The Pyrenees (extended remix)

So, here we are in the wonderful Spanish Pyrenees (in the background are the ruins of an old village dating back, ooh, a thousand years?). Yesterday we decided to go for a spin, so hired a little red hyundai and headed for the hills, armed with a big map, the Lonely Planet and not much else. We really weren´t sure what to expect, especially after a rather tiring trip the day before to the seaside. More on that later (and perhaps some retro photos, too) but for now, its all mountains.

The first bit of excitement was passing the medieval bridge in Besalu, and then we freeway´d it on to Olot. Might I add, that besides a short stint ot two on easy Canadian roads in a fully automated spaceship, this was the first european driving experience for either of us, and so the blood pressure was a little higher than usual. It raised somewhat furthur on entry to Olot, as we got ourselves well and truly lost in the burrow of one-way streets and roadworks. The ´quaint´alleyways soon featured a small red car headed the wrong way. We decided that the best part of valour would be to park the stupid thing and hoof it, so with a little luck we found the Information desk and all was well after that. Until we tried to drive out of Olot, which had changed shape in the last hour and now resembled the spaghetti I ate three days ago.

Finally, and swearing never to enter a town by choice again, we were off in the right direction, a faith confirmed by the sight of big ol´mountains in the distance. The roads became serpantine and the scenery just go greener, until we stumbled into a little hamlet for coffee. Luckily, we timed out departure to conincide with a bus of oldies shipped direct from a Madrid nursing home, and we left them in a cloud of dust and burned rubber by the side of the road. Furthur in to the drive, we found a whole series of stunning towns, nestled like little jewels into the mountainside. Isolated churches (including one little place dating back to 997) and abandoned houses peppered the route, as the road hit Italian Job country.

Theres really not much we can do to convey just how amazing the drive was, except to say that we´re already planning our return. High-tailing it back to Girona to get the car back was made difficult by the sheer indirectness (?) of the roads, and also the four laps of the city trying to get into the blasted car park. Still, with no crashes, only minor disorientation, and a flat camera battery, we made it back smiling but tired from our pyrennean adventure.

We are the self preservation society...