The Pyrenees

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August 23, 2006

Today was dedicated to exploring the Pyrenees Mountains.

There looked to be a lot of amazing things to do here including hiking, rafting, kayaking, mountain climbing, and horseback riding. Of course, there’s also skiing and snowboarding during the winter season (which I assume lasts quite a while).

Without forward planning, a little sightseeing by car and minimal hiking on beginner trails were the option for me. In fact, I was pretty lucky. These mountains can apparently be pretty fickle (even in the summer) and it is ill advised to do even minimal hiking without some basic hiking gear (knife, water, jacket, sweater, compass, route maps, etc.). Of course, I had none of these, but the weather forecast was clear for the next few days (except a little rain shower in the late afternoon), the temperature was warm enough for shorts, and I never went more than a mile from my car.

I did manage to find my way back to Spain during the outing, so I felt compelled to stop for some Paella. I can't even find the place I stopped on Google Earth, so I'm not sure it was even a town, but it was definitely a trap for French tourists just over the border. Having said that, the restaurant I ate at was actually very good. In fact, all the wine you could drink was included with the meal. This was the first time I'd seen this, and while I like the idea, it seems a little questionable to ply people with unlimited wine when they are driving back by treacherous mountain roads. C'est la vie.

Anyway, a pictures worth a thousand words, so here's about 17,000.

Bonsoir (Good Evening).

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Photos

The Pyrenees
Can you find the house? The dots on the valley floor to the right of the house are (if I recall) goats, cows, and horses.

The Pyrenees
Can you find the people? There are actually two, but at this resolution, you probably can't differentiate. They are located just to the left and below the small dark green tree in the lower left. They look like a red flea standing to the left of a white flea.

Lunch
I dipped into Spain for Lunch. What's on the menu, you ask?

Lunch
My first (intentional) meat eating in quite some time. Oh well, but I had to try the Paella. BTW, it was delicious.

Lunch
View from the restaurant window.

The Pyrenees
Back to the mountains, and the wildlife. It seemed that all the animals I saw were "owned", but roaming free.

The Pyrenees
Mountain goats - I beilieve (and this was just a sampling).

The Pyrenees
They were all wearing bells (not all as big as this one), which made for a sort of mountain music.

The Pyrenees
Mountain goats crossing.