Pyrenees - the Big Four

From our rural farmhouse, there are four big tourist attractions. In the last three days we have managed to tick off all four.

The first is Lourdes... not a tourist must... but if you are a people watcher... it provides a unique experience... even before you get to the miracles.

The other big three are mountain made attractions. We think of ourselves as having been well exposed to the grandeur of mountains... we will not be awestruck at the first slope we experience. Against that measure, we found the Pyrenees dramatic... not as pretty as the Dolomites... not as majestic as the Swiss Alps... but right up there in showing-off the brute force of nature.

The French Pyrenees was subjected to severe flooding at the end of June. Seeing the size of boulders 1,000 metres up the hill and seeing the sister boulders lying beside the roadway at the bottom of the valley was a reminder that nature has awesome power. Boulders ten metres in height have been tossed like marbles crushing roads and buildings. A number of roads have been put on restrictive opening times to allow the road building crews the time needed to clear the debris and rebuild the roads. A number of houses have been lost in the deluge.

Against this recent history, we lift our eyes to the hills... now looking very gentle... meek and mild... covered with alpine pastures just starting to yellow into autumn colours. The cows are still grassing the summer grasses. The scheduled time for moving the cows down to the valley in the Dolomites was the equinox (22nd September)... but here they allow a little more time for summer grassing. This year's autumn has been so mild that the delay has proved a good decision.

Our first venture into the high country was to visit the Pic Du Midi. This site was developed by French television as their highest broadcasting tower... covering a wide spread of France. Our chairlift took us up to 3,100 metres and gave a spectacular view of the lower Pyrenees. For the next couple of days, we could lift or eyes up and see that peak from many of the Pyrenees valleys.

Our third of the big four sites was taking up a long valley to reach a dramatic waterfall at Gavarnie. We arrived late in the day when the magnificent waterfall was in shade, so our photographs were not too clear. The exercise tested our fitness... the first challenging walk we had completed for a few weeks. On the way home we took the road pass that traversed the Pyrenees just under Pic Du Midi. Driving over this pass was one of the highlights of our Pyrenees stay.

Today we visited the last of the big four. It was a walk to a glacial lake in the Cauterets region. We packed our picnic lunch... caught a couple of chairlifts to the alpine region... and found a comfortable rock beside the lake. We have been remarkably lucky with the weather... after devastating floods a little while back.... we have been given still sunny days... very little cloud... and unusually warm temperatures.

Each night, we have returned home after sunset... to enjoy a meal cooked using the traditional ingredients of the area... by our world famous chef... our landlady, Cathie. We feel very spoilt... very fortunate to see the Pyrenees at their very best.