Going out in STYLE!

One of the best things about staying with the hosts in the Haute-Garonne is that they let me borrow the car on the weekends. Other hosts have let me use their cars, but this one was....

a FIAT Barchetta convertible!

Needless to say, I got a lot of looks and felt conspicuous but it sure was fun on the curvy mountain roads. One afternoon, I took a little drive to the town of Saint-Gaudens, the main supply town for the part of the Haute-Garonne I was staying in. It could be an attractive place but its mountain views are marred by a paper factory that bellows smoke and a stench that you'd certainly recognize if you've lived near or driven through Longview, Washington. Otherwise, it's not such a bad place...

   

   

For those of you following the Tour de France, Saint-Gaudens is the start of the 14th stage which takes place on July 16th. I will be somewhere along the route that day. Stay tuned - it will be a beautiful and difficult stage and the coverage will give you a chance to see a lot of the Ariege.

Looking at the Pic Every Day

My next HelpX hosts were not in the department of the Ariège, but just over the border to the west in the Haute-Garonne.  I hadn't previously wanted to do any work in this area, as I had the distinct impression that real estate was much more expensive there (this ended up being true).  However, the Smiths were getting some house guests and it was time to move on out.  Plus - these new hosts were friends of some hosts we stayed with last year and it's always fun to see a new area. I hadn't yet stayed with hosts with small children (on purpose) but I found that I needed to break my rule for the next two hosts because there just aren't any other hosts in the region without children.

Even the cutest, most well-behaved children can be tiring and especially so for someone who has chosen not to have kids or her own.  HelpXing is difficult anyway (as I've mentioned in other posts), but HelpXing in a household with children adds an extra level of discomfort and difficulty (at least for me).

Luckily, my new hosts were very considerate and gave up their own room so I could have a bit more privacy and quiet and never asked me to look after or play with the children unless I wanted to.  But two children under 6 years old are a handful  - especially when the 35 degree +/95+F temperatures caused major meltdowns (for all of us!). Gin and tonics with mint and lemon helped greatly.

Here are some photos of their home with its awesome balcony overlooking the river (which was VERY refreshing - if not freezing on those super hot days).  I spent several hours drinking coffee and reading in that shady and quiet spot.  The view across the garden looks directly at the Pic de Cagire.  Looking at this mountain every day was the inspiration for my hike in the previous post.

   

My main task while I was here was to beat back the jungle growing between the laurel bushes that had been planted last year. Here are BEFORE and AFTER photos:

It was a huge amount of work, especially since the laurels lined the entire length of the property and the area where I was working was full of biting red ants and the (biting) horseflies were out in force!

I also did some yard maintenance (I'm becoming pretty adept at using a riding lawnmower....just call me "Farmer Ted"), weeding in the vegetable garden (of course!) and making river rock rings around the fruit trees.

   

Pic de Cagire

Last weekend, I had a wonderful day out in the mountains and remembered exactly why I love this area so much...even the 30-odd members of a French hiking club who shared the same trail didn't do much to dampen my enthusiasm and they really impressed me with their wine and champagne picnics at the peak!

At le Pic de l'Escalette, the first peak on the hike, I ran into a bunch of sheep, shepherds and herding dogs.  The sheep, goats and cows of the Pyrenees region are brought up to the high peaks for grazing in summertime.  This movement is called the "Transhumance" and it occurs on different weekends in June depending on which valley the herd is in.  Many of the shepherds invite the public to join them and it has become a big tourist attraction to move the herds, drink and celebrate in the high mountains afterward.  I had planned on participating in a Transhumance this summer, but the weather and my vehicle availability didn't cooperate.  I look forward to doing it next year.

The sheep were being counted and penned up here at the Cabane de l'Escalette; they had been brought up earlier in the month.  Unfortunately, the sheep photos came out blurry - maybe I'll take new ones next year? The views are towards Spain. 

It was near this peak where a French couple pointed out some enormous bearded vultures perched on the rocks.  These are quite rare in the world, but can be found here in the Pyrenees!  Sorry...no photos, though.

   

More photos from the hike along the ridge - heading towards Pique-Poque peak (that's fun to say) and Cagire.

 
   

Pic de Cagire - 1912 meters and lots of French people having a pique-nique (in case you can't figure that out, that's picnic in French)

This post is dedicated to my hiking buddies, Michiel and Barb!  I miss you and thought of you both often on this hike!

Gansta's

Allereerst Gwendloyn gefeliciteerd met haar verjaardag!
Bedankt voor het sturen van deze kaart aan ons. Zo te zien zijn jullie lid van dezelfde Gangsta's (bende) als wij. Dat kan ik zien aan de speciale hand tekens. Misschien moeten alle leden van deze bende maar eens een foto sturen?
Peace!

Gansta's deel 2

Ha Aarlanderveense Gansta's,

Hier is onze groet aan alle bendeleden.

Peace!