Pic du Midi d'Ossau Circuit

Well, the countdown has begun to leaving Catalunya and walking in some serious hills in Nepal so we headed to the Pyrenees with two aims: to explore some new parts and to get fit! Three days of wild camping and walking amongst the high lakes and pastures of the Pic du Midi Massif ticked both boxes...

As we were slogging up the hill these chaps were lazing in the sun... 

"leave me alone I'm trying to sleep!"

Worth the effort though as we found a nice walled camping spot next to Lac Casterau with views of Pic du Midi d'Ossau - the rather large mountain that dominates the skies in this area. 

And pulls in the cloud! 

Breakfast in my enclosure...

Early morning sheep invasion! Hundreds of them, all with bells...

Guarding the tent spot and food supplies! 

Peace at last! 

Continuing our circuit by lac Bersau...

To the meadows of Lac Gentau and another nice campspot! 

A persistent donkey gets a whiff of our food... 

You can plead with those eyes all you want but WE DO NOT SHARE FOOD!!!

Finally he gets the hint and goes back to his grass. 

More sheep underneath the Refuge d'Ayous...

Check out my quiff.

The sheep filing off for pastures (and lunchboxes) new...

Another photo of us sheep? We're gonna start charging...

Peaceful reflections in the afternoon... 

A beautifully flat and picturesque pitch - the tent pegs just glided in :-)

Moody evening skies...

And finally stars as Ali hones his night photography! 

A stargazer's paradise! Loads of shooting stars too...

Hello sun! 

Finishing my morning cuppa...

View from the Refuge d'Ayous...

After walking all the way down to the bottom of the valley we then had another hill to climb up to complete the circuit... feeling the burn! 

Still, we met more sheep than people in this more secluded of valleys...

A particularly fine coat on this chap.

Keep in line everyone...

Rush hour traffic on the way to Col de Suzon...

A day in Barcelona

Another item from our "things to do before leaving Catalunya" list was a visit to Park Guell, a funky park designed by Gaudi in the north of Barcelona. We'd heard it was a honeypot, so we had an "alpine" start, leaving the house at 5am to catch the early train! Whilst getting up at such an ungodly hour is never pleasant, it was well worth the effort as we pretty much had the place to ourselves for an hour at first light :-) 

The rest of the day was spent exploring more of the city, wandering around some of the different quarters and indulging in some quality people watching! A good but tiring day - walking in the mountains with a heavy rucksack seems easy in comparison! Anyway, some snaps. As always, all Ali's work! 

The sun hitting the mosaic seats of Park Guell's "Greek Theatre" nice views over the city and out to sea!

Incredible curves...

Painstakingly detailed mosaics...

Stone walkways in the "Laundry room" sector... not many washing machines around though?

The dribbling Lizard that adorns the entrance!

A formidable guard or warm welcome?

The impressive "Hypostyle Room" originally designed to be the estate's market. Still functions as one today with all the peddlers!

Ingenious market stall!

Funky flowers!

The scene at 10am and the reason we got there early!!!! Pretty much all the mosaic seats covered by tourist bottoms and peddler's wares!

Every wall around the entrance is just covered with funky mosaics!

He even decorated the outer walls!

Not everyone welcomes the visitors...

We went to the famous Sagrada Familia, but the crowds, traffic, scaffolding and cranes meant that Ali refused to take its photo! 

More of Gaudi's handywork at Casa Pedrera...

The curves close up...

Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria (the market just off the Rambla). Stunning colours, sights and smells! 

Muchos fish!

Muchos prawns!

A rainbow of chillies...

Muchos fruit.

Muchos ham.

Mmmmmm muchos chocolates...

Anyone for a marzipan hamburger? Or flip flop?

Good people watching at the City Hall...

The dogs, apparently!

Ending the day at Ciutadella Park and the Catalan Parliament Building.