My Pyrenees HRP Diary - Introduction

This blog was begun in 2015, to record my walk along the Pyrenees HRP from Hendaye to Banyuls. If you want to read about that, I suggest you start here.

But that is all in the past now, and I have expanded the blog a little to cover more recent events.. such as:

Pennine Way 2024
Snowdonia Way 2017
Hebden Bridge 2015
Equipment Reviews
North Downs Way 2017
Pennine Way 2019

I hope you will find something interesting. Please do provide a little feedback or comment, and if you are interested in something that I didn't say enough about, please let me know .. happy walking!



Jerry

Saturday, 1 August 2015

HRP Day 25 Refugio Viados - nr Venasque

Saturday 1 August 2015

Rereading yesterday's post, I think I was Mr Grumpy when I wrote it! I warned you about that I think, highs and lows tend to be exaggerated rather on a long walk. It was an awful day, but fortunately, the weather today has been much better. When I got up it was raining, but when I came to leave about 8.30 the rain had stopped. It was cloudy and dull but gradually this improved too and by afternoon it was sunny, and warm but not too hot. Brill, and it is supposed to stay like this for a few days at least.
Today's walk was a straightforward one, along the GR11, with the usual stiff climb and long descent to the Refugio del Esto. I kept plugging away, and reached the Refugio by about 3.30pm. I had a beer and a chat with my young Spanish friend Elisa, who I first met after the pic d'orhy and who unexpectedly turned up just as I arrived.
Rather than stay at the Refugio, I decided to walk on further, towards Venasque, and I am now in a hostel near the Venasque road. That is good progress, more than 30 miles over the past two days, and I am almost 3 hours into today's stage already. I shall have to examine the map to see if that just means a shorter stage today or if I can push on a bit further.

Beautiful glacial valley I walked down, towards Venasque. You can ser the path on the right side of the valley
Ever since I set off, I have been keeping an eye out for my favourite flower, the mountain gentian, but I haven't seen any and I think maybe it has been and gone before I got here. Then yesterday, I saw this solitary example. . Is it a true gentian?  I'm not sure it has quite the full, vibrant, deep blue colour it should have, it is very pretty nevertheless

No comments:

Post a Comment