Setting out over the barrage on the lake and into a Christmas tree pine forest, our boots making satisfying little crunch crunch crunch noises as we trod on frosty blades of grass, stepping occasionally on frozen puddles that cracked and shattered into crooked shards, good flat wide paths for stamping along at a good pace, a frog, a coal tit, a great tit, ski lifts and wooden chalets then down into flowery Bolquère where we finally found a good restaurant for omelettes, heading out on a warm sunny track past pretty meadows, rowan berries and rosehips galore again, through two more pretty villages, almost staying at the 2nd one but pressing on up into a lightfilled forest past another aggressive patou dog, 2 hunters with guns :( and down into a darker murky woodland with dodgy paths where the sound of some weird wailing creatures could be heard all around (we eventually worked out they were cows although they sound more like distressed hell beasts), past autumnal patchwork mountainsides down to a lovely spot by a river to camp and rest our tired selves after a long day and many kilometres.
***
We were happy to start the day in the warmth of our hotel, making the most of the serve-yourself buffet breakfast before we set off into the frosty winter wonderland that awaited us outside. Much of the morning was spent in forest, before we reached another ugly ski station: this time, Pyrenees2000. Then it was down into the pretty little town of Bolquère, which, like so many of the small mountain towns that we passed through, promised more than it delivered in the way of civilization. The local shop was very much shut and despite the fact that a local auberge was open and serving food to many customers, it was not actually open unless you had already reserved a table. Luckily, we found a second option for lunch in the way of a hotel that also had a restaurant: the Hotel Lassus. The staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming and we had an excellent lunch of omelettes and fried potatoes. Luckily I noticed a note on the menu, proudly announcing that their potatoes are so fried in duck fat (!) and therefore not veggie friendly. Yuck. Anyway, I explained that we were vegetarian and asked if we could have boiled potatoes instead and after a look of deep confusion the waitress happily suggested that we could have potatoes fried in olive oil instead. A useful reminder that it is always worth checking these things and studying the menu carefully if you want to avoid inadvertent animal products slipping into your food.
On a side note, the two men with guns that we passed in the woods later in the afternoon were further proof that the hunting season had started in earnest. It's really rather unsettling to happen upon people with guns in the middle of nowhere.
The vital statistics:
Total hiking time (including our rather long lunch): 8h47
Peak: 1994m
Total ascent: 759m
Total descent: 944m
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