Hotel Cims Pas Pas de la Casa

... having a beer and watching a man try to dig his van out of the snow. To my knowledge his van is to this moment where it was when I left the bar.

I just wanted to take this opportunity to post some pictures of Canillo when it's snowy and the sun comes out. Don't have too many, but figured it was worth a post.

... charm, but it's easy to see that lots of it is maintained with the massive amounts of money that come in through rich tourists going to the ski resorts. Walking through the peaceful streets and hearing flowing water everywhere almost makes things seem eerily perfect. Like walking through a fairy tale. After a few rounds of the city, I decided to turn in a bit early as I didn't sleep much on the train over.

Today when I woke up the country had been ...

... village et quand on est arrivé, il avait le marché du matin. On a acheter du vin à environ 1 euro le litre (vin de pays) et du bon fromage bleu pour le déjeuner.

On avait pas le droit de prendre des photos dans la grotte pour pas faire de la pollution lumineuse (il y avait déja des ptites pousses de plante pres des lanternes...ils veulent pas en rajouté non plus). Aussi il faut pas déranger les chauve souris...pauve cocottes...

Time to attempt something I’ve always been itching to do: rock climbing. And not the kind done on indoor walls with padded flooring. Real out-in-the-open, unforgiving stone ROCK CLIMBING!

Out in the Pyrenees in the Ariege region with it’s beautiful slopes lie a multitude of rock faces covered in climbers pretending to be Spiderman.

Even though it’s something I’ve always wanted to try, there were a few ...

... between France, Spain and Andorra with 3000m peaks rising up all around. Up past charming little villages where all the little homes are made of stone stacked upon one another with only the slate rooves peeking through.

We drove the truck as far up the road as possible, and then even a little farther than we should have. Feels like complete mountain wilderness, but there are ...

... with cathedral ceilings, arched entryways, dangling chandeliers, and stone sculptures filling in the corners. Walking through this grandeur with tips of toes and hushed whispers watching as the scenery continually changes. One moment there’s a wide expanse to the right, then it opens all around, then it‘s a tight passageway with new sights only coming into view just as you arrive there. Catching glimpses from different flashlights ...

... of the most hair-raising turns. Trying to drive these roads is bad enough. Trying to remember how to drive after not doing it for 3 ½ months adds to the difficulty. Having to reverse shifting a standard to a Right-Hand drive complicates the issue. And of course, it’s a Right-Hand drive vehicle driving on the right hand side of the road, so all perception’s off. No problem!

Thankfully it's exceptionally ...

we had the day off school today to really open up on the slopes with all of us, which is when we got out group photo taken. i did solana once, tried to jump over brian and gav, which was very funny, went to the top of the mountain, then my poxy board broke, so i llegged it back up to the hotel to get it fixed and was back in record speed. the lads had built a snowman, just in case i didnt make it back, and brian put the head in his jacket....very funny. did some jumps and ...

"La frontière du reél: entre l´ivresse et la realité," announced my stocky co-worker Cyril. (The frontier of the real: somewhere in-between drunkenness and reality.) Cyril then performed a dance, right in front of the bread-and-muffins section of our supermarket. It was not a normal dance. It was the type of dance that goes totally averse every music ever made, the type of dance that gives you the heebie-jeebies, some type of beautiful dance that hypnotizes and ...

... lost my footing, I would´ve landed below on black, knife-shaped rocks that had cut themselves free of the snow so they could lurk in waiting for me. It was exhilarating. Alas, I never did eye the other side of the perpendicular ridge, because it was divided from the ridge I was on by a deep chasm. - Still hanging on, Justin Breen Thanks to Juan; and Chataroy, Felippe, & Felippe´s wife for the rides! Much thanks to "Mr. Manzano" for the place to stay!