Laruns - Pyrenees - FRANCE
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Last night's sky was spectacular - full of millions of clusters of stars, galaxies, and the milky way. It was the brightest and clearest I've seen it for years. Nothing could be more magnificent than being on a mountainside overlooking the surrounding Pyrenees in the dead of night. Not a sound could be heard!! Again we were blessed by the sun and a clear sky this morning, although we did not rise until 10am. After a lovely warm shower we had breakfast outside overlooking the valley with its quaint houses, high jagged peaks and magnificent autumn colours. It was hard to leave the camping site "du Valentin" as it was the most picturesque we've visited and for the fact that we were the only people there. We took the D935 from Laruns south towards the Spanish border, and indeed the scenery was magnificent. The road ran up the mountains, passing large dams, ski resorts and tiny little villages. The mountains were some of the most jagged and menacing we've seen so far (almost reminiscent of Patagonian landscapes in South America). We passed over fertile mountains and valleys - some with snow-capped peaks - until we reached the Spanish border, where not a soul could be seen, although we did pick up a baguette and dry sausage in the border town. After a few minutes of driving the scenery began to dramatically change, and become more dry and barren with hardly any trees in sight. We stopped for lunch at a viewpoint overlooking an emerald lake, small ski resort, and jagged mountain peaks. Lunch consisted of salami and avocado on baguettes, with French cheese on the side, and we ate this outside on the portable table and chairs. It's the simple pleasures in life that are often the best!! After lunch we carried on about 40 miles south passing Sabinanigo and Jaca to the town of San Juan de la Rena. A somewhat sleepy town with wonderful Spanish architecture, consisting of the usual crumbling buildings. Our guidebook stated a 50 minute work that could be taken to get to the old and new monastery of San Juan de la Rena. We spent an invigorating hour ascending a steep mountain with varied vegetation. The first part of the walk was taken in the blazing heat, passing rough and spiky plant life, clambering up scree, and even the soil had a stark red tone. It's amazing how much a landscape changes after a few kilometres, as it was only this morning that we passed through the fertile valleys of the French Pyrenees. Dave pointed out that it may have something to do with the fact that on the French side the sea is about 50 km away, whereas down here it's about four times as far. As we ascended higher up the mountainside the view opened up and we began to pass steep ravines (an easy fall from the path we followed) where the vegetation thickened and we found ourselves surrounded by thick undergrowth. The stones on the path were very uneven and mossy, whilst concentrating Dave managed to hit his head on a low hanging branch. Luckily enough he got back up and we clambered on relentlessly, totally out of breath until we reached what we thought was the top. As to be expected, another rise loomed above, where we assumed the new monastery was. The view was breathtaking as we looked towards the snowy high peaks of the Pyrenees, and in the distance a storm began to roll in. In the late afternoon sunlight, after 5pm, we stumbled across a sign leading to the old monastery. We took this and our legs were thankful for a downhill descent. The scenery on this side of the mountain was just as magical with autumn forests littering the mountainside. As I turned a corner I began to see the form of a building and was thankful that we had finally made it!! It turned out to be the cleanest and most sparkling white toilet block we had come across. Placed right in the middle of the mountain side. We walked some 500 metres past the building to the old monastery, built into the rock face. Unfortunately it wasn't open but we managed to walk around it and look through metal gates. The carvings in it's cloister were very ornate, the brickwork was red in colour and had that typically Spanish feel to it. Finally we walked 1.5 - 2 km further up a very steep and winding road to the new monastery. This felt quite odd as we had just climbed over a very high mountain to get there and were now being passed by Spaniards in their cars. The new monastery wasn't much chop, and it is supposed to be a working one. It's in a quite ruined state, with crumbling walls, broken windows, and a high bell tower. It's best feature was the east facade, containing some ornate carvings. We spent at least 15 - 20 minutes trying to find the path back down to the town, passing a lovely viewpoint looking towards the Pyrenees. There were quite a few people on the path as we descended and it was lovely to be able to see the view that we missed on the way up. By the time we reached San Juan de la Rena it was after 7pm and my legs were shaking! Too much exercise can do a lot of harm. It was good to down a litre of cordial, as at first we didn't realise the path would climb a cliff face. Although the walk was invigorating and it felt good to get out and about in the natural world. We then carried on for a few miles and found a rather leafy campsite by the roadside. They even let Dave put the cost on his credit card (as we have no pesetas yet). For dinner I cooked up French packet soup which of course had a gourmet taste to it, washed up and am now going to go to bed. I'm completely knackered and tomorrow it's off to Pamplona to savour it's delights. Brava Espanol. Buenos noches. |