Back to the Blanca

Leaving Ariège always feels like a bit of a wrench - but there is work to do - so hay-ho, we are heading southwards!
We started with a couple of nights at Castelldefels close to Barcelona - busy, busy, busy. Then it was south again, just over four hours to Finestrat, where we spent five excellent days at La Plantacion hotel. Highlights included a late evening visit to Sella to photo the Wildside and a full day trip down to Leyva. The hire car we collected in Barcelona (a nearly new Renault Fluence) began to die on the long hills up to Guadalest, by the time we got home in the evening the clutch was completely cooked - we had to push it part of the way as its hill-climbing power was reduced to zero. Sixt did well though, a tow-truck arrived within the hour to remove the dead Renault and close to midnight a replacement (Opel Insignia) arrived on a flat-bed.
Friday we moved to Calpe and were astonished how busy the place was - our hotel of choice was full so Sherri did a bit of snooping and got us a smart bungalow close to the beach.

So - back to where it all began - 25 years ago! Full circle I guess.

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.

North Men

Graham was pleased we were home, he hoped the UK might get a bit of sun at long last - and true to form we did! It was a bit cool and blowy which had the advantage of keeping the midges at bay; they have been particularly bad this year.

Left: Dan on The Link, put up 40 years ago by me

We have a couple of months before we head off to Kalymnos, a break in the UK might not be too bad!
A year ago yesterday we climbed Hamaroyskraftet - Stanage was steeper but not as enjoyable.
We went up north for a few days to visit the parents and finally make contact with Colin after his heart surgery - a few pleasant days in a nice part of the world. Sherri's mum has a nice new pad in Saltburn and Colin was looking well, fresh from a few days in Scotland.

Right: Sherri finds a quiet corner in Paddock Farm

Homeward - but slowly

We finally bailed out out of Chez Arran after 17 weeks - the holiday season is about to arrive and it has been warming up so we headed for the seaside.
We have a ferry booked Bilbao to Portsmouth for the weekend but decided a few days on the coast might be recompense for having to leave the mountains.

Photo: Bouldering on the remains of the Atlantic Wall.

Follow-up: we stopped at Ondres, just north of Biarritz for four days, and it was pretty pleasant, some fantastic beaches, plus an interesting area of lagoons and reedbeds inland where we did a bit of 'birding'. It sounds like life at Chez Arran is trundling along perfectly well without us - even the cats are coping. We drove to Bilbao to catch the ferry and had some more beach-time - it was incredibly busy there probably because it was the weekend - I had forgotten what a noisy rabble the Spanish could be! The crossing was smooth and on time, a rapid exit and by 11:30 I was sat in the big chair with a scotch - job done.

What to do with the rest of the summer is the real question?

Photo: A man lost!