Diary volume 9
28th July - 2nd August 2003
Val d'Aneu - Andorra

28th July. 9.00 pm.

We walked through some beautiful and deserted scenery this morning. Mountain lakes in rocky surroundings and tumbling waterfalls. We took great pleasure in following the good path and cairns after yesterday's tribulations, but the navigation was still difficult and confusing. There were so many little valleys, ridges and cols in such a small area that it was difficult to distinguish where we were on the map.

The cairned path certainly took us over a different col to that marked on the map as being used by the path, and then later in the morning we made a mistake and followed the wrong path. As it turned out we could still proceed to Noarre, our day's objective, without retracing our steps. This meant we missed out a high col which might have given some good views, but it enabled us to call at the Refuge Pleta del Prat for a beer. The descent to the refuge was steep and we were all tired, and a little dejected when we arrived. However, after a rest and a beer we felt better and pressed on down the road, leaving the ski development behind, and then up to Noarre to find a spot to camp.

Photo: The Estany lakes seen from the Coll del Forn during our navigational 'diversion'.

Good camping spots were hard to find, so we ended up camping on the path, but it will do. I feel much revived after a pile of pasta and a cup of coffee. We plan a shorter day tomorrow, hopefully! Oh, yeah, on one ridge we saw a group of vultures and one flew so close we could hear the wind in its feathers. They are the first group I have seen since the Basque country.

29th July. 11.45am

After yesterday's navigational problem and its consequential long, steep descent, we were all feeling very tired last night. So we set off from Noarre determined not to let it happen again and we have had regular consultations with map and compass. As it turns out there have been green paint flashes leading to the Refuge de Certascan so it has not been too difficult to keep to the path.

It has been a gorgeous climb up the valley, over a series of steps with cascades on their sides and glittering lakes at their tops. The first flat area was scattered with pine trees and would have made a nice campsite if we had had the energy to reach it last night. The higher lakes were above the tree line and surrounded by conical peaks and shattered scree. The rock here is rust brown and layered like a solid slate. A lot of it is speckled with small black crystals which you could imagine were some sort of fossilised sealife.

We have now just come over Col de Certascan at 2550m which has revealed a dramatic view eastwards to the Certascan lake with Pic d'Estat's bulk dominating the ridge behind. There are a couple of patches of snow here and we can see a few patches on Pic d'Estats but otherwise I seem to have left all the snow and ice behind in the Haute Pyrenees."

Photo: Gill on one of those patches of snow, approaching the Col de Certascan.

7.00 pm.

It really has been a wonderful day! After the lovely walk this morning we walked down from the col and easily round the south side of the lake to Refuge Certascan. We got there just after one o'clock, had a beer and then ordered some lunch, with no idea of what we might get.

We were surprised and delighted by a four course meal that started with fresh salad, then spaghetti, then a large sort of sausage in a fruity oil sauce [presumably a Catalan dish], and the whole was finished off with roasted nuts served with a fortified wine! All that cost us E12.50 each - less than £10! We didn't leave the refuge until 4.00 pm but we only had one ridge to cross before camping here at Estany de Roniedo de Dalt, a beautiful lake in a large open bowl of light grey rocky boulders and slabs. The French frontier ridge is behind it to the north. The lake shore is decorated with patches of bilberry and rhododendron and a few stunted pine trees, glowing bright green in the evening sun, while a light breeze is ruffling the lake so I can hear the lapping of the waves on the shore. Camping perfection!

Ian and I even went for a quick dip in the lake and a soap down, which has made me feel much better. The water was surprisingly warm, much more so than most other lakes at this altitude. I can only assume it is relatively shallow.

As the sun sinks towards the horizon, the usual bank of cloud is threatening to spill over from France. I am sure the temperature will drop steeply once the sun goes.

Photo: Ian swimming in the Estany de Roniedo de Dalt with the frontier ridge behind.

30th July. 8.30 pm

It was a lovely day's walking today, but the going was quite rough and Gill wasn't on form. We walked down to the Certascan lake on a good path, then over the dam and initially followed green flashes up the picturesque valley. There was then some confusion about where the path left the valley and ascended the ridge. We lost the green paint marks and ended up picking our way across a boulder strewn hillside to get back to the route.

It was a steep pull up to the Col de l'Artigue over a mixture of granite, rocks and steep grass, steep enough to make it interesting and requiring some scrambling at one point. Gill was finding it hard work though and it was 11.30 before we made it to the col.

The col was a dramatic spot, with slopes on both sides and craggy ridges rising to summits north and south. This was the frontier ridge and our first time back in France since Ian and Gill joined me. At first the descent looked almost impossible, but then we found the genuine col round the corner to the south from where yellow paint flashes marked a path down scree onto a steep granite boulder field.

By the time we started the clamber down from the col the sun was high in the sky and the heat reflecting from the rocks. The boulder hopping needed concentration and was relentless, and Gill found it all a bit too much, but after much perseverence we cleared the boulder field onto cooler grass paths and managed to make it to the shepherd's hut at Mespelat.

This turned out to be a dirty bothy with plenty of evidence of rodent activity, but it was cool and out of the sun and Gill stretched out on the stone floor on her sleeping mat. A couple of hours, and some food, later we all felt much revived and decided to persevere with the remaining couple of hours to Mounicou.

This turned out to be a delightful afternoon walk down a steep sided wooded valley on a good path. Gill was much revitalised by the rest and enjoyed the walk. Some areas of woodland were pollarded hazel - it would be nice to see more in the UK!

The final few kms were on tarmac roads, which was a bit of a slog, but soon overcome. The Gite d'Etape at Mounicou is a little haven. It is still run by Madame Denjean, who looks to be in her seventies. The gite comprises of two dormitories and a well equipped kitchen. It also has a shower with hot and cold water! Madme D. runs a cafe which serves drinks but no food, so we cooked the last of our food accompanied by a couple of bottles of cheap plonk.

Tomorrow will be a day off, with a hitch down to the local village to restock with provisions.

31st July. 3.30pm

Staying at Mounicou is like going back seventy years. The gite is set amoung a cluster of small stone houses on a steep slope above the road, and one gets the impression that life is very self-sufficient here. I am sat writing this in the hot afternoon sun with a damson tree behind me and the stream bubbling past below.

We hitched a lift down the valley this morning intending to go to Auzat, but the couple who gave us a lift suggested going to the next village of Vicdessas which had a bigger supermarket and the open-air market was on. So we stocked up with food for the next few days walking: couscous, cereals, chocolate, French toast & pate, nuts etc. Then we also bought a load of fresh veg. and some meat to cook tonight, and fresh bread for tomorrow morning. After that we sat outside a cafe by the market square, drank beer, ate a huge salad and watched life go by. After lunch, loaded down with provisions we caught a taxi back up to Mounicou.

Photo: The gite at Mounicou

The next hamlet down the valley, a place called Marc, is being developed into a bit of a tourist centre. The GR10 and HRP both pass through here, and they are going to build sixteen gites and a Gite d'Etape, plus a swimming pool! Whilst this will make provisioning a lot easier, and no doubt make a welcome break from mountain wilderness, I'm not sure it is in keeping with the HRP? The building is in progress now, so it will probably be open by next summer. I am glad that we experienced the peaceful tranquility of Mounicou - we will probably be one of the last groups who will! Madame D. will probably close the gite when Marc opens in competition?

1st August. 8.00 pm

We left Mounicou at the crack of dawn this morning, having been woken up early by a group of French walkers who woke us up coming in late last night and then got up again at 5.00 am! Given that we had a big day ahead of us it was good to be away early, and we could follow the good path through the forest in the dawn light.

The path rose up a very steep hillside in tight zig zags and we gained height quickly. It wasn't long before we were looking down at the rooftops of Mounicou and Marc far below. Above the tree line there was a track to follow, where black ponies grazed with their foals, and groups of beehives had been left out, presumably for heather honey, as the hillsides were covered in the pink flowers. After passing some old turf roofed huts at Tignalbu the path steepened and we toiled upwards until we finally got a view into the Picot Valley. The marked path continued up the valley where a high pass gives access to the Etang Fourcat, but we decided to stick with Georges Veron's recommended route which left the path to climb steep grass to the north. After a hard slog we gained the grassy ridge, though it wasn't obvious where the pass was.

The view east was fantastic. It was a glorious day with clear blue skies and hardly any wind, and the Fourcat Valley displayed a cirque of rocky peaks with numerous ridges and steep sided valleys. The Etang de Clots could be seen in the corrie below with the morning sun sparkling on its slate blue surface. We spent a very happy half hour eating elevenses and looking at the view. The way down proved to be very steep and hard work in the hot sun. It was down steep grass to the small lake Clots and then traversing over very rough and steep tussocks covered in rhododendrons which caused us to stumble and scratched our legs. Exhausted, we found a traverse path to take us round into the Fourcat Valley, but that just deposited us on another steep slope of grass and then more rhododendrons before we finally staggered onto the main path to the Fourcat Hut. In retrospect perhaps we should have stuck to the marked path which would appear to have superceded Georges' route?

We found some shade in the lee of a cliff and relaxed for two hours drinking some tea and eating lunch. Then, much refreshed, we climbed the 400m up a good path to the small Fourcat Lake below the hut, which is perched on a rock overlooking the valley. The hut is a modern monstrosity and judging by the numbers of people we saw walking up the path, very busy, so we have opted for camping by the lower lake.

It's a lovely spot and we have it to ourselves, the only problem being that the sun set behind the surrounding cliffs rather early. At least we won't be woken at 5.00 am in the morning by noisy walkers!

Photo: The fourcat lakes where we camped. The refuge can be seen perched at the top of the cliffs.

2nd August. 5.00 pm.

I'm clean! Really clean! We have reached El Serrat and booked into a nice small hotel with immaculate rooms, a nice-looking restaurant and a terrace with a view over the valley. I am sat there now with half a litre of shandy, in the shade as it is still 30 degrees! I have had a fantastic shower and will sleep tonight in a bed with clean sheets! It will only be my second night not in my sleeping bag since I arrived.

It was a lovely short day's walking today. A day of change, both in terms of scenery and country. The route took us from the Etang de Fourcat down through rocky scenery into an adjoining steep sided cleft of a valley which we climbed to the tarn at its head. Here the valley opened out into a wide bowl with softer looking, round topped hills at its head. Here we climbed up steeply for 200m to a broad col which took us from France into Andorra.

In Andorra there were a chain of lakes which we followed, the Tristaina lakes, where families sat in the sun and fished. The paths here were broad and numerous and soon we could see a big road weaving down the valley below and the infrastructure of a ski development down the valley.

We ate lunch in the shade of some trees near a construction site for a new dam, and then slogged the final few kilometres down the road to El Serrat. Nearly the first building we came to was the Hotel Tristaina which is where we are staying. Its a lovely little hotel and it will do us very nicely!

We had company for the first half of our walk today in the form of a young German Short-haired Pointer who we think belonged to the Fourcat Refuge. He joined us at the refuge and walked [or rather ran about] with us nearly to the col. He had boundless energy, and it was nice to see him dashing about and rooting and sniffing in the heather. It is a lovely breed of dog, though they do slobber a bit and would need lots of exercise!

So I have arrived in Andorra, the third country of my trek. The bit we have seen so far has, as predicted, been scarred by development. The first language here is Catalan, then French and then Spanish, but everyone speaks English as well - according to the barman.

3rd August. 4.50 pm.

The Tristaina Hotel turned out to be an excellent place to stay, and very good value. We had drinks before our evening meal, wine with it, and an excellent paella for the main course. They also provided an early breakfast in our room with a flask of coffee, and it only cost E49 each [about £35] all-in! The hotel was immacualtely clean and although the staff were a bit of an odd bunch it was a very pleasant place to stay the night. The chef was Philippe from Brittany who wouldn't stop talking and interrupted the meal constantly, though he was quite entertaining and showed us how to make the paella, which was interesting.

Today has been one of the most pleasant days of the entire trip! The path took us up a gently rising valley from El Serrat [c. 1600m] to the Col de la Mines [c. 2700m], initially through mixed woodland and then through some beautiful flower meadows. The flowering season is coming to an end here and many species are setting seed, but in the morning sunlight the seed heads were as beautiful as the flowers. Even some of the trees are starting to turn a yellowish colour, and we concluded that it is because of the dry weather which encourages Autumn to come early. Andorra gets a lot of bad press about its ski developments and supermarkets, so it was a surprise to find that parts of it are so unspoilt and as beautiful as anywhere in the Pyrenees. Long may it stay that way!

Photo: Andorrean flower meadows near El Serrat. One of the many beautiful corners of Andorra.

The good path got us to the col by 11.30 am so Ian and I left Gill to sunbathe for an hour, and we climbed the broad, easy ridge onto the summit of Pic de la Serrera [2912m]. There was a great view from the top: west I could see the snowfields of the Haute Pyrenees in the hazy distance, whilst to the east more rounded summits still serrated the skyline - there are still a lot to climb before the Med! To the north the hills quickly dropped to the flat plain of France.

From the col we dropped east towards Ransol and found a nice spot to pitch the tents next to a small tarn at the head of the valley. Here we have spent the afternoon relaxing and doing the usual camping chores. It has clouded over and there have been a few rumbles of thunder, but we have escaped the rain so far.

I will say goodbye to Gill and Ian tomorrow and they will hitch out from Ransol, whilst I plan to head across the valley to the Incles campsite. It will be sad to see them go, but at the same time I am excited about entering the final stage of the trek - the Eastern Pyrenees start from Col de Puymorens!

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