La Coma Hotel Setcases Girona

ok, so we got to the mountains wed night....and it has been nothing but chill out since then. we're staying at hannah's dad's flat in this little village called Sahorre. Talk about peaceful.......We've just been reading, hanging out, cooking, etc.....a welcome break from the touristy stuff we had been doing up till now....and yes, i see comments that imply we are only eating and drinking our way through france, but ...

... for a deserved rest before dropping down and back up the Col de
Soulor (1464m), which you will honestly hardly notice! The swoopy descent to Argeles-Gazost
is great and the pretty town provides a good opportunity to stop for some lunch. Unfortunately
from here we meet out first busy road which takes us up the gorge to Luz ...

... to use it. It's been so relaxing just to arrive at the Gite or Refuge and just take a bed for the night. At around 10 euros it's hardly worth unpacking the tent. I have continued to cook for myself all but one evening to keep the cost down. The French don't really understand the concept of not eating meat, so if I were to take the evening meal in the gites/refuges then it's guaranteed to be a cheese omlette everytime. Whereas tuna pasta hits ...

Distance; 67.6

Pretty standard day really.

Highlights:
Saw a homeless man strip off and shower in a busy town centre using a fountain.
A fat spanish guy tried to sell us a bit of paper for 20 Euros. He was riding a scooter that had been fixed with parcel tape.
Alex licked his arm and described the taste as bacon.

**** bits:
Had to cycle for ages, as usual.

Short peage trip to friends' mas just south of Perpignan. Lovely lunch then into local town late pm for Festival of the Cherries - first ripe pickings. Great crowds, so much nicer and more natural than St Trop. Visiting marching bands - very oompah.


Fierce competition among the locals to see who could spit a cherry-stone the furthest - over 9m being achieved.

Els Caçadors: a very good, family-run hotel in Ribes with both 1-star and 3-star accomodation. Very good food and reasonable prices. There are also other possibilities for accomodation in Ribes, which as far as service is concerned has all you need. I recommend this as a base for your excursions to the peaks around Núria. Much cheaper than living in the hotel at Núria.

The monastery-turned-hotel Núria, north of the town of Ribes de Freser in Catalunya, Spain is an excellent destination for walking. There are several peaks around the hotel, enabling you to do comfortable and rewarding day-treks. Some peaks: Noufonts, Noucreus, Eyne, Puigmal... (can't remember all names right now). Altitude from 2000 to 3000 meters.

Today's the big day. Wherever we go we hear about the election. Europe is crazy obsessed with it. I definitely caught Becka's cold and have been coughing non-stop. It's horrible. We get to Girona (near Barcelona) and have about 18 hours before we fly to Paris. So we take the bus into the actual city of Girona to eat dinner. We tried to tour around some, but we both had our bags ...

... of tour buses. The entire complex was huge and impressive, nestled into the hillside. All along the way were vendors selling local goodies like honey and cheese as well as souvenir shops selling all sorts of monk-made products. Had we planned it right, we could have hiked up and around those mountains but, happily for Dan, we had to rush to the airport. The following drive was one of those where your whole body is tense and all you can think about is the fact you are going ...

... us kissed and wiped their silk scarves over the glass casing and the silver plated saints next to the Virgin. Those who have been blessed by the Virgin and want to offer thanks leave a symbolic "thank you". In a new purpose built room there were several first communion dresses, death certificates, driving test score cards and even a football pools ticket. Leaving the pilgrims behind we ...