Servissim Canillo

... 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...

Found out today that the 90 day tourist visa that I thought we were granted for each country is actually for the combined Senchgen countries. Since we'll be at least 60 days in France alone, it means we won't be doing the France, Italy, Greece and then Turkey route we had planned on in the length of time we'd ...

... were on the balcony doing the stacking. Took a few days, but now the house looks cozy warm lined with rows and rows of firewood.

Chicken Dog

Went out to pick some spinach one evening and looked over to see the dog Gia with a chicken in her mouth! Paniced, I ran down towards the pigs to call for Justin and tell him that I thought the dog had killed a chicken.

Running back, I got my mind in order a little bit and ran ...

... the weekend and they’re ready for pickup and processing. Brian had always been interested in butchering meat, so here was an opportunity to learn a bit.

The drive back from the abattoir was more difficult than I’d expected. Sitting beside 4, ½ pig carcasses was less than comfortable. +6 degree weather outside we still drove with the windows down and the A/C on trying to get the temperature down to 2 or 3 ...

... than anything else. However, for a first time climber this is often the most difficult. The death grip mush come off the rock and weight comes off your feet. Floating on air! You push aside thoughts of whether or not the rope will hold and begin to descend.

Actually, I found the job of belaying much more difficult than that of climbing. Not only ******* the arms hauling the rope around and holding it securely, was the knowledge that ...

... called ‘Patou’ are raised with a herd (Pyrenees mountain dogs). As a result they will guard and defend their animals from any predator they may face - including humans. If you happen to wander in range they will bark furiously and give you many warnings to get away. If you don’t heed the warnings - you’re at your own risk with a fierce dog that comes up to your ...

... and bouncing off of different areas on the sides of the cave, creating new shadows and deepening depths in between. Condensation causes shimmering light and shining rocks add crystal to the chandeliers.

Finally we arrive at the Salon Noir. All lights had to be turned off and left on a rock by the entrance. You can faintly hear a few exclamations from those who have a fear of the dark as the group becomes one tight mass shuffling along ...

... down the hill - bad idea. The visibility was very low and the snow was coming down cold and fast and the wind didn't help also. We walk for roughly half an hour before finding a lay by to stop in and it takes a matter of minutes to get a lift from a French guy. One the way down the mountain there is a T junction where one way heads towards Perpignan and the other back to France the way we came. Our driver is adamant that going with him back to ...