks feel so close and clear you could almost touch them. The higher passes are closed with the snow, which is late. There was hardly any snow during the winter, a warm winter, but now there has been quite a lot of late snow - climate change is everywhere ! We walked through a couple of beautiful old villages, with carved marble doors, stone houses, steep roofs. The houses everywhere are made of the local stone and as a consequence seem to just rise out of the soil and fit perfectly into the surroundings - they have a lovely feeling here.

It seems no one in the village speaks much english so we are forced to practice our french which is very good. If you try the people are very helpful and continually complement us on our french, especially Ashur who of course has - an "accent impeccable !!" - French immersion on a range of levels - which is wonderful

Spring is later here than in the Gers where the wheat is now in head - here there are still flowers on the wisteria and some trees are only now getting their leaves, there is water running off the mountains everywhere, icy, rocky, gurgling streams and every thing is a vivid green. The mountains are just spectacular - full of mystery and promise of adventure, the snow gives the relief added detail and beauty and we can just gaze at the peaks for ages. We intend to be here for a week or more this time. We have a walking guide in french which I am attempting to translate and understand and have a number of walks planned. If we disappear it will be because of a translation problem - the book is very good, the french love walking and rambling. There is a well presented National Parks Office in the town with maps, displays and movies - lots of information. Of course, we are hoping to come across one of the remaining pyrenean bears and we may be lucky.

Rape flowering

Spring flower market

Spring walks

SPRING

Spring is highly dramatic here, everything seems to be in an enormous hurry. The land has had a long sleep during the cold winter and the next winter won't be far off. The trees get greener by the day, wheat leaps out of the ground and goes to head, flowers appear, vines sprout from dead looking stalks, the rape flowers, a bright yellow and goes back to green.

When we first arrived in Paris and travelled to Alsace there were no leaves on the trees, buds were just begining to appear. Two weeks later in Alsace it was green everywhere, you could virtually see a change every day. As we travelled south through different altitudes and climates we went further into spring -- luscious green with all the cows appearing, blinking and jumping in the sun, dirty from being in the sheds, manure being spread in the fields, wisteria hanging over doorways. Then back into winter in the mountains in the Massif Central and the Pyrenees -- very few leaves, stock all locked away, little pasture growth.

Here in the Gers spring is well advanced, the rape has almost finished flowering, wheat is in head, green but changing colour, pasture growth is incredible, bright green, diverse, thick and full of clover, some has already been cut for hay. The oaks are out and the vines have leaves and little grapes on them, everything is rushing headlong into summer. The roadsides where we walk are like our child hood stories, a range of grasses, herbs, plants we try with difficulty to grow in Australia (why bother when they grow so well here), flowers everywhere and all blending perfectly -- a northern hemisphere European spring -- very different from our Queensland experience !!!

Walking in the Pyrenees

you thought sheep had it tough in the Traprock

Gers - Le Vieux Presbetere

We are staying in an old building in the Gers region. It is the original house attached to a church in a tiny little village -- the house is about 400 years old. It has been done up by an English couple who also rent out two Gites (holiday accom) in an old barn. They are away for 10 days and we are looking after the house and two large, undisciplined French hunting dogs. The countryside is quite beautiful and we take the dogs for extended walks (attempting unsuccessfully to exhaust them) -- it is rolling countryside with a variety of crops and small areas of forest, vineyards, wheat and ground being prepared for sunflowers or maize.

I saw a deer in the forest yesterday -- wildlife sightings are rare especially something as large as a deer -- squirrels are a little more common. The countryside is very civilised with villages everywhere. The farmers live on their farms here in large complexes of house, barns, shed etc. A lot of these farm houses are in disrepair and the English are buying them and renovating them, sometimes quite beautifully. There are quite a few English and Dutch people here, apparently not nearly as many as in Provence, but still quite a few. This has good and bad aspects -- they save the buildings but this also puts the prices up and the farmers now can't afford to buy houses in the area. A lot of the English refuse to learn to speak French, and some of them are retirees who don't spend money or participate in community life -- this naturally causes resentment by the locals.

The English people we have spoken to say England is too crowded -- the English ruled this part of France for hundreds of years before the 100 years war, so they have a long association and it is probably part of a continual shifting migration. They say there is currently a real brain drain of French people into London -- better opportunities and you can work for longer than 35 hours a week in England -- it is illegal to work longer than 35 hours a week here -- unless you are a farmer of course or self employed. That rule was brought in to attempt to maintain a quality of life and to protect family life -- it seems there are a range of unforseen consequences and the current presidential election could be a real turning point depending on whether the right or the left candidate gets in.

We are learning that participation in community life is essential here and it opens all sorts of doors. The bureaucracy is incredible but if you know people there are many ways around it. We are getting to know a Canadian lady who has lived in France for 20 years and worked as a Chef and Restaurant owner. We looked after her house and dog for a week -- in a small village called Vic Fezensac. She is introducing us to different aspects of community life as did our friends in Alsace -- finding a car, insuring the car, getting it registered, finding a house, a school. Doing all these things as an outsider can be very very difficult, but if you know someone from a tight knit community it can be quite simple. Not so different to Stanthorpe really !!!