Escalona to Argeles-Gazost, France …..famous Tour de France passes the easy way

September 17th

Another crisp, sunny morning low of around 6 Celsius but expected to reach a high in the mid teens ……….not bad for the Haut Pyrenees….and should make for some lovely views:

No breakfast included so we were off and running sans coffee…. the rivers are reminiscent of glaciated rivers in B.C.:

to get to France we will not need to climb to a pass but will simply burrow through the Bielsa Tunnel (one-way traffic):

………and voila, we are on the French side with some wonderful views from the col:

We expected some windy roads and we were certainly not disappointed …we must have gone around a 100 hairpin turns in the first hour alone descending to the valley floor….

we pass through some scenic villages along the way:

……………….stopping for a coffee just before the start of the 1st real climb

after all we are going up one of the major climbs of the Tour de France, so we need to feel energized to reach the Col d’Aspin. The cyclists are out and as we climb the mountain, we appreciate the effort they are putting in….with some pretty senior men/women grunting and groaning their way up…until finally the summit of the Col d’Aspin.

……where we are met by some rather bored looking cows…..Annie could not resist getting in on the action:

So off we go down the hill, it is a bit weird having a cyclist passing when you are driving at 45 kms per hour…….these guys have guts and they are not the pros:

Well no sooner are we at the bottom of the valley then the fun starts again as we start to climb the Col de Tourmalet an epic climb for those who follow the Tour…….

At the top the temperature has fallen drastically, with the cyclists taking their hero shots, donning windbreakers and starting their descents

As we dropped down into valley the sun again put on a friendly face and we were excited by the pastoral scenery

…..with few cars the drive was leisurely until there was a traffic jam:

……eventually we extricated ourselves from these creatures and reached the spa town of St. Lauren de Luz (yes, another very pretty town) a quick look around, another 30 minutes and we reached Argeles-Gazost. Installed ourselves in the hotel >>>  this was not a beauty…..more hostel than hotel but a very nice lady was the owner.

As it turned out we had the best WiFi reception of the trip, albeit after 3 visits to the owner, persistence pays off!

………………….long but good day, so some wine, some blogging,

….more wine, then out for dinner ….they have a neat trick in this town, instead of hiking to the old town (up a hill, of course) …you ride an elevator …love it. Recommended resto actually, a pizzeria, was fun with travellers, hikers and pilgrims eating and laughing….good fun…down the elevator and it’s bedtime again.