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squiz Member Member#: 6644 Location: Registered: 27-05-2007 Diary Entries: 2898 |
22nd March 2017 Hiking - Walking: Mont Louis + Wind Direction: Wind Stength: Surf / Sea State: Air Temperature: Sea Temperature: Weather: sunny periods but cooler and breezy. Max Speed: Distance Covered: Wednesday 22nd March – Walk **** then travel – sunny periods but cooler and breezy. Nice night in our closed municipal campsite just outside Mont Louis on the River La Tet. The sun was out but we were shaded in the trees, still breezy and cooler than of late. Mag managed her exercises but I chickened out so after breakfast we wrapped up and set off upstream along the beautiful clear fast flowing mountain river sadly devoid of fish! The well-worn path closely follows the river for the most part with several little wooden bridges to get you over the wetter places. There were several trees fallen right across the river, and still some ice and snow in the shadier places. There were a few birds flitting about but not as many as yesterday evening. We came out of the trees to a section of grazing fields and soggy tundra with our first sight of Pyrenees 2000 which looked very quiet and not much fun to ski in the stiff breeze. We didn’t see anybody on the piste we could see. We had thought about walking to where a ski lift comes close to the river but it was too far so when we reached a large wooden bridge suitable for vehicles we turned and headed back the way we had come. We were pleased we did because we had covered far more than we thought and had what we call our 6 mile legs by the time we got back to the van. We had been out 2 hours covering at least 5 miles. We were hungry but supplies are getting low so Mag scavenged the cupboards and found a big bag of crisps, some cheese triangles and a few biscuits which we ate on the move. The first section of road as you head back to the coast is amazing as it winds its way in a series of s-bends with stunning snowy mountains all around. The Petite Yellow Train track follows the road, going through tunnels and over impressive bridges. It must have cost a small fortune to build! The journey down is always spoiled by some knob always in a hurry right up my arse!!! At Prades with the imposing Pic Du Canagou behind, we found a Lidl so stocked up so we are set up for a few days. Passing fairly easily through the busy Perpignan we soon turned off towards Le Barcares a big area of holiday homes with the Med on one side and the huge Etang de Leucate on the other. We found a nice spot at the end of Leucate plage for a cuppa and cake checking the weather to see if there will be any wind here in the next few days. Sadly, not and it looks like rain on Friday so we will be making our way home soon. Mag took her sunglasses off and her poor old eye after the insect attack is still looking puffy and red, itchy too, hope it’s better soon! I checked a couple of Leucate windsurfing shops for a weed fin with no success so will try eBay when I get home. Had a quick look at La Fraqui where several kiters were out on foil boards making the most of the light breeze. We had a look at the carpark behind the beach at Les Couselles to maybe park for the night. It is now free again as the barrier is long gone as are the pay machines. But there is no view and we could see the mozzies gathering ready to get us! so moved on to one of our favourites spots at La Cabanes on the edge of the Etang de Sigean with stunning views of the Port-la Nouvelle cement works. That’s a bit unfair as the all-round scenery is great with only a small section of industry spoiling it! Nice sunset then omelette for tea, fingers crossed for a sunny and warmer day tomorrow. PS – sad day as my much-loved Fuji X-S1 has given up, luckily, I have a spare so I swapped everything over to the new one this morning (good old e-bay!!). Perhaps I will have to look for another spare as they are fairly cheap now? The list of things that need replacing is growing longer every day! Fingers crossed I can get some traffic management work when we get back but not holding out much hope as it had gone very quiet before we came away:( Photo Gallery Here Thursday 23rd March – Travel – heavy rain and snow – Cold :( OK night in the nice spot at La Cabanes by the etang. Saw the sun rise then promptly disappear behind the cloud. Then it rained so after breakfast we drove off just to check the windsurfing spot. We nearly went to the hospital for Mags poorly eye but she said it was a little better when she got up. Port la Nautique first, only a few campers but no windsurfers in a freshening offshore breeze. Then on to Gruissan and it was like a ghost town, stopped at the end by the windsurfing shop which was being upgraded and although the wind was off the sea, it was like a surf beach, so no sailing there! Back to the sheltered spot at Port la Nautique and definitely windy enough to sail but no locals about so something must be wrong. Had our lovely abundance cheese for lunch as a large flock of flamingos headed for shelter as the thunder, lightning and rain started! Decision made, we headed for the short section of toll motorway to Bezier to join the best free motorway in France the A 75 all the way to Clermont Ferrand. The scenery is fantastic as you head up towards the volcanos but today the heavy rain and low cloud with low temperatures did little to enhance the scene:( Although the lightning was amazing! Our plan was to stop for the night at Peyre near Millau but made it there by 2.30, too early to stop, so carried on over the amazing toll bridge just as the snow started! We must have had at least 80 miles of very heavy snow falling as low as 700m with the snow ploughs working overtime to keep the road flowing. At times, we were down to one lane. We managed to make good progress most of the way and felt really confident and secure with the new winter tyres:) We were only held up a couple of times, once behind the plough and then again when a car couldn’t get up a hill and the motorway men were putting salt down for him and digging him out! One stupid lorry driver turned off up to an aire only to get stuck on the hill and had to put his massive snow chains on! We wanted to keep going so we could get low enough again for the snow to stop. Then just before Clermont Ferrand with the snow gone and the rain easing we spotted a ruin on a hill so turned off finding the perfect place to park for the night at Le Crest at 5.20. After travelling 270 miles today we were in need of a cuppa and rest, the stunning views all-around of cloud covered volcanos was just a bonus:) After a delicious tea of turkey, mushroom and potato surprise we were treated to a few minutes of a glorious sunset which briefly showed up several snowy peaks. Diesel heater on as it’s only 4 degrees outside. So, that could be the end of the shorts, I have already got my gortex trainers out for tomorrow with the sandals relegated to the boot as we head for home. Friday 24th March We woke up to a cloudy day so it was a good job we saw the view for the brief few moments last night. We made a move after breakfast and just drove and drove towards Calais debating whether to just drive straight to the shuttle and get a ticket at the check in. Luckily when we stopped for a cuppa at our favourite Ambleteuse we phoned them up. We could have a crossing tonight for …….. £187!!!! Or go tomorrow morning for a still inflated £120. We booked for 10.30 in the morning. The next drama was when I set the camera up on the tripod to take the final holiday photo, ran to the van ready to pose and we both watched in horror as the whole thing blew over!! I had only swapped it over from the one that had stopped working a couple of days ago and now this one is saying lens error!! E bay and maybe an insurance claim when we got home:) We drove off to park up for the night and ended up driving around to try and find a sheltered spot to park as the wind is blowing very strongly! We went to the Cap Blanc where we usually stop and it was not very sheltered so drove to Escalles but they have put a sign up saying no parking from 2300 to 0700 so that option is not there anymore which seems a shame because it is perfect! Drove to a similar car park in Wissant and it was absolutely packed with GB number plate big camper vans!! We returned to Cap Blanc rather cheesed off as the car key snapped out of its battery-operated casing so that’s yet another breakage for this holiday!! Mag’s eye is not improving either so a trip to the cottage hospital when we get back to Felixstowe I think!! Saturday 25th March We set off for the shuttle after breakfast and got onto our booked 10.30 crossing ok. The electricity seemed to be fluctuating quite a lot so don’t know what that was about. Off at Folkestone for the last leg of the journey to Felixstowe. Always a hassle as the roads are a nightmare! We went straight to the cottage hospital where Mag nipped in for an opinion. I went to see if the wind was blowing at the Dip! When I returned, she had been seen in minutes and they had taken one look and told her she needed to see a doctor so no joy there! We got home and were greeted by Dan and Jay and the new kittens they have adopted from Greece! Lots of catching up to do. After the first instalment of news I snuck off for a quick sail. We lit the fire and continued chatting and didn’t end up going to bed until midnight! That’s the end of our 63 night adventure to France and Spain, it was the first time we had really explored Spain and fell in love with it once we saw past the high rise and graffetti! We found some really top places to park, skied 5 times including on the red snow of Seirra Nevada, snow shoed 6 times which was great fun, I windsurfed 8 times included 3 amazing sessions on the Mar Menor with loads of walking too :) Will definitely to it again next winter as the weather in Spain was good. |
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