Montpellier tomorrow...

This is our last night in the Pyrenees, and also the last night in Spain. Tomorrow, it's back to Montpellier to return the rental car.

Instead of heading back to Figueres to pick-up the motorway, we'll take a more direct route.  The C38 from Camprodon will take us over the French border at Col d'Ares, and then down the Tech Valley to join the motorway close to Perpignan. It should take about three and half hours to get back.

Vall de Núria

Today, we visited the Vall de Núria and took a trip on the mountain rack railway. Known locally as the Cremallera (rack), the railway uses normal adhesion working on the more level parts of the railway, and switches to a rack system for the steeper sections.

The railway starts at Ribes de Freser, which is small town about 45 minutes' drive from where we were staying. The line climbs up the valley stopping briefly at Queralbs, before continuing to the terminus at Vall de Núria. It's about 8 miles long and takes about 35 minutes each way.

At this time of year, the train is packed with day trippers, tagging along for the ride, and wanting to spend a few hours in the mountains. The train tags along at relatively slow speed for the first few miles before slowing down briefly to pick up the rack rail. From thereon, its a fairly noticeable, stiff climb for the remainder of the journey. The views from the train are magnificant - if you're heading up the valley, sit on the right side for the best views. Those seated on the left get little more than cliffs and a rockface for most of the journey!

Once at Vall de Nuria (6400ft), there is a ski resort, and a large hotel and sanctuary.  The hotel offers accommodation to skiers and hikers, and anyone wanting to get away from it all.  Whilst the surroundings are very beautiful, it is rather isolated, and you'd need to be quite dedicated to outdoor activities to want to stay there for any length of time.  At €21 return per person, the railway back down to Ribes de Freser is not exactly cheap, if you want to touch base with civilisation!

Heading up towards Vall de Núria

The terminus at Vall de Núria

The rack rail

Vall de Núria

Camprodon

A lazy day today - quite sunny with temperatures around 21 degrees. We walked upstream towards Llanars, taking a back road which offered nice views of the valley. Amongst the flora and fauna, we noticed some reptiles crawling about in the undergrowth and managed to get some photographs.

We've been quite disappointed by the food offered by our hotel. Like the hotel down at the coast, we've opted for a half-board service, but the food doesn't appear to be anything near as authentic. The menu options are somewhat basic, and the portions on the small side.

The menu is printed entirely in Catalan, with no Castilian and this does present a slight language barrier. To help identify the dishes, we undertake a nightly routine of asking the waiting staff to explain each of the options. Although they don't really speak much French or English, it seems to be marginally easier for them to translate into French, being so close to the border. I then translate into English, and verify with a bit of Castilian in return (if my knowledge of the vocabulary stretches that far). The waiting staff are absolute gems, and their patience with the whole process is very much appreciated!

This translation process, which is absolutely no fault of the waiting staff, does lead to some unexpected dishes being served to us! For example, we were described a 'platter' of potatoes, ham, egg and sausage. In our minds, we visualised this to be tortilla, local Catalan sausages and dried hams. In reality, the dish transpired to be none other than sausage, egg, bacon and chips, complete with a squirt of brown sauce at the side of plate!  I'd like to meet the person who thought this would be a good idea for a menu...

Last night, Christine had a pork dish, but there was as much bone, fat and gristle as there was actual meat. My own dish consisted of a few slices of processed ham, a cherry tomato and garlic sausage on toast speared together by a cocktail stick. Served at the side was a small egg omelette. Curiously, the other (mainly elderly) residents of the hotel seem to be completely unphased by the sub-standard food?

So, to top up our calorie intake, we make a daily pilgrimage to the local supermercado at the far end of the town. We're able to purchase local hams, sausages, cheeses, olives and breads which are sufficient to make a wholesome 'starter' in our room prior to dinner. All washed down with a nice glass of Catalan red wine :-)

Somewhat irritatingly, the hotel actually offers a far more extensive menu for non-residents. However, since we've prepaid for the half-board service, this menu is not presented to us. As I've said before, we can't fault the service - it's been fantastic and everyone is so nice. Just a shame that the food is not up to scratch.

Llanars

Local reptile...

Hotel Camprodon

Camprodon

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.

On the way up...

The Pyrenees, from 8300ft

Looking west

Molló

Vallter 2000

This morning, we awoke to the sound of the Sunday market in the plaça outside the hotel. There was a huge selection of fresh fruit and veg, seafood and meats, and the market seemed very popular with both the locals and tourists. Like yesterday, the day trippers arrived in droves, and by mid-morning, the narrow streets were fairly congested.

The weather was slightly brighter today, no rain, and temperatures around 17 degrees. To escape the crowds, we drove up the valley from Camprodon. We passed through a number of smaller mountain villages further up the valley - Llanars, Villalonga de Ter and Setcases. They are all much quieter than Camprodon, although still manage to attract a fair number of visitors. Available parking spaces are few and far between.

The road carries on to Vallter 2000, a ski and winter sports centre set high in the Pyrenees at the top of the valley. It's about 20km from Camprodon, but the journey took about 45 minutes since the road started to narrow and featured lots of hairpin bends. Although there is no snow at this time of year, there are still plenty of visitors - hikers, and families using the horseriding and dry ski facilities. The visitor centre and car park are set at an altitude of 7200ft, which is just above the tree line.

We decided to go for a short ramble up the mountain side, although the views were obscured at times by cumulus clouds rolling up the valley. The air is thinner - over 20% less oxygen than at sea level, so we were somewhat slower than normal when climbing. The beginnings of a headache also set in because of the altitude. We climbed for about half an hour, clearing another 500ft, before deciding to turn back. Snowbuntings could be seen on the mountain slopes.

Tomorrow, depending on the weather, we might head to Ribes de Freser, to take the mountain railway to Núria.

Setcases

The slopes of the Pyrenees, at Vallter 2000

Llanars

Camprodon

We arrived in Camprodon today, after a two hour drive from the coast. The journey took us through the town of Figueres, birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí. There is a museum, dedicated to his work, but we didn't stop. The town is a difficult little place to negotiate, completely devoid of direction signs in the town centre. Once we were back on course following the N260 to Olot, the road climbs higher into the Pyrenean foothills. The scenery changes - the hills become steeper and greener, and the countryside no longer looks dry and parched.

Camprodon is situated at an elevation of 3000ft, well beneath the tree-line but feeling very much like a mountain village. The climate here is different to that on the coast. It's noticeably cooler at only 15 degrees, and its clear from the state of the ground and the local rivers, that there has been considerable rainfall recently.

The town is initially busy today with other Spanish tourists. The local shops are very popular and there is a noticeable abundance of charcouterie butchers, selling dried hams and sausages. By mid-afternoon though, most of the shops have closed, and the tourists have dispersed.

Our hotel dates from 1906, and although the rooms have been tastefully modernised, they still retain their original character. Downstairs, there is a restaurant, ballroom, and a small bar. The bar is not a lively place - more of a rest room for some of the older Spanish residents. If you're looking for something with a bit more atmosphere, the tapas bar next door is a lot more appealing. At the back of the hotel, there is a terrace overlooking the River Ter, and a bridge to the private gardens and swimming pool.

We don't have much planned tomorrow - perhaps a short drive further up the Vall de Ter, to visit some of the local villages.

Our internet connection is provided free by the local ajuntament, but is rationed at 20Mb per day. So, we will only post a few of our best photos every day on the blog, and upload the remainder to Picasa, when we get back to Montpellier on Thursday :-)

Camprodon