We have taken a little break from sailing…
Merryn is safely tucked away on the hard in Pasito Blanco, on the south coast of Gran Canaria. She is having some minor repair work done so we have taken a few weeks off. Our first stop was back in the UK, where we packed a lot into a few short days. Our friends Ros and Godric have bought a lovely house in a village in Somerset, and we spent a week-end with them, relaxing in their home and enjoying their hospitality. Back in London we caught up with family, saw the wonderful Van Gogh exhibition and found the time to see the Pretenders in concert – Chrissie Hynde still rocking and with a fabulous voice.
We are now in France, where we are enjoying unseasonably good weather. As I write this, the sun is shining, and the fields are green. Sheep are even grazing in our back garden! This time last year, the mountains were covered in snow and we were skiing. We have had the most amazing opportunities for long walks, even up to the high mountain passes in the Beaufortain and the Vanoise. We have been outside virtually every day, eating picnic lunches and walking routes with almost no one else in sight – a marked contrast to the walks we did in the Summer.
In our first week, as well as repeating some old favourite routes in the mountains, we have also found new walks. Up in the Beaufortain region we had a long walk to the Col de la Sauce, seeing Golden Eagles in flight and, as we descended, a parapenter taking advantage of the thermals. The next day we returned to the same area, but this time walked up to the Ville des Glaciers, and on to the Col de La Seigne for great views of Mont Blanc.
Michele, an old friend of Cate’s, joined us for our second week in France. Michele is on an extended tour of Europe from her home town of Hobart in Tasmania – which is where Cate met her when she was working there about 30 years ago. We met up in Annecy, taking in a quick tour of the lake before retuning to Ste Foy. The weather stayed good, so we were back out for more walks – up to the Ruitor hut, across to Italy via the Petit St Bernard pass (still open in November!), back to the Beaufortain for a walk to the Petit Berger, and a visit to Tignes. We had a lovely walk around lac de Tignes and lunch in Val Claret where Michele got unexpectedly friendly with the owner’s dog! Michele has been a terrific guest, entertaining us and treating us to a lovely home cooked Chinese meal. She is now continuing her tour – a visit to Zurich, then some time in Malta and the UK before returning home – enjoy the rest of your holiday, Michele!
Now we are back to just the two of us, and we have been getting on with some jobs – Cate has been busy in the garden preparing a new flower bed for next summer and tidying the existing beds ready for winter. When not at home, we have been out for more walking, including a new (for us) walk in Val d’Isère: the Tour du Charvet is a popular off-piste ski route which we have skied many times, now we have walked it in reverse from the foot of the Manchet chair lift. We were treated to the incredible sight of a Lammergeier that circled for ages before alighting in a field just a few metres from us – close enough to get great views through the binoculars, but a little too far for our compact camera, sadly!
The good weather looks set to hold for a few more days at least – a great opportunity for us to get some more walks in, but it must be a worry for the ski resorts: Tignes is due to open in just two weeks and there is no sign of snow yet. Our next post will be from Gran Canaria, where we will be meeting up with all the Vikings Rally participants for the first time and getting set for the Atlantic crossing.
Wow! The mountains look fantastic in the late autumn in such tranquil conditions. Xx