330 miles and 14 000 metres!

So sorry for the lack of communication.  I have been somewhat sidetracked by the World Cup.  Those who know me will be surprised but largely immobilised in front of the television I'm kind of subject to whatever is on, and with at least 2 football fanatics in the house with me most of the time, that's kind of a foregone conclusion.  Recognising that, and in the spirit of parents trying to keep a child occupied with a holiday scrap-book, two of my sons persuaded me to start a new blog - the World Cup from the perspective of an almost-60 yr old woman who knows nothing about football and has almost as little interest.  Well, the tactic has worked.  I'm much more involved in it than I ever thought I'd be, and am finding some of the reporting and peripheral subject matter really quite interesting.  So far I have managed to blog daily from the first match - general ill-informed ramblings, but then, that's perhaps not so different from what I see from the professionals.  If you're interested its at www.mumsworldcup.blogspot.com, but I would caution you not to have high expectations.

As for the Pyrenees, with the sun shining here and me starting to get a bit restless, I'm so missing the mountains but am not as disappointed now by the accident as I thought I'd be.  I have had 5 fantastic weeks and will go back for the remaining 3 weeks, probably next year.

So, what did I do in those 5 weeks:

• I left St Jean de Luz, Pays Basque on Tuesday 27th April and stopped just short of Aulus-les-Bains, Haute Ariege on Wednesday 2nd June.
• I walked about 330 miles, and climbed a total of around 14,000 metres (more than 1.5 times the height of Everest!)
• I walked through the Pyrenees Atlantique (Pays Basque, Bearn), Hautes Pyrenees, Haute Garonne and Haute Ariege.
• I stayed in hotels, chambres d'hotes, gites d'etapes, gites and private homes.  I received a great welcome wherever I went.
• I particularly enjoyed walking and/or meeting up with friends and family, spending time with people I met along the way and the times (lots of them) when I was alone.  The solitude was a very special part of the trip.  Just as well as it was a bit early in the season and there weren't many other walkers around on the route I was following.
• It made a big difference having contact with friends and family at home.  I really appreciated all the messages I received.
• I had good times and bad times.  Not all days had bad moments; all days had good moments.
• There were real times of challenge where I thought I might have bitten off more than I could chew.  It proved not to be the case and the sense of achievement afterwards was amazing.
• I was revelling in the freedom of the experience and the impact it was having on my mind and body, but I was really looking forward to the final 3 weeks, during most of which I would be accompanied by a succession of family members.  I am disappointed I didn't get that far.
• I would happily do it all again, but would change certain elements of the trip.  I will definitely tackle the final stretch in the near future.

There are more detailed thoughts and reflections to come, along with the photos. Organising my thoughts is proving almost as difficult as organising the photos so it may take a while.  Please bear with me and keep checking back periodically.  For now, a couple of photos from the day of my biggest mental challenge - from Germ to Lac d'Oo

 Looking back down the valley towards Germ            

 The Col d'Esquierry - my route towards a steep descent to the next valley