Une Baguette, S'il Vous Plaît

After dropping Greg off with a complete stranger, Camille and I hastily headed into the Pyrenees and crossed the French border. We were greeted with a much greener landscape but still surrounded with the familiar snow capped mountains we saw from the southern side. Also the bread and cheese is better. 

We also found some nice places to camp where we could wash our clothes in the river and have a fire at night!

Our first big destination in the Pyrenees was Gavarnie, for the views and potentially some climbing. We were greeted with some less than friendly weather and even some snow when we drove high enough into the mountains. 

After camping out in a ski resort parking lot (and cooking in the van due to 0°C temps) we were greeted the next day with a beautiful sunny sky. Unfortunately however our goal of hiking Cirque de Gavarnie was shut down when we found out the trail was closed due to snow and avalanche danger. 

Instead we headed to Lac de Gloriettes for a lovely hike to basically the Spain border (Cirque d'Estaubé). T'was nice indeed. 

We then made a stop at Camille's Aunt's house. It was nice having a hot shower and a real bed. The next day her aunt and uncle showed us a local climbing​ spot which turned out to be super fun. I'm sure going to miss climbing on European limestone. 

Our beautiful drawing thanking her aunt and uncle. 

Next stop was the Ariège region for more climbing. Woo!

On the leftmost mountain in this photo was our goal. A 350 meter, 7 pitch 6a. It was a great adventure: A 2 hour approach, 6 hour climb, 1.5 hour descent (stuck and tangled ropes didn't help) and then an hour hike back. We were exhausted but very satisfied... Almost too tired to enjoy some bread wine and cheese... Almost. 

Today was a rest day. We're currently in Foix exploring the city. Tomorrow Camille drops me off at a bus station. She heads back to her parents place for a family party and I head to Les Calanques for some big scary and beautiful climbing in the mountains. Soon soon she'll meet back up with me either in Les Calanques or somewhere else along the road!

Viva España

Been plenty busy exploring Spain, obviomente. We spent 1 night in Barcelona. Found a craft beer bar with tons of awesome beers! 

Saw some of the sights of Barcelona the next day. Gaudi's Cathedral was incredible. 

Then we headed to Montserrat for climbing, camping, hiking and via ferratas. Montserrat is a beautiful park a couple hours outside of Barcelona. There's a large monestary on top with smaller ones speckled all over the mountains. 

We found a really nice spot to park and camp during our stay in Montserrat. Watching the sunset every night was a nice treat. 

One day we did a via ferrata in the park. It was the first via ferrata for both Greg and I. It was super fun! Right in between hiking and climbing, we gained a lot of elevation while clipping into fixed lines and climbing iron ladders. 

We also did a multipitch climb which got us to the top of this spire. Being the dumb tourists that we are, we thought we'd be okay with t-shirts and shorts. Then we found ourselves in the shade dealing with super strong gusts of wind, wishing we had more clothing on. Regardless, we had an awesome time and the view from the top was spectacular. 

After leaving Montserrat, this was our bathing spot during one of our rest days. 

Near a small town by the name of Camarasa we found some fun climbing that couldn't be any closer to the road. 

We then spent a few days in Parque Sierra de Guara. Having no expectations, my mind was completely blown. It is absolutely​ a climbing Mecca, with an endless number of limestone caves situated in a beautiful canyon. 

Today we're dropping Greg off in Huesca where he'll be heading back to Barcelona and eventually back home. In the next week Camille and I will head north and eventually cross into France via the Pyrenees. 

Granada to Barcelona

After wonderful El Chorro we headed to Granada. It's a beautiful city with lots of history and culture, especially that of Arabic influence. 

Camille was very excited to show me the Alambra, a gorgeous Arabic palace situated in the hills above Granada. Unfortunately tickets were sold out for the day. We still walked around the parts that were free and got a taste of what lay beyond the patrolled gates. 

We camped the first night in the upper part of Granada. The next 2 nights we camped in Monachil, a beautiful​ little town outside of the city. And it was conveniently next to some nice climbing! We spent a couple days climbing and enjoying the peace outside of the city. We even had a French couple join us whom we met in El Chorro. 

Our "camping" spot had a nice view. 

Today we made the long drive to Barcelona to pick up Greg from the airport and explore the city.  Our hostel is right near Spain's very own "Arc de Triomf".

España!

Woops! Time flies by, doesn't it? Well, Camille and I have travelled far and seen a lot. I'll try and be brief and let the pictures speak for themselves. 

On the southern coast of Portugal we went on a boat tour of all of the caves in the area. Albeit touristy, it was a fun excursion. The coastline is so beautiful.  

This is the most famous cave that draws all of the tourists to the area. 

Here's the view of the cave from above. Sweet!

After our cave tour we made our way into Spain. Our first stop was Sevilla. The city is beautiful and full of historical buildings and open parks. 

I forced Camille to pose for a touristy photo. 

After Sevilla we headed into the countryside. We stopped at Grazalema. A serine and quaint village nestled in the mountains of Andalucia. There was climbing nearby but some rain stopped us from trying it out. 

Next stop was Ronda, a city built on a hilltop on either side of a massive canyon. Super cool!

After Ronda we made it to El Chorro, a village in a valley completely surrounded by mountains. And there's climbing everywhere!

It rained the entire first day but we still managed to hike around and look at the limestone cliffs. 

Our camping spot for the 5 days we spent in El Chorro was nice. Neighbors came and went but it was peaceful and relaxing the entire time. It felt good to have campfires again as well. 

I don't have any photos of us climbing the rocks but you can trust me when I say that the climbing is excellent. Great variety of styles and grades with a lifetimes worth of routes to choose from. 

One day was spent hiking the Caminito del Rey which is a stunning hike through the canyon which provides the area with hydro-electric power. Lots of amazing views as you wind through the canyon on a newly renovated boardwalk. 

We then continued east making a quick stop at this place with cool rock formations. 

We spent last night in Granada, another beautiful city. Lots to see and eat and drink. Spain has been really amazing so far (and I might even be improving my Spanish.... A little).  Looking forward to seeing even more! Tonight we'll start making our way towards Barcelona as we'll be picking up Greg from the airport there on Sunday.