Sciatica - Arghhh - Update

My Minder keeping a watchful eye

 We assume it is sciatica - whatever it is, it has has pretty much floored me - the numbness/tingling in my left leg is especially worrying. We made it back to Chez Arran but I wasn't in a great state so we booked a Physio who was excellent - loosening things up nicely. Then things got worse so we visited the 'emergencia' at the hospital in Foix - the doctor I saw was pretty dismissive - gave me a prescription and a form for a scan - the first available date was two months away!!

About to spend 30 mins in a noisy tube

So after a lot of stressing and throwing ideas around, plus asking questions on FB we decided out best option was (probably) to head back to the Costa Blanca and try and get sorted by going private. Of course Christmas/weekends/New Year got in the way but within three days I had seen a doctor and had an MRI scan which was pretty amazing. We await the results while I hobble around and chew through twelve tablets a day - not a lot of fun, but at least the pad is nice, the weather is good and Sherri is on hand 24/7.

Update: The scan shows a synovial cyst pinching by lower spinal cord - the back specialist says it is 'serious' and  needs sorting - more scans to come and probably an op :-(

Update 2: more scans and the surgeon thinks I need 3-4 discs replacing with titanium inserts and the cyst removing - a four week wait, a four hour op and £18,500 for the pleasure - ouch on every count.

Back to the Blanca - One More Time

Our pad at Mascarat - though not all of it

 After a month of cool windy weather arriving back on the Costa Blanca was a complete tonic, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted as we enjoyed warm sunny days and glorious sunsets. We stopped in the same lovely apartment in Mascarat that we weathered Covid Lockdown 2 in, back in early 2021. I did a bit of climbing but felt vaguely ambivalent about it, not sure if that was because we know the area so well, or I was just happy to enjoy the sunshine without the need to keep scaring myself!

The last supper, Pal and the final sunset

The only fly in the ointment was my second bought of sciatica - the first, in Ariege two months ago was unpleasant, this one was worse, more painful and longer lasting, two weeks in and I still haven't shaken it off. Currently we are stopping in the Ebro Delta, Ariege bound where I will need to hunt out a physio/osteopath.

Off We Go Again

You might guess it is windy around here

 We are due back at Chez Arran mid-December for a couple of weeks cat-sitting so thought we had better crack on. A week in the mountains above Lourdes was very pleasant though the climbing was limited for a variety of reasons. Then south through the Pyrenees to Morata de Jalon, a place we last visited an amazing 19 years ago. It is a great area with a lot of climbing but for almost two weeks the wind has blown, occasionally roaring and on one occasion ripping tiles of roofs and hurling a big wheelie bin into the side of our car - bugger. At least we have got a fair bit of climbing done - there are very few climbers around - which is always nice. 

The way home

We have decided to head to the Costa Blanca for a month, I have a book to finish and (as ever) it looks very nice down there. As an aside, we have been asked to do another possible cat-sitting in Kalymnos in January - house and car provided - that would be a nice mini-break.

Autumn is Here

Calames and mackerel sky

 We climbed with Colin around Briançon for a few days then he was away to Spain with a car load of stuff he was transporting. We stayed a little longer then headed down to Buis le Baronnies, where, once again it was too hot for comfort. There was some confusion about our leaving date, and on the Wednesday morning we had to pack the car in a rush and hit the road. We headed to Chez Arran a day early, luckily they had space for us.

In the event, John's contract to work in South Sudan was late, so we were only needed for two day's cat sitting - the two week's free accommodation was a bonus.

Through the autumnal parks

We got a bit of climbing done but my first ever bout of sciatica put a dampener on things - pretty unpleasant, though manageable through walking and stretching exercises.

Next we are heading west to check out the Haute Pyrenees, last time we were over that way, last February, everything was snow-bound!

The Heat is On/Off

The Maurienne - we like it around here

We had just over a week in the UK and than it was off again - Sheffield > Portsmouth > St Malo > Avallon. The only fly in the ointment was the emergence of a heat bubble just before we set off - the week we spent near Avallon was 33-35C everyday which way too hot to climb. Basically we hunkered down, made a real effort to keep the bedrooms cool and went for gentle local walks.

Our local crag - 120 routes, minutes from the parking

Then it was away to the mountains - five hours to the relative coolness of Aussois up at 4,800' and some climbing - at long last! Things cooled down nicely over the next week and Colin arrived (14.5 hours for an 8.5 hour journey!!) so even more climbing - currently on nine days out of the last eleven.

Then onwards again, over the Galibier Pass (8C and thick fog) to a pad near Briançon for a week - looks like a chance for a bit more rocking.

Currently booked in for two weeks cat-sitting at Chez Arran in ten days time - but just waiting for the final confirmation.

Ready for Off

Last stop in Norway - Thorbjørn's cabin at Riksgransen

Norway was great, the weather was kind, things were cheaper than we expected and we got all the photos we needed - the drone was a massive help with that job. I actually managed to crash it for the first time, clipping the tip of tree on the way into land. It was a spectacular tumble through the tree and down a rubble bank. Fortunately damage was pretty minimal - a split blade and a couple of scuffs - though my ego took more of a battering.

Then it was a three plane hop back to the UK to get ready for our upcoming trip to France and make use of our 180 day visa.

Back to the Peak - at least it isn't raining - for now

I actually went climbing with Colin after a break of 67 days which may never have happened in the past 50+ years. Of course it was hard work, but there is still a glow in the embers of enthusiasm - let's see what France brings

Back Up North

The view from the cabin - northern sunset and cruise liner

 After seven weeks in the UK we filnally got back on the road - taxi to Manchester, flight to Stockholm, swap planes - though it was actually the same one - then up to Kiruna in Arctic Sweden. The two days we were there it pretty much rained all the time - but at least we were away! Then it was up through the mountains, over the border and down into Norway - the weather improved all the way and we were soon established in Thorbjørn's superb cabin just west of Narvik. 

The magnificent Eidetind

A few days in and we have photoed several of the cliffs in the Narvik area - the current book has been out of print for about six years - and some of the peaks around Eidfjord - all for the next edition of the Lofoten guidebook which we hope to have out in time for next season.