Pyrenees Part 2 - 29384
Friday, February 4, 2005
Day 2: Pyrenees
"I'm absolutely exhausted! The Grotte of St. Bernadette having been crossed off my list yesterday, I headed for the Chateau Fort. It's high above the city, built on a rock left in tact when the glaciers moved through the area some billions of years ago. The chateau has served just about every purpose - today it's a museum of the Pyrenees and me and the other guy there seemed to like it well enough. This is not a hopping time of year for Lourdes. The one disappointment was that the tower from which I'd hoped to get an amazing view was...well, not closed because I climbed the first 3 flights, but after that the stairwell was suddenly punged into darkness without rhyme or reason and it seemed like a disaster waiting to happen to go any further.
Second disappointment of the day: the funiculaire to what is supposed to be a great view of the Pyrenees is closed for the season. While walking around though, I found this path that runs along what used to be the old railroad - oh, but wait, I'm getting ahead of myself...
Before having left my hotel this morning, I'd pretty well decided that the funiculaire wasn't operating thanks to brochures in the hotel lobby, and when I was up in the castle, I could see the rolling foothills byond leading up into the mountains and I very much wanted to explore them. So, I decided I'd buy lunch and take it with me - then in a stroke of brilliance, I decided that now was the time to do the one thing I've never done in Tours - buy fresh cheese! I found my way to Les Halles and walked up to the cheese counter that appeared to have, what I decided, must be the friendliest looking cheese lady of them all. I perused the cheeses and realized that I had no idea what too buy. When the lady behind the counter greeted me with "bonjour" I told her would like some cheese but didn't know what type. She then let me try a few, I having already narrowed it down to fromage doux - mild, that is - I had no idea that you could try your cheeses before buying them! After paying some exhorbitant amount of money for my chosen cheese, I went on my merry way. This experience was wonderful because it was something I was afraid to do (because I didn't know how much to ask for!) and yet I did it anyway. Why have I been so freaked out about doing it? Too easy...
So, anyway, I headed for the hills, but in a last minute change of mind decided to double check the furniculaire. Turns out it's very much on the opposite side of town from any rolling hills, but this was how I came upon the trail. Having had the track of the furniculaire in sight for some time and having seen no signs of movement, I abandoned any remaining hope and opted for the trail.
It took me along Le Grave - or "big mountain stream" - which is quite pretty and an amazing aqua blue color. The trail supposedly went all the way to Cauterets, but my goal was really just to find a picnic-ing spot with a view. Turns out I had to go a couple of miles down the trail before I found it [though I think just because I'm picky]. Several times I wished that I could have left the trail, but it seems like all the land is owned by someone - which is a shame really - and I was greeted with fence after fence bearing "no trespassing" signs. I really wanted to be in the wilderness, but the trail kept taking a turn for civilization (which is really frustrating) everytime I was almost happy with the location. My 2 mile or so walk did take me closer to the snow-capped peaks which was awesome, but it wasn't exactly what I'd been searching for. Eventually, I found a grassy area next to the stream with trees on the other side that blocked the traffic on the nearby road and a nice view of a mountain peak in the distance. It was very peaceful - sitting there listening to the sound of the water and being in awe of the color was magnificent. After trying to [unsuccessfully] skip a few stones across the water, I prepared to return to the city. It was then that I realized what a mistake stopping had been - my feet were not just sore now, but on fire!
The walk back ended up not taking nearly as long as I thought it would, but by the time I once agian reached Lourdes I was exhausted and lost. I headed towards what I hoped was the direction of the train station to investigate the possibility of going to another furniculaire. Unfortuneately it was near impossible to get to, so I decided to stick to my original plan to go to Cauterets.
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Saturday, February 5 2005
Another great day! I checked out of the hotel Marial and at 8:30am was on my way to the gare. I took a bus to Cauterets - it was the most beautifully terrifying bus ride ever. Big greyhound-sized buses just aren't meant for little barely-two-lane mountain roads.
I wandered the town of Cauterets - found the tart myrtilles (aka big blueberry muffin) and the berlingots (a hard candy) the town is known for, but decided to buy them later so I could explore, unencumbered by packages.
It is indeed a little ski town as my host parents told me, but if you look in all the knooks and cranys, you can find some amazing stuff. There's a mountain stream running through the town which is picture perfect - I followed the stream out of town hoping to get more out into the wilderness. Truth be told, I followed mainly the roads and a couple of well-trodden paths because I just didn't have the right footwear to go climbing up a mountain (which is too bad because there's supposed to be some amazing waterfalls up there!). I followed one main trail, probably less than a quarter mile out of town, but it was absolutely stunning. There was a dep blue sky and I felt like I could just reach up and touch the mountains. Oh how much I wanted to keep going! Now I understand the allure of hiking! I took a million photos, often times of the exact same horizon, but I just couldn't stop - I wanted to capture the perfectness of it all, even though I knew I couldn't...not really.
Eventually I pulled myself away from the peaks rising in the distance and headed back to town (I only had 2 1/2 hours to spend in Cauterets). I went back and bought my tarte myrtille for lunch and went to La Reine Margot Fabrique Artisanale de Berlingots, which was the place recommended by my guide book. After selling me two bags of the sugary confection, the saleslady asked if I'd like to try one and despite the fact that the offer seemed moot at that point, having just purchased some of my own, I said yes and was rewarded with a yummy berlingot of caramel and almonds. This made me even more pleased with my purchase.
Having a bit of time before my 1pm bus left to go back down the mountain on terrifyingly small roads, I stopped at a souvenir shop at random for some postcards. Obviously, having chosen it at random, this particular souvenir shop would naturally be in the process of being bought out by the customer before me and of course, every item needed individual giftwrapping. After waiting far too long, I was about to turn around and pick a different store when a saleswoman magically came out of no where to ring up my purchase. She must have smelled my change of mood and her precious 2euros walking out the door.
My 5 postcards in hand, I began walking back to the bus station when I realized that I had no idea where it was. Well, really, that is so me, but I blame it on the fact that I was on the phone when I left the bus and wasn't paying much attention...I was just walking aimlessly. Have no fear though, in a town you can walk across in 5 minutes, it's hard to get too lost. Besides, eventually you bump into a mountain and have to turn around.
I got on the bus with 20 minutes to spare and my only thought was "damn, I could have spent 20 more minutes trapsing about!" I suppose I could have gotten off the bus (unless what the driver said to me when I got on was that I couldn't get back off - honestly I have no idea what he said, but it sounded important, so I just said "oui" - better to agree when you don't know what's going on. Then again, for all I know he might have said "I'm driving this baby off the first cliff, are you sure you don't want to wait for the next bus?" But, instead of worrying about that which I couldn't comprehend in the first place, I simply reviewed my stunning photos).
For the ride down, I strategically placed myself on the side I'd already calculated on the way up would be on the inside of the edge leading to our death. Mostly, I just tried to pay attention to the scenery and was rewarded with views of some amazing waterfalls.
Back in Lourdes, I porly communicated my train needs and got myself booked on a train that wouldn't leave for two hours. I was beginning to feel trapped in this town (though I know better now - you're not trapped until you get stuck in Beauvais and simply cannot get out). Having for once underpacked on reading material, I bought a magazine/newspaper combo which was way too expensive considering I only wanted 2 of the 5 items that came in the pack. Oh well. The deadness of the city found me at McD's and not caring in the least. There I read my Figaro in peace.
When I finally got on the train, I realized that I had to make a choice - get off at Bayonne and figure out the bus system to Biarritz or cheat the SNCF out of 2 euros and ride the train all the way to Biarritz and figure out the bus to get into town (or walk the 3km there). I was leaning towards the Biarritz option until I realized I'd forgotten to validate my ticket in Lourdes - why tempt fate?
The bus ended up being right across from the train station and despite the fact that my guidebook made it sound like you could only get tickets from the main office, I talked some reason into myself that it would just be too dumb to have a system like that and that besdies, I can just ask; not knowing is not the end of the world (*gasp*) Turns out, just like any other normal bus system, you can buy tickets on the bus - it was when I sat down that I realized that in all my worrying over the ticket, I hadn't bothered to look at the bus map. I knew that the bus went through Bayonne, Biarritz and Anglet, but I didn't know in what order. I tried to memorize ladnmarks on my pitiful Biarritz map and with a sharp eye, finally saw a sign saying "Biarritz". After one false alarm of requesting a stop and then deciding not to get off (the drivers don't like that much), I found my way into the center of town. I had no hotel reservation, but had a hotel in mind. I found it and despite the feeling it gave me of instantly wanting to run the other way, I went in; but there was no one at the registration desk and I took it as a sign (always follow signs!) that I should leave while I could. A few doors down, I found one that turned out to have a real homey feel - almost like I'm spending the night at grandma's house. "
I'm tired of writing now, so I will close by saying that the following day, I watched the surfers for about an hour, and then was attacked by the ocean and got my pants, socks and shoes completely soaked. I returned to the hotel room, payed an extra 50 centimes to stay for an extra hour and hung my wet clothing over the radiator. Once everything was quasi-dried, I went and watched some traditional basque dancing, which was amazing and finished the day with a trip to the lighthouse.
It was a wonderful time and probably one of the best memories I'll take from this entire year.