It’s absolutely gorgeous here – I thought Blanc was a beautiful hostel, but Amitges is amazing – fantastic sun deck, nice big restaurant, hot showers, (1 Euro), flush toilets, soft pillows – very nice.
Last night at Blanc was interesting. It was a Saturday, so there were a lot of day-trippers who either took taxis up or walked from Espot (not easy, mind you). So dinner was noisy – we shared a table with 9 Dutch people (some kind of family reunion, we think) and they didn’t know the routine: get the plates, get the soup, get the bread, get the salad, etc. They were surprised when we leapt up and got the things for the table. They also lit up when we mentioned that we had different food b/c we were vegetarian – and went to go ask for veggie food. So when the main course came and Wil went to get it, they said “These are for the OTHER vegetarians” – and it was a fried egg. Then ours came: lovely lasagnas. The omnivores had potatoes and sausages, but there was some concern that there weren’t enough potatoes for 11 (despite the fact that 4 of those people were vegetarians…). But anyway.
After dinner we sat by the lake for a while, and then went up to our dorm to try to sleep, which didn’t work for a while. Lots of people enjoying a noisy Saturday night by the lake. But eventually I dropped off, even though the man next to me was snoring mightily (even through my earplugs). (Perhaps I should note that it wasn’t Wil. )
Slept reasonably well, and then got up early. Had breakfast right at 7: bread, cheese, tomatoes, orange juice, hot chocolate – and then packed up to go.
We had looked at the maps and decided that the “option B” from the description was the way to go. So we set off down the “road” from the hostel towards Espot. It was really steep, very rocky, and I found it difficult to believe that anyone could drive up it. But, later on, a Land Rover passed us, moving slowly. So down down down we went, while I extolled the wonders of a 1:25,000 map.
We got to the “water tank” (reservoir) and noticed a grassy road veering off to the left – but we couldn’t see the canal. We were sure it had to be the right road, however, so we set off. It was lovely and level and grassy, going up gradually, and very peaceful. We were hurtling along when Wil said “Maybe there’s water beneath us?” Sure enough, every 500 m or so we’d seen a concrete square in the path with a ring in the top. When we stopped and listened, we could hear water. Success!
I was still nervous about the semi-cryptic description: “When you get to the tunnels, go to the lowest side.” So we came to a tunnel …and walked through it. Oh, but there was another tunnel, looking very dark. We put on our headlamps and ventured in. I freaked out at the first broken beam, but managed to continue to the site of the full cave-in. Yikes. We turned around and I hurried out of there. So then we started to look for the path around the tunnel. The start was clear, but Wil climbed up, saw the sheer rock face, and said “I can’t do this.” I saw a small white square on a free a few feet down (rather than across) and then noticed some cairns. The route dropped quickly – I spent most of the first 5 minutes on my bum, sliding along – but then climbed as quickly. It was clearly marked, so only 10-15 minutes of terror. Then back on the main path – very lovely – until we came to tunnel #2. We were prepared by the map that it would be a longer detour, so we simply spotted the cairns and followed them around. Some small panic, but mainly very nice. Interestingly, there were multiple “blazes” of reflective tape on these detours – which leads me to think that the SkyRunners who do the circuit in one day do this route – probably at night – rather than cross the Monastero pass.
Once back on the road we were only a few minutes from Mallafre. We walked around the corner to find our Swedish friends eating their picnics and getting ready to walk to Espot to catch a bus to Barcelona. They had had quite an adventure – told us how horrible the Monastero pass was. They said they were frightened, worried they would die, etc. So very happy we made our choice!
It was really nice to see them again, and to trade stories about snoring, farting, and spooning strangers. But we all needed to get back on the road, so we got our forfaits stamped and set off for Amitges.
We stopped at the San Maurici lake, the other “half” of the national park, and ate our picnics. No candy? What? But it felt weird anyway to see so many day-trippers.
We took the Swedes’ advice and went along the lakeside path to the waterfall. Weird again; we’re tromping along with big packs and there are people carrying handbags. Perhaps weirder were the people with walking poles and no packs.
Saw the waterfall and then climbed up alongside it for a while until we reached the forest road. We walked along it, past lakes, waterfalls, and flowers. All the while it was climbing steadily. No shade, getting very hot, but at least it was even going. The last km or so was crazy steep – so steep I took a picture of a Land Rover inching down it. But we trudged on and on, occasionally passing someone coming down with a day pack, and cheering us on. Then – finally! – here.
It’s gorgeous – and our fellow hostellers (who don’t seem to be going all the way round) are (so far) nice Dutch families. We’ve been sitting on this fantastic sun porch and drinking sodas – marvelous. It’s beautiful here, surrounded by mountains and lakes and the sound of a waterfall.
Started the day with just 5 stamps in our forfaits; now we have 7! Very happy about that.
Tomorrow’s stretches look fine – the Swedish guy said the passes aren’t scary and I believe him – so it feels like we are nearly finished. I know it’s wrong to look forward to the end of things, but I’m really looking forward to finishing. I’ll be really happy this time tomorrow!
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