Farewell to the mountains

It's become a tradition to stop at the Port de Bonaigua (Port = pass in Catalan) on the way home to take a photo of the view from 2072 metres above sea level. I parked in a different place this time -- here are previous views. A glorious day today, with lovely clouds. Extra: S admiring the view in his very, er, photogenic T-shirt.

Even though neither of us was as fit as we might be, we enjoyed our stay. It's always a pleasure to see G and A, whom S first met in a mountain refuge, and now we've been back five times the place feels very familiar. I do like this part of the Pyrenees with its dramatic rocky peaks, hill-perched villages in dark local stone and slate, cool rushing rivers, and verdant green valleys.

We managed to time our journey right to arrive at our favourite tapas bar in Bossost just in time for the start of lunch service. In our enthusiasm we somewhat over-ordered, so I improvised a doggy bag and we've just enjoyed the excess tortilla with a glass of wine.

Then we paused at the venta on the border to stock up on essentials such as olive oil, ham, and detergent -- home by 5 pm to a very delighted little cat, who has enjoyed some poached fish and my lap, in that order. Little Tommy has left us a drawing of him stuck to the fridge, helpfully labelled gat.The weather here is rather strange ... it's overcast and windy but 31C. Most unusual.

Oh! Finally, on the subject of the Pyrenees, if you have access to the UK's Channel 5, our friend Georgina will be appearing in the first episode of Michael Portillo's series on the Pyrenees, starting Tuesday evening. Allegedly she will be dressed in brighter colours than him. And possibly her personality will outshine his too -- I wouldn't be surprised  :)