What a couple of weeks it has been.
Internet conection non existent (not that I sought it out intentionally)in fact I have deliberitally avoided as much civilisation as possible, hence the gap in blog posts, for which I hope you forgive me.
Life on the road has been tough,34 degree heat and a 25 kilo backpack has left me a little bruised and tired. But it has been a priceless experience, sleeping in olive groves and vinyards, gleaning cobs of corn, breathing the petrachor of early morning rain, waking at 3am in the tent to a vista through the shangrak even Michelangelo couldn't depict.
Fatigue brings it's slumber easily and dreams in the wild conjour fabulous creatures, magnificient feats of flight, beutiful sirens and armour breasted warriors, a tempest of thought which leaves you rested and thirsty for the coming day's adventure.
After seven days on the road during which time I crossed the Ebro as Hannibal did I came across every adventurers nightmare, the holiday resorts of eastern Spain. this tourist smorgasbord lasted until the Catalunian town of Figueras. from where my ascent of the Pyrenees began.
After a few hours I reached sant Climent Sescebes and there the map differed from the territory. Where there should have been a path to Castell de Requesens and a trail to puig Neulos in the Pyrenees stood the Sant Climent military base.
I decided to camp in an olive grove for the night.
At 7am the next morning the base bugler sounded the call to arms or maybe it was the call to breakfast,I took it as my que to approach the armed guard on the boom gate, who, in order to get to the Pyrenees instructed me to walk through the military carpark past the gun inplacements and munitions dumps up through the firing range past the artiliary batterys, the tank corps and the fusiliers dorm where a goat would whisper to me the way to find the trail to Castell to Requesens. 5 hours later I arrived at the castle which was closed for the month of August due to the heat....
I camped for the night beneath an old watchtower on the trail, in clean mountain air
to the sound of water bubbling from an unnamed source.
Not without difficulty I summited Puig Neulos the following day around midday, only to find the French had paved a road to the summit on it's side of the mountain for the tourists. Still I felt exhilirated to climb my first Pyrenee! I discovered the Grande Randonne numero 10 which took me down to Le Perthus on the French side of the mountains through forests of Cork and Olive. Another nights camping in the wild, too exhausted to cook I drifted off to a gentle breeze blowing sweet fragrant air up from the valley below.
Arriving in Le Perthus was a bit of a shock with so many people after several days in the Spanish wilderness. My calves were sore my feet badly blistered. But from here to Nimes it would be the beautifully flat plains of Languedoc-Roussillon. Where I could rest up and cure my ailments for several days before I cross the Rhone and tackle the alps. I have been well recieved at the Auberg de jeunesse, savoured the sights and flavours of Nimes' indoor market. in 3 days I will leave and head east,to the hills of the alps.
To be continued.......
