Trans-Pyrenees Trip late summer 2019

[Spal001]

We die the hrp-trail on foot last year. 41 days of walking. if you have a little experience, it s no problem tot do it. The hardest thing was 5 or 6 days without re-supplies. We always sleept in a tent and gainded a lot of money. Mostly we took a meal in the refuges and moved on afther the meal. Best period in half June until half september

 

[GSX1300R]

This was how it was done in Australia back in the 70s. Lots of extra Fuel and at least 2 spares.. And we needed them both.....

 

[bvddobb]

This was how it was done in Australia back in the 70s. Lots of extra Fuel and at least 2 spares.. And we needed them both.....

Those were the days! Great pic! Is that you?

Must say, the T5 4Motion is a lot more comfortable a drive and camper... (have driven T2, T4 and Landy, we just love our T5!)

 

[GSX1300R]

Those were the days! Great pic!

Must say, the T5 is a lot more comfortable a drive and camper... (have driven T2, T4 and Landy, we just love our T5!)

You are not kidding about comfort, reliability and fuel consumption are in a different league.. 6000 miles....18mpg....Top speed 50 mpg...Broke down 13 times.....

 

[GSX1300R]

You are not kidding about comfort, reliability and fuel consumption are in a different league.. 6000 miles....18mpg....Top speed 50 mpg...Broke down 13 times.....

Sorry 50 mph not mpg only if....

 

[kp64zl]

You are not kidding about comfort, reliability and fuel consumption are in a different league.. 6000 miles....18mpg....Top speed 50 mpg...Broke down 13 times.....

Where was that picture taken pls?

Bet you could do the repairs yourself unlike today

 

[GSX1300R]

Where was that picture taken pls?

Bet you could do the repairs yourself unlike today

Can’t remember exactly where it was taken as it was 48 years ago, probably somewhere near Alice Springs.. Repairs were all done by ourselves. We got taking the engine out in 15 minutes. Repairs took a bit longer.lol......

 

[GSX1300R]

Those were the days! Great pic! Is that you?

Must say, the T5 4Motion is a lot more comfortable a drive and camper... (have driven T2, T4 and Landy, we just love our T5!)

It’s me sitting on the van, my mate Jerry standing at the side and another mate Paul taking the picture . This was the day of the instamatic camera.
.
.

 

[bvddobb]

Oh, oh: suddenly Marga is less keen to do the hikes, and wants us to go buy anti-bear sprays and loud horns and such...

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48308062

Our newest hiking gadget:

 

[bvddobb]

We have now, after a week’s travel, reached Spain. A more detailed report of our first week through the French natural parks will follow (Marga is working on her photo’s currently), but we wanted to share this one already. Today, in the Haute Languedoc, our van came of age:



On to the next 200.000 km’s !!

 

[Wesel]

We have now, after a week’s travel, reached Spain. A more detailed report of our first week through the French natural parks will follow (Marga is working on her photo’s currently), but we wanted to share this one already. Today, in the Haute Languedoc, our van came of age:

View attachment 49116

On to the next 200.000 km’s !!

Your engine has now just finished its break-in period.

 

[bvddobb]

First Leg: towards Parc de Pilat

It was our intention to get to just South of Lyon and leave the 'Route du Soleil' before the weekend, with its Black Saturday, and then gently weave our way towards the Spanish border on backroads through several nature parks, our 'green route' (see our inspiration map in the top of this thread).

Thursday 15/9, late afternoon, we left from Marga's work place and started South. In the Belgian Ardennes, just before entering Luxembourg, we found a small and friendly campsite for the night, near Neufchâteau, Camping Spineuse. We had a simple but adequate meal in the restaurant with a nice local beer, and then turned in for the night.

Friday 16/9 then saw our 'spurt' to the South of France. We want to reach the Parc Naturel de Pilat, just South of Lyon. We used the short stretch through Luxembourg to fill up the tank (saves € 20.- on a tank) and then sped on on the motorways and the Péage.

This year, now that one can have one electronic toll badge that works in both France, Italy, Spain (countries we frequent) and Portugal (where we have never been in the van), we also acquired one, with the 'low use' subscription. We carefully approached the first toll gate, and lo: it all worked, just like that (as it did in Spain, later on)!
AND we remembered to put on the French LEZ sticker, one never knows what the smog situation will be once we reach the Lyon area...

Our spurt is uneventful and in the evening we reach the target nature reserve. We find a nice spot on Camping Bel' Époque du Pilat, near Pélussin.

Saturday 17/9 we take a walk in the neighbourhood and in Pélussin and do some shopping.

These valleys were once filled with the noise and activity of the local silk industry and many traces thereof can still be found. Mostly dilapidated old mills on the small rivers, because water and hydraulic power were important for the silk industry.

We are on the Western shore of the river Rhône, and relatively high up. The air is clear and on our walk we can see across the Rhône Valley towards the east and discern the crests of the Vercors, the Chartreuse and even the Mont Blanc (right in the middle of this picture). This is rare in Summer, usually one can only see this far in April or September/October.

We are currently on a camp site in Spain, and uploading Marga's photo's to Google Albums is a bit of a pain on the local WiFi, so no link to a complete album just yet.

One can also follow us on Instagram (@bm_pyrenees) and on Polarsteps.

 

[bvddobb]

Second leg: 'green route' through the French nature reserves

From Lyon onwards we wanted to avoid the motorways. West of the Rhône river, roughly stretching south from Lyon, lies a chain of French nature reserves, both national and regional, from North to South: Parc de Pilat, Parc des Monts d'Ardeche, Parc des Cevennes, Parc des Grand Causes, Parc de Haut Languedoc and Parc Narbonnais et Méditerranéé. We wanted to take a few days to meander South through these nature reserves, taking only back roads (the French D-roads with at least 3 digits in their number... ) all the way to Collioure, a small French hamlet town near the border with Spain, where our Pyrenees Roadbook trip begins.

To lead us, we used the 'adventurous route' option from TomTom, our satnav system. We picked a point in each nature reserve and then had TomTom calculate an 'adventurous route' for us. That is an option which let you set the scale of 'adventurousness' by choosing levels of curvyness, level of height differences, avoid motorways, take/avoid unpaved roads, etc. We already had experimented with it somewhat in The Netherlands and the Black Forest and had already learned NOT to choose the highest level of 'curvyness': TomTom then leads you onto every car park along the route to maximise the number of curves!
For this route we choose the max height differences, medium curvyness, NO motorways, and OK to take unpaved roads. On that basis TomTom calculated a route which we then downloaded as .gpx file (the green route on our inspiration map in the top of this thread) and then put as a track in our TomTom.

More in the next posts, later, we hope. Due to limits on no. of words per post on the forum we lost 2/3 of our text and all the picture links...

 

[bvddobb]

Yesterday (the 5th stage of the Vibraction Trans-Pyrenees roadbook) some of the pistes were so bad we decided to back out. Too much danger of damage, we reckoned. But today (the 6th stage) was pure fun!.

Here a rough first impression of yesterday's and today's pistes:

 

[bvddobb]

More in the next posts, later, we hope. Due to limits on no. of words per post on the forum we lost 2/3 of our text and all the picture links...

So, new attempt, to finish:

Second leg: 'green route' through the French nature reserves (part 2)

To cut a long story short: we were pleasantly surprised! We've had a fabulous tour on lots of small back roads without any other traffic, and that in the midst of season, here in France! We have also had the opportunity to re-acquaint ourselves somewhat with the rougher driving on some forest tracks with sand, rocks, gulleys, some fallen trees, etc, albeit for no more than a few tens of km's of the total route, that we could have avoided easily had we wanted.

Driving through these nature reserves in sequence, it's great to see how each has its own distinct character. The Pilat is green, luscious, friendly. Some sort of mix of Ardennes and Black Forest.

Some forest tracks, with special signs for the DFCI, the French agency against forest fires, directing to various water reserves:

Then the Ardeche, with its green mountains and steep and winding canyons, little rivers and cascades and rests of volcanic activity:

to be continued

 

[bvddobb]

Second leg: 'green route' through the French nature reserves (part 3)

The Cevennes are a bit higher, rougher, dryer, with more 'maquis' shrubbery in stead of trees. The Grand Causes have an even more mountainous look and can have lots of snow in winter. You see those large poles along the roads, and a ski resort here and there, quiet in Summer. Here we were sometimes enshrouded in clouds:

to be continued

 

[bvddobb]

Second leg: 'green route' through the French nature reserves (part 4)

Coming down through the Haute Languedoc the environment is more habitable again. Still somwhat high up, not so hot yet, one sees signs of agricultural activity again, small hils with yellow grassy dales in between, and the reappearance of trees:

And then finally one enters the real mediterranean area, with vines, olive trees, cypress and pine. All in all, a beautiful tour!

And thus, Wednesday 21/9, we arrive in Collioure...

 

[bvddobb]

Second leg: 'green route' through the French nature reserves (addendum)

Along the way we found some very nice, charming, small farm or municipal camp sites of the type we love: no canteen, no white whales, no swimming pool, no bingo, no crowds, no animation teams...:

Le Pré du Moulin, Lalouvesc:

La Besorgue d'Ardeche, Aizac:

La Barette, Col de Finiel:

Mas d'Arbousse, Salvagnac, where the goat farmer told us this was the busiest night this year:

 

[bvddobb]

Third leg: flight to the mountains...

...and thus we arrived in Collioure...

What a disaster! All clichés about filled-to-the-brim Mediterranean sea resorts were proven true, here. Unbearably hot, noisy, busy, jammed with traffic and agitated sunburnt people, more noise, overflowing camp sites, every square inch packed with tents, cars, caravans and big whites, with hardly a meter of space between them: a downright awful place!
We phoned a few campsites in the near vicinity all the same, but all were fully booked, even at their outrageous prices.

So, we looked at each other, opened the CamperContact app and looked for a place at least an hour-and-a-half's drive from the coast, in the mountains somewhere, and drove there.

Thus, Thursday 22/9 found us at a Spanish campsite in the lower Pyrenees, that happens to be right on the Vibraction trackbook route (see our inspiration map in the top of this thread).

We take a rest day. There are just Spanish and Dutch people here. Today, the campsite is slowly emptying itself: most Dutch people are packing in to return home, because they have to return to work on Monday. Tomorrow, more will leave, we see them packing here and there. Also some Spaniards are leaving. We don't see any newcomers.

And so, the swimming pool is nearly empty. While one of us takes a swim...

...the other works the travel blog!

 

[Amarillo]

Third leg: flight to the mountains...

...and thus we arrived in Collioure...

What a disaster! All clichés about filled-to-the-brim Mediterranean sea resorts were proven true, here. Unbearably hot, noisy, busy, jammed with traffic and agitated sunburnt people, more noise, overflowing camp sites, every square inch packed with tents, cars, caravans and big whites, with hardly a meter of space between them: a downright awful place!
We phoned a few campsites in the near vicinity all the same, but all were fully booked, even at their outrageous prices.

Ha ha ha.

After being shagged out after cycling over 28 mountain passes in nine days, I was looking forward to relaxing on the French Mediterranean coast. But it was so hideous that after spending one night there we fled over the Pyrenees once more on our bikes and found a rather nice coastal town on a northern Spanish peninsular. Cadaques - a Spanish gem.

Now lovingly recreated in China!

Bringing the Costa Brava to China – DW – 09/23/2010

China's aspiring middle classes would love to go to the Mediterranean for their vacations, but not all of them can afford it. That's why one entrepreneurial firm is building a Spanish village on the Chinese coast.

amp.dw.com

 

[bvddobb]

Fourth leg: mountain tracks from East coast to Andorra

Monday, 26/9. We have had several days of mountain tracks now, following the Vibraction trackbook (blue route on our inspiration map in the top of this thread. They have been wonderful days!

Most of the tracks were not too difficult a drive. Especially those in the official nature reserves were relatively easy. Outside those reserves they were somewhat more demanding, in one case we decided to 'abort' (see above, about the fifth stage of the Vibraction routes). But stage 6 and 7 were OK, only the last part of stage 7 was rather demanding. On the descent we had lots of large rocks and washed out gullies and then one would wish one had somewhat larger wheels than our 16 inches, even with the larger AT's we have on... It asked for some very careful steering but we came down unscathed!
Slowly, slowly, ever more slowly...

The surroundings are just beautiful! We put together a little slide show to give an impression:

Today we have a rest day again at a lovely small camp site:

We took a small hike up the mountain this morning, and will be heading for Andorra tomorrow!

 

[bvddobb]

Fifth Leg: Andorra to Aragon

Tuesday 27/8. Andorra was a bit of a disappointment. The main valley is just very busy, filled with ugly buildings, shopping malls, petrol stations, hotels and banks (it is a tax haven, after all). The odd free plot of land is for sale at…: Sotheby’s!! But the high valleys, and especially the little used pass of Port de Cabús to Tor in Spain in the West should be worthwhile to visit.

But here we banged into the limitations posed by mass tourism. The road up to Port de Rat: closed from 08:30 till 17:00. The only way to get up there is to use the expensive cable car up. Queuing with approx. 100 Chinese to get an expensive ticket and then again for a ride… Not!

The way up to Port de Cabús: closed. The road is in too bad a condition, they say. We don’t mind that, but here the locals are fed up with hauling down stuck rental cars every day, so they took a radical measure: total closure. No passage to Tor in Spain, anymore.

So, eventually, after a night at a campsite just North of Ordina, we decided to take the whole long ugly road South back to where we came from, leave Andorra, and drive West on the N-260 (the ‘Route 66’ of the Spanish Pyrenees, quite a lovely drive, actually) to visit the high valleys approaching the French/Spanish border crest (the ‘purple route’ on our inspiration map in the top of this thread).

Yet once there we encounter similar issues. We set up camp in Espot, to drive up to the Parc d’Aigüestortes the next day, to take a hike there. Half way up: road closed! The only way to go up is to walk or to take an expensive mountain taxi. Afterwards we see that more often. We learn that if in a village at the entry of a valley you see a bunch of old white Defenders huddled together, you are not allowed to drive up yourself.

So, no hike, but we drive a beautiful piste through the Parc de l’Alt Pineu, through the Vall del Noguera Pallaresa, passing the old monastery of Montgarri, to Puerto de Beret. A very nice piste, not too difficult, right through the bear habitat (we don’t see any). This piste is NOT closed! But as a result, contrary to all our pistes in the East thus far, terribly busy. Motorists, cyclists in all sorts (whole three-generation families, tour groups), and all sorts of cars. At one point we get stuck behind a 2WD T4 Exclusive that has driven one rear wheel into a gully so that one of the front wheels hangs in the air, spinning idly… With the help of a few passing cyclists we manage to push to car out of the gully and we can continue.

We move on to the Valle de Benasque, hoping to be able to drive up there and hike in the Parc de Postes-Maladeta. We camp on a nice, shady campsite just north of Benasque. To find the next day: one can’t drive up to the hut anymore. If you want to go there you have to park in Benasque and take the mandatory bus up… The same story: people queuing at bus stops, parking overflowing, just awful.

Friday 30/8. We’ve had more than enough of the crowds and the limitations put upon us (perhaps it is better late September) and decide to leave the ‘purple route’ and the higher valleys for what they are and go ‘down’ again to the French ‘blue route’. 30 mins later we have left all the crowds, vultures are circling in the air above us and we are driving along beautiful pistes again, passing deserted and dilapidated villages and churches on mountain tops. We encounter only one other car that afternoon, a German couple in a Landcruiser with a roof tent who overtake us on the piste. Again a bit jealous of the larger wheels…

And thus we enter Aragon!

We have put together another little slide show impression of this leg:

 

[bvddobb]

Yesterday we had a resting day on the totally deserted campsite of Nocito in the Sierra de Guara (the night before: one Landy on the same route as ours, the next night one Subaru 4x4 Estate on the same route), and we did a hike nearby to the source of one of the little streams here. And on the way we encountered this natural swimming pool:

Verzonden vanaf mijn iPhone met Tapatalk

 

[bvddobb]

Sixt Leg: Of Canyons and Vultures

We camp near La Puebla de Roda, in order to visit Roda de Isábena the next day, a little city on a hilltop that has managed to preserve its romanesque air very well. The campsite is nearly deserted, except for a few motorcycle enthusiasts. We soon learn why: BMW has set up a test and enduro training centre on this campsite. A new experience, motorcycle talk in the pub.

Roda de Isábena is very much worth the detour. Built on a hilltop, once the seat of the local count and bishop, who could oversee the whole county and diocese from here because it is a sort of high plain amidst a ring of still higher mountains. The cathedral church and adjacent abbey are very special: seldom have we seen the various stages of extension and building styles through the ages so clearly visible and well preserved as here, from early romanesque through late-gothic, all in one building.

We go a little to the South again, to resume our ‘blue’ route. Over beautiful but sometimes difficult tracks we drive to Liguerre de Cinca to spend the night there. There we misunderstand the directives the campsite gave us about where to pitch our van. As soon as we have set up camp, all around us the sprinklers start spraying the grass… We get a free car wash, much to Marga’s dismay!

Our trackbook next takes us into the Parc Natural de la Sierra y los Cañones de Guara. The tracks entering the park are very challenging: steep climbs, big rocks, deep gullies, we find our van can walk stairs! After this training we would easily climb and descend the Spanish Steps in Rome with it! Once in the park the tracks and roads are beautiful and an easy drive and the surroundings are just beautiful. Over the centuries the rivers have dug big, deep canyons into these mountains. A bit like Arizona’s Grand Canyon. In these canyons, on the steep walls, nest many vultures. It is very quiet here and we have all the time to take in the natural beauty and photograph the vultures.

In this park we camp on the small campsite of Nocito, a small, sleepy community where one family seems to run the show: they manage the campsite, the little café and restaurant and the little grocery shop.

We decide to have a rest day and do some hiking around Nocito the next day. The first night there is just us and an English couple in a Landrover, whom we had met already earlier this week. They are doing the same trackbook route as we are, and they marvel at the off-road capacities of our van, driving these tracks, something we have seen before with Landrover people… “Didn’t know they made them like this…”. They stop here, their holiday time is up, tomorrow they drive from here to Santander to take the ferry back. The second night there is just us and two French women in a Subaru 4x4 estate who do the same route, but then in the other direction as we.

The next day we have a hike up a valley, following a little stream to its source on the flanks of the Guara, the highest mountain in this park. Along the valley we come across this beautiful natural swimming pool (see the entry above). Beautiful little place, but very cold water!

After this we have only one day of mountains left, really, but a wonderful route again. First on quiet backroads and the last bit on a beautiful high track, which, after a somewhat challenging first kilometer, is an easy drive. It passes the Mirador de los Buitros (more vultures!) and stays up high all the way to the Castillo de Loarre. We stay on the beautiful campsite there, eat a very good, very low priced meal in the campsite restaurant, to visit the castle the next day. One is on the very edge of the Pyrenees here, like on a balcony high up, overlooking the plain of Huesca, deep into Aragon.

From here we will go slowly down and South towards the Bardenas Reales. We encounter a few very difficult tracks again, perhaps the most challenging yet, this trip. They are no fun, actually: all through forests with little else to see than trees and leading nowhere than to other challenging tracks through forests with nothing else to see than trees. Perhaps nice for real hardcore off-roaders, but not our cup of tea, so we decide to leave them and turn to ‘normal’ backroads to drive to the Bardenas. Marga is a crack in finding nice little roads on the map, and they are very beautiful as well!

Here an impression of this leg:

 

[bvddobb]

Seventh Leg: Navarra and the Bardenas Reales

We enter Navarra and we see the landscape changing slowly. More flat, a lot warmer and looking a lot dryer to our eyes.

Yet we see endless acres of grain (where all the grain has been harvested already). The secret seems to be the numerous irrigation works around, lots of small canals and acquaducts everywhere you look. The irrigation tradition is old, here. We stumble across some archeologists at work in unearthing the remains of a rather large roman settlement, complete with Forum, temples, shops, bath houses and (of course) remnants of a large acquaduct.

Wednesday 4/9 we camp in some sort of green oasis near an artificial lake on Camping Bolaso near Ejea de los Caballeros (sounds like something from a spaghetti-western).

We probably expected too much of the Bardenas Reales. It is a somewhat peculiar, desertlike environment, reminding us of Arizona/Texas/Mexico. Did they film parts of the famous Sergio Leone westerns here? Strangely shaped hills through wind erosion, and deep washed out gullies or small canyons, even. Beautiful in most places, but not really a desert: there are lots of grain fields everywhere, still.

And the natural park is rather small, actually, a bit like the Hoge Veluwe in The Netherlands, and very touristy. Basically, there is just one ring road through it, surrounding the (unaccessible) military area in the middle (we did witness some nice fighter jet maneouvers!) and on it drive a whole parade of big whites and would-be desert vehicles that one encounters twice, once on each half of the ring. A bit surreal.

On the West, in Arguedas, there are some peculiar remnants of rock dwellings left, carved out in the chalk rich hillside. A bit like the pueblos in the US.