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Hiking

Little Artouste train

At eight in the morning we have a breakfast by the fire-place. We ar alone at the large round table. The hostess serves by herself – the homemade jogurt and various jams, almonds, nuts, plums, everything delicious. Napoleon and Ta-ta-winne asks for treatment very expressively. The hostess gently intervenes that the doggies eat too much.

After saying goodby to our wonderfool hosts we drive to Artouste. Some places in a car park have ocupied donkies – at least that’s what it looks like. We continue by the cable car up to the Artouste train stop. It is warm and sunny. The train departs at eleven and moves by the hillside to the lake Lac d’Artouste. It takes an hour to get there. While on the way we enjoy the beautiful landscape around (and sometimes below us :)). When out of the train we move up to the lake. One can see the lake itself only from top of the dam that stands over the end stop of the train. Next we move by the other side of the valley to the lakes Lacs de Carlou.

Track goes by the hillside up and down until it turns strongly upward and then both lakes appear one after other. Short rest there and back we go to the lake Artouste train.

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Hiking

Lac d’Ayous and Pic de Ayous

We move out of the hotel and drive to the lake Bois Artigue. Some sort of cleaning is in progress there – the lake is empty and a caterpillar tractor moves round in it’s bed. We move up long way by the woody hillside to Lac d’Ayous, Ayous pass and the summit (Pic de Ayous). At 1:45pm we are here. The view is magnificent – a number of lakes downhill, reddish cliffs all around.

When we had plenty of the beauty around, we go down through the meadow full of giant rocks, to the next lake – Lac de Balaitous. We take a short brake there and then descend to the parking place. A cup of tea in a car and then drive to our next stay – Le Cot.

The last 5 km we drive the very narrow road through corn fields. Just about the time we were sure that we are lost we noticed the hotel sign. The hotel road goes down and through very narrow pass between two buildings. Just behind the fence there is a herd of cows, then woods and mountains. The hostess Patricia welcomes us. Two darling doggies follow her – Napoleon and Ta-ta-winne. Ta-ta-winne is a distant village in Algerie. To send somebody to Ta-ta-winne means to send him far away. The hostess shows her garden full of different spices and her house. There is a hall with a giant fire-place on the ground floor. Our room is on the first floor. It looks like a museum or perhaps a nobleman’s bedroom. Our worry is that our belongings do not get lost between numerous tidies, serviettes and other luxuries. The hostess shows her library as well – the shelves are full of ancient and probably very expensive volumes.

We settle in and then go down to the garden to enjoy different odors and the beautiful landscape.

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Hiking

Chemin de la Mature

At 7:30a.m. we take French breakfast (bread, cruasan, jam, honey, butter, tea, coffee, juice).

Our itinery today is the famous Chemin de la Mature (means Track of Spars, the track was cut out in a rock in 18th century to drag by the mules down from the mountains the spars). The track looks like a deep groove cut with a giant knife in a absolutely vertical cliffs. We go up by the track to the pass Col de Aras (1280m), then over the pass Redo (955m) back to the car. The trip longs 5 hours in total.

We take a lunch in a center of Etsaut village near the church and drive towards the Spain – almost to the Somport tunnel. Before the entry in the tunnel we turn left by the old road and stop near Peyrenere. There we make a short stroll to the Gentian plato.

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Hiking

Pau and Lescun

Geting our Renault Twingo at Herz office in airport we are off to see the city. It is raining a bit and Pyrenees (although near) are in clouds all the time. After a hard try we manage to park the car in the city center and take a stroll to see the beautiful Pau castle (Castle is built during 14th century as a fortress, later during 16th century it is rebuilt by Marguerite of Angouleme according to taste of Renaissance) and the Pyrenees Boulevard. Palms and other species of Southern flora where all around.

Later on we get back in the car and drive closer to the Mountains to our first hotel – Hotel des Vallees. On a way to the hotel we make a short stop in a beautiful small town Oloron St. Marie. The building of the Hotel des Vallees is beautiful – 2 floors, the court in the center is covered by glass roof, a giant palm there. The swimming pool outside. The hotel is at country side close to a small village Lurbe-Saint-Christau.

Next we drive to Lescun – a village high in mountains. Getting closer to the village the road is narrow and steep. We leave the car and continue on foot to see Cirque de Lescun – famous for its white cliffs. After 3-4km by the country road we discover that the clouds are still there and they leave no chance to see the white cliffs. On a way back we nibble some blackberries.

On a steep way down I drive mostly on a second gear (the locals use more optimistic driving methods).

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Hiking

Pyrenees – cirques and lakes

The preparations for the trip started well in advance. The best flight ticket prices where searched for. Itinerary – Riga, London (Stansted), Pau, the same way back. We did not manage to find a way to avoid night in London airport (on a floor of Stansted airport amidst other travelers).

We ordered online some maps and itinerary descriptions. Some descriptions we just printed out from the Internet. Thus we were well prepared for our trip. We have purchased as well the pair of tracking poles – one for Ilze and one for me.

And then on a fine Monday evening in Riga airport it started. After a kind of exhausting and chilling night on a floor of Stansted airport we land at 9am on Tuesday 18th September 2007 in Pau airport well close to Pyrenees.

Diary:
Pau and Lescun
Chemin de la Mature
Lac d’Ayous and Pic de Ayous
Little Artouste train
Pont d'Espagne and Cauterets
Col d’Ilheou
Gavarnie and Breche de Roland
Gave de Loutor and Lac d’Estom
Lac d’Ilheou
Marcadou valley
Cirque de Troumouse
Pic du Midi de Bigorre
Casque du Lheris
Chiroulett and Lac Bleu