Overland to Spain 2010: Pyrenees again...

It was a much nicer day today - sunny and a few degrees warmer. We couldn't help but return to Vallter 2000 again to take advantage of the views and clear mountain air. The secret is to arrive there before the afternoon, as the skies are usually clearer in the morning. But after midday, cumulus clouds bubble up from the valleys below, obscuring the mountain peaks.

Because of the clear conditions, I decided to take the gondola to Les Marmotes café, situated at an altitude of 8300ft. Christine wasn't keen on the gondola idea, preferring instead to ramble on the slopes further down, until I returned.

The gondolas are presumably much busier during the winter season, but there was still a surprisingly large number of passengers today - hikers and folk like myself, just wanting to admire the views. It took about 20 minutes to reach the café, which is itself about 1000ft short of the summits. Up here, there are no trees, and the only signs of growth are grasses, and plants resembling thrift which can tolerate the dry, sandy soil conditions.

Once at the top, the terrain is rocky and the geology looks very much composed of granite, schist and shale. It is possible to see all the way down the valley to Camprodon, and only then do you realise exactly how high 8300ft really is! The French border is literally only a few hundred yards away at the summit. After taking some photos and camcorder footage, it was time to return back to the bottom station.

We headed back down the valley and then took the C38 up towards Molló and the French border. On the local TV channels, we had seen an advert for a wildlife park in the area, but unfortunately we couldn't find it! So instead, we drove through the village to explore. Molló has quaint, narrow little streets, only just wide enough to accommodate a car. However, there is not much to see except the beautiful Romanesque church, so we decided to head back to Camprodon.

Tomorrow will be a day of rest, so don't expect too much of an update :-) We will drive to Ribes de Freser on Wednesday to take a ride on the mountain railway to Núria.