Pyrenees .... A Mixed Bag

 Up in Broto the warm and friendly La Cantinera provided a couple of local beers (Ambar) to wash down a tiny tapas style beef burger before I walked back over the new pedestrian steel bridge for a very quiet night.

The blanket silence was explained when I woke as 5'' of snow had fallen and without a breath of wind settled magnificently even on wires and fencing. The clear skies saw some good solar input as I walked up the valley to Torla where the view of the old village and church had not changed since my last visit 38 years previously. I had walked up with a young couple so joined them for coffee before returning to Broto for another beer. A thaw the following day enabled me to cycle up to the Ordessa Valley where being even higher and shaded from the sun the snow was even deeper.

Moving on to the lovely old village of Ainsa I parked in the aire and walked down to sort out my Digi Mobile SIM in a phone shop as the company had requested €20 euros or my number would be disconnected. The shop seemed to think I had been signed up for a contract but were otherwise unable to help so I topped up for another 100Gb for €10 and later rang Santander to see if they could sort something out.

The old village and castle are very beautiful and I got chatting to Matthew who is traveling with his lovely dog Lola and a keen cyclist. I was very impressed by how he had fitted his ebike inside the rear doors taking up very little space.

Two good rides the following day took me in to the local countryside although the heavy clay soils did rather gum up the wheels and drive train, later Matthew and I walked down for a beer : he had been out on an exciting looking ride out towards Bielsa that followed a water channel cut in to a sheer rock face.

Coincidentally we both turned up at Benasque so rode out together up the valley following for much of the ascent a rather snowy track that made for some amusing sliding and slithering before we crossed the river for a fast return on tarmac and another beer in town later. The proper aire required access via a website and code which wasn't working so we along with another couple of dozen vans just used the adjacent car park.

A superb back road through the mountains brought me to Rialp via Vielha where another aire sat on the edge of town. I had done a good shop in Vielha so enjoyed cooking a meal after a walk round and slept well on another cold night.

Quiet Arseguel was located high above the main valley which I had reached by climbing the Miravall pass that reached 6,600' and was the location for a popular ski resort. Under blue skies it was a stunning area and the van was pulling well up the long climbs.

The aire at Arseguel only had two places and is the parking for the traffic free and very picturesque village. The water was on but the power wasn't which wasn't an issue so I walked around the quiet streets before returning just as a ludicrous expedition truck attempted to squeeze in beside me. The poor turning circle and visibility led to him crashing in to the covered parking roof and as previously I came to the conclusion that driving one of these monsters must be a constant headache.

Another walk later took me down to the old laundry area where a series stone troughs used a spring water supply to provide the necessary, there should have been a view of a range of mountains reaching 8,500' but the low cloud obscured the panorama and I returned to the warmth of the van. Now that the split charger is working properly the leisure battery is doing a good job of powering up the Eber (which uses very little of either fuel or power once in action) but I would like one night on hook up just to get it fully charged. I've not had a connection over the last three weeks and there has been limited solar so perhaps I'll run the genny if I tuck away quietly one night. I've had another sort out of storage and created more space with better weight distribution by placing the lightweight printer on a rear wardrobe shelf and putting the cordless drill, batteries, charger and the fan heater under the single central seat along with most tools, spares and recovery equipment. This all came about as having split up my US dollars in to five packs I had forgotten where I'd stashed them. I have now found four of them.......

Leaving the truck to get down the tight curves of the mountain road I took another high road past another ski resort  which was absolutely buzzing with long queues for the lifts, presumably there were good conditions as the snow was a couple of feet deep. 

Down at Planoles a new aire alongside the station was ideal other than that the hook up points were paid for by card and the reader declared that there was no internet connection so no juice was available. I looked at the possibility of catching a train down to Ripoll and settled on the 14.00 departure giving me time for lunch. None of the usual train apps even referred to the service let alone enabled me to buy a ticket and the unmanned station only had validation terminals so I decided to wait and see.

The line is mostly single track with trains crossing at various stations of which Planoles was one so first the northbound train arrived, followed shortly by my southbound one. Once we were underway I got my ticket from the conductor and was in Ripoll within half an hour where I walked through to visit the  stunning monastery with its ornately carved main entrance and quiet courtyard cloisters.

Back at Planoles heavy rain set in overnight and has largely accompanied me today as I passed through the Garotxa Volcanic Park stopping for a look round ancient Santa Pau.

Thus late afternoon I arrived at tonight's stopover which is provided by a community of people who live in a spectacular setting. The ancient fortified tower and other buildings alongside a small church provide a home for around ten adults and half a dozen kids. They all try and live sustainably and run the commune in a very eco conscious way and welcome people to stay for a small contribution. Pascal proudly showed me round as there are facilities in the old tower, a campers kitchen in a two storey open fronted stone  building that has a relaxation area above, and various vegetable gardens that are carefully tended. It must be a superb place in the summer when meals are eaten communally but with the grey skies and persistent rain I was happy to retreat in to my cosy capsule and plan my route out to the coast to visit the very NE part of Spain that will be new to me with a couple of days in Barcelona next weekend before my sailing a week tomorrow.

Bonus Pics Here