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.