We awoke in the middle of the night by strange noises and large, heavy footsteps next to the tent. I told Pam to ignore it, that it was probably one of the horses had gotten free. After about a half hour of the rummaging sounds going on outside, I was afraid we might have missed our best shot at seeing a bear. I will admit to being lax in baiting our campsites of late, but last night, we had French “pork and beans” (aka “sausage and lentils”) and I had thrown the uncleaned can into the trash across the parking lot from us. By the time I realized we had a wildlife encounter in progress; it was done. I’ve got to get some extra honey at the next grocery store–time is running out.
Since we went to bed before 8 last night, we actually woke up around 7:30 without an alarm. Notice I said woke up and not got up. I had to get the coffee and tea going before Pam would start stirring. We had muesli, bread, and the rest of the chestnut sauce that we thought was a Nutella knock off. We were done and on the trail by 9:15–after just four months of hiking, we’ve managed to get our morning prep time down to an hour and a quarter from two hours.
Today was out last big climb of 2600′ in a single push. Tomorrow will be the last time we have to climb over 3000′ in a day. Today was also the last day we will be over 4500′ above sea level. It actually looks like we will finally finish this trail.
The day started with the continued threat of rain. Seeing that it rained almost all night, we considered the threat to be real. The trail was in great condition, though. The rains didn’t cause the trail conditions to deteriorate yet they did cause the flies to stay away (a much welcome relief from yesterday).
Climbing down from our high point today, we were straddling a ridge headed straight to the Mediterranean Sea. To our right, we could see Spain and the Spanish Mediterranean and to our left, France (including Marseilles) and the French Mediterranean. This was the first time we could clearly see the Mediterranean and we walked all the way here from the Atlantic to see it.
Since we are setting a trail record for slowest traverse of the Pyrenees, we can’t decide if we are going to finish the trail in 2 or 3 days from now. Honestly, we are a little tired so we can’t decide if we should stick to the itinerary and do two 15 mile days, or extend the record out another day and do three 10 mile days. It all depends on the amount of whining that starts around 3p (and I’ll see what Pam wants then as well).
When we limped into Las Illas, we stopped at the gite to check prices and capacity before we headed to the hotel/restaurant. Pam claims to be tired of my Ramen Noodle creations and wants a “real” dinner (whatever that means–but will love be the number 1 ingredient?). I’m deeply hurt, after hiking all day and then cooking gourmet meals while she takes a nap, to not be appreciated. Like a good husband, I acquiesced to her wishes (when I saw the beer tap). Why stay at a gite and walk all the way to the restaurant and back when we can get a private room and only deal with her snoring?
Last night there were 13 people at the hotel. Tomorrow night there will be 18. Tonight, we didn’t make reservations but there are only 3 people including us. It pays to not plan too far ahead, Pete.
