Day 13 - Driving in the Pyrénées

Without any requirements to be somewhere at a certain time, we allowed ourselves a little lie-in. We got up just before 8am and got ready for another day out.

I have been told to state at this point that Jackie’s ‘beautification regime’ ie doing her hair and makeup only takes 20 minutes, not an hour as previously stated.

We drove out of the campsite around 9.30pm for my driving tour recommended by Lonely Planet’s ‘Best Road Trips’.

We headed to Oloron Ste-Marie then onto Laruns, where we encountered our first Transhumance of the trip. It is the seasonal movement of livestock (cattle, sheep, horses, etc.) to higher pastures for the summer months.

A man on a bike and a dog were moving their quite frankly scary herd of cattle along the road towards us. We just stopped and waited for them to pass.

We later came across 2 flocks of sheep being heard by shepherdess’ and their dogs.

We continued on to Eaux-Bonnes, which was a fairly run down town in a gorge that judging by the ornate buildings around its square was probably very prosperous in its heyday. We didn’t stop.

Instead we headed for the Col d'Aubisque a mountain pass with an elevation of 1,709 m (5,607 ft). The pass is on the northern slopes of the Pic de Ger and connects Laruns, in the valley of the Gave d'Ossau, via Eaux-Bonnes (west) to Argelès-Gazost.

Dozens of cyclists of varying ages and sexes, were riding up to the Col d’Aubisque, much to our admiration.

Our drive consisted of endless hairpin bends in thick cloud with the occasional glimpse of blue sky and more importantly the road in front of us.

At the top we stopped for the obligatory photos of the various signage and monuments to events relating to the Tour de France, when it has passed over the Col d'Aubisque.

We careered down the other side of the Col d’Aubisque and eventually into Argelès-Gazost, a town in the Gavarnie Valley with an altitude of just 460 metres.

Argelès-Gazost was heaving, mainly due to a seemingly serious series of cycle races that passed through and finished in the town centre. We were lucky enough to find a central parking space next to some bins!

We watched a few cyclists finish or pass through, it was quite confusing, then we hunted out a Boulangerie for twelvsies (it’s a new thing), where we purchased a Quiche Lorraine for me and a Croque Monsieur for Jackie and 2 cafe au laits.

Everything was delicious apart from Jackie’s Croque Monsieur that was too sweet. We bought a couple of large croissants to compensate.

Satisfactorily sated, we headed south towards Cauterets, described as a century-old ski and spa resort and perhaps the signature spot in the Pyrenees. Hemmed in by mountains and forests it has clung on to much of its fin de siècle (what ever that means) with a stately spa and grand 19th-century residences.

We drove through Cauterets and negotiated a 6km series of hairpin bends, through La Raillère and on to Pont d'Espagne where most of all the other traffic seemed to be heading.

On the way we pulled over at the Cascade de Carisey, a thunderous waterfall creating its own rainbow in the afternoon sun.

We eventually arrived at a ticket barrier demanding €8 for parking, but because we didn’t have any internet in the mountains to research it and it was not on my already full itinerary, we did a u-turn back to La Raillère for a few photos.

La Raillère was very attractive and offered lots of scenic hiking trails for a return visit another time.

Our next stop was the Col du Tourmalet which as soon as we commenced our ascent, thick cloud reduced our visibility down to not much more than the end of our bonnet. The side of the road was barrier free increasing Jackie’s fear that we were going to career over the side into the cloudy abyss with constant very helpful yelps of “Be careful, be careful”.

If that wasn’t sufficient distraction. I also had to negotiate the oncoming cyclists, motorcyclists, sheep and cattle. It was a relief to reach the summit.

The Col du Tourmalet is a legendary mountain pass in the French Pyrenees, famed for its frequent inclusion in the Tour de France. It's the highest paved road pass in the Pyrenees, reaching an altitude of 2,115 meters (6,939 feet). The Tour has climbed it (80 times) more than any other mountain pass, making it a truly iconic location in cycling history.

The pass is steeped in cycling history and mythology, with numerous stories of heroic feats and tough battles fought on its slopes.

The climb offers stunning views of the surrounding Pyrenean landscape……….. apparently!

The Tour has seen many memorable moments on the Tourmalet, including Eugène Christophe famously repairing his broken bike fork in 1913.

Since 1980, it has been classified as "hors catégorie" (beyond classification), signifying its exceptional difficulty.

The Tourmalet features memorials to Jacques Goddet, a former Tour de France organizer, and a statue of Octave Lapize, the first rider to conquer the pass in the Tour.

We parked up in thick cloud and visited the gift shop/museum, took more obligatory photos and had a coffee and hot chocolate in the Col de Tourmalet cafe and watched the Tour de France live coverage on their telly.

When we returned to the car, the clouds partly dispersed providing us with partial views of the surrounding mountains and chair lifts. By the time we had eaten our croissants the clouds had surrounded us again.

We drove down the other side of the Col du Tourmalet and eventually on to Pau (pronounced Poe as in Edgar Allan). We abandoned our car on a non-parking space with our hazards flashing and did a quick run around of the impressive promenade and architecture.

Fifteen minutes later we were heading back to Navarrenx and our campsite. As soon as we arrived we hunted out the receptionist, Clara and requested she make us some reservations at local restaurants.

Half an hour later Clara came to our tent and apologetically advised us that all restaurants in the area were closed on Monday and the lovely Laàs restaurant is closed until Thursday.

We discussed various options with her and she very kindly booked us a table for two for midday on Tuesday on her mobile phone. After she left us we had a disagreement over which restaurant we think she had booked. I was certain it was Auberge Claverie recommended by Bob and Mary, whilst Jackie thought it was one that Clara liked. I went back to reception to settle the dispute but Clara had locked up and gone home.

Jackie reheated the remainder of the arrabbiata pasta, then she sloped off to bed around 9.30pm. I then took advantage of the peace to write up my day’s Penguins blog which was turning into epic.

Sometime after 11pm, I was suddenly hit with a downpour. I rushed to gather up all the chairs and tables and get them under cover. Once that chore was complete, I returned to my blog only to discover that in my haste, I had accidentally deleted all of my blog.

I was furious as well as wet. I felt the need to wake and update Jackie, which went down well!

Song of the Day - Bicycle Race by Queen.Read more