Ariège - another Reprise?

The journey back was OK apart from the grim dealings with Goldcar in Barcelona - a 'never-again', especially queueing for 1hr 10 mins in 33C heat to sort the paper work out - appalling!
Once on the road things were better and a steady drive though the Pyrenees saw us back at Chez Arran in time for an evening beer.
With only a week we have had to crack-on but four days in, the important jobs are done. It has been about as warm as expected, thought 35C two days ago was a bit of a shock. We headed up to Soulcem (photo left) at 6000' where it was a lot more equable.
Back to Spain next, Barcelona to swap cars (not looking forward to that) then on to the Costa Blanca for a 10 day flier to collect the last bits of info for that book too.

Then it is away for autumn in Kalymnos for a bit of downtime and some climbing.

We have booked back into Chez Arran from mid-December for three months - who said we like the area?

South ->

It has been pleasant enough being home, jobs got done, routes got ticked and some quality socialising with old friends. The summer has been quite mixed, but that has suited me with work and play going on pretty well in equal measure.
We have been home almost seven weeks and both feel the need to head off. A week in Ariège and a couple on the Blanca should do for starters. It has been desperately hot down in Spain but it looks like it might just be set to cool down fairly dramatically - good luck or good planning?

High Summer

Summer is always a tricky time, Europe is hot and crowded, the UK is just plain crowded! Scandinavia is doubtless the best bet, but without a direct ferry nowadays it is a long haul via Denmark and the whole journey can end up cripplingly expensive, especially if you end up head to the far north.
Five weeks we have been back in the UK and I realised today, out in the Peak, that is just about long enough!
It has been great getting out with the 'team' several days a week, and I have made huge progress with the Ariège guide, but we are both getting itchy feet. A flight to Barcelona is booked for two week hence - off we go again!

Rigth: Big Bro and Little Weed

I have been submitting some of my shots the the Alamy Photo-library, the ones from the DSLRs all passed muster and the ones from all my various compacts were rejected. A visit to Harrison Photo-video was in order and I am now the proud owner of a Sony NEX-7, a compact camera with a huge sensor - lets see how it goes!

Thumb Twiddling Time

We have had some great days out with the team in the Peak ticking old classics, picking the decent days and avoiding the weekend crowds!
It is about seven weeks before we head off to Kalymnos for the autumn - so - what to do?
Mooted plans included Arctic Norway, Ireland, Ariège and the Costa Blanca. Time (and the weather) will tell.