At the far left hand end of the Pyrenees we found a wonderful little spot perched high on a ridge. The road up was thin and precipitous so a pause at the top for a few deep breaths was called for. A small restaurant and tourist shop straddles the border between France and Spain but presents itself as being totally Basque. Here you can buy bells for cows (big ones), hats, knives (also big), preserved meats and other paraphernalia purporting to be regional. We climbed a hill. Watched vultures slope soaring. Drank a beer and admired the sunset. As darkness fell, everyone went home and we were left alone. We camped there for the night and watched a properly spectacular sunrise in the morning (best time for them). The road down the other side proved to be equally exciting and took a couple of hours so we were pleased that we had opted to take a break.
Tag: pyrenees
Pyrenees by bike
The Pyrenees are a beautiful mountainous area with steep winding roads and spectacular vistas. Ideal biking territory. We have a KTM 690 Enduro R on the back of the truck. It sits on a platform along with the spare wheel. This is raised and lowered by a small electric winch. The KTM is a compromise but a pretty good one. Ideally, we would have a bigger bike for Diane to ride pillion. At the same time a smaller bike would be easier to handle off-road and for loading onto the platform. The KTM has a single cylinder engine. This makes the bike fairly light (125kg) and slim. But it still has enough poke that, even with a pillion, it can get down the road in a very handy fashion. As an alternative to Diane, I can also fit two panniers on the back for luggage. This is very useful for fetching and carrying things. When not in use the panniers also attach to the bike carrying platform.
Tail lift for the spare wheel, bike and panniers 
Don’t mess with the goat 
So, we spent a delightful day bobbing around little roads in the Pyrenees with no particular place to go. An assortment of goats and sheep added to the entertainment. Refreshment came from numerous drinking fountains dotted along the way. We followed a really tiny, winding road up to the border and then dropped down into Spain. Along some fast, flowing roads. Back up to the heights. Briefly down a dirt track and finally along a spectacular valley bottom back to Baloo.