Canyoning

July 5, 2018: We are staying in the Pyrenees town called Luz Saint-Sauveur. James and I stayed here with his family in 2004 when we biked in France. There are several "haut-catagorie" climbs in the Tour de France that come in and out of this town. One of the famous moments was in 2003 when Lance was pulled down off his bike when the handlebar caught the bag of a spectator on the side of the road. Anyways, today we did one of the big activities that we've been looking forward to doing. "Canyoning" is something James and I tried in the Alps in 2002. You wear a wetsuit, harness and helmet and go hiking through a river. We drive about 30 minutes south to a remote section of town. We travelled up a windy mountain road with cows and sheep crossing the road. It was gorgeous. Wild flowers, green hills, waterfalls here and there and snow capped mountains. We met our guides, Paul and Guillome, at an auberge up high. They brought out all the wet suits and gear for us to try on. Once we all got kitted up we got back in the car and drove down about 5 minutes to the place where we would enter the canyon. If there was ever a time I wish I had a camera, it was now. The water was absolutely freezing, but very manageable with the wet suits. They told us to scoop some water into them right away so they would warm up and not be a shock. The only thing that was chilly were our hands, and they were very cold. We were in the canyon for just over two hours. We did three rappels, two zip lines, a rock waterslide, and jumped off of a cliff into a deep hole. The kids did such a great job. It was such an incredible sight to look up and see them rappelling down through a giant waterfall. Julia ended up getting very chilly so we stopped. I'm not 100% sure if that was the stopping place anyways or if we would have continued. Our guides only spoke french and despite my french, I wasn't certain. We walked back to the cars and got our of all of the gear. The kids had an absolute blast and we were so excited to introduce them to canyoning.

Lourdes

July 4, 2018: Today we woke up near Biarritz in France and set out for Lourdes. We arrived around 11:30am and walked towards the baths. We thought we were in line for them but we were actually in line for the grotto where Mary appeared to Bernadette. We were behind three African women who were each dressed in a Lourdes dress from a souvenir shop. They were rubbing their hands on every inch of the cave walls and once they got to the main place they rubbed their faces, got their hands wet in the seeping water and rubbed it all over themselves. The girls were staring and taking it all in. We walked further down to the baths and discovered they had just shut things down for siesta. Frustratingly it seems like things like this have been a trend for us on this trip. We drive one day in beautiful weather to a place to go hiking and get there in foul weather. Just annoying little near misses. Even today, I went to go to the post office and found it had closed 10 minutes earlier. Anyways, back to the baths. We had to wait until 2:00 for them to reopen so we went to walk around. We went into the cathedral to sit quietly for a few moments, walked into the town to find a grocery store for lunch supplies, and let the kids wander through the souvenir shops to get little water bottles to fill. Then we headed back to get in line at the baths. James got in the men’s line and I took the girls into a family line where moms can take their kids. We arrived at 1:40 with it starting back up again at 2:00. We went right up front as there was only one pair in front of us in the family line. It was a nice time to arrive because I was able to talk to the girls about the experience beforehand. We did not force the kids to do this, they all chose to give it a try. One nice surprise was that at 2:00 all of the volunteers came out and we all took part in a group prayer. It was really cool to join hands with people from all over and say the Our Father in so many different languages at once. There are people from all over the world there and you can tell from their languages, style of clothing, and look. There is also a line of infirmed people. One lady and her caregiver seemed overcome as they prepared for their turn and both cried. Irregardless of how much you believe or not, it is difficult not to feel the power of such a spiritual place. They called our turn around 2:15 and we moved from a bench outside the to a bench inside the “building”. The girls got a little more anxious about the unknown of what would happen behind the next set of curtains. There were all sorts of people going in and out of the curtains. About 15 minutes later our turn was called and we all went in together. There was a “room”, which was about 6 feet x 6 feet with curtains on all 4 sides as walls. There were plastic chairs facing in along three of the walls. There were several “attendants” inside waiting to help us. They explained in a combination of French and English how the process would work. We were to face the wall and undress completely while they held up a large blue sheet type thing to provide some privacy. Once you were undressed they wrapped you in the cover up and you held it closed and sat down to wait your turn. The girls managed it all very well. Molly and JJ were given small colorful towels instead of the blue wraps. A few moments later we were ushered behind the remaining curtain to the room with the bath. It was small, about 6 feet x 12 feet with three attendants inside. They told me I had to go last so I volunteered Casey to go first because I knew Molly was very anxious. One attendant took Casey onto the first step down of the bath and stood behind her and held her shoulders. The other two women were down two steps at bath level and approached Casey to wrap her in a wet cloth. They very discreetly switch the dry blue wrap for the wet white one. Once she is in the new wrap, the two women each take Casey by an arm and said, “are you ready, here we go”. She walked down the two steps into the bath, the women holding her by her arms the entire time. It was about knee deep on Casey or maybe just above. They walk you to the front of it, then say “sit down” as they help dunk you back. You do not get your head wet, they just lower you up to your shoulders. As they walk you back to the steps we all pray together. I thought we would say the Our Father but they said “Out Lady of Lourdes, pray for us, Saint Bernadette, pray for us, Mary our Mother, pray for us”. Then Casey went up the stairs, they discreetly switched her back into the blue wrap and she stood to the side. One by one we each did the same thing with Julia going next, then Molly and finally me. Once I had finished we went back into the changing section and then departed. We found James easily and discovered that he got out of line because he thought he would take much longer than us and didn’t want us to have to wait afterwards. He had been in the baths in 2004 when we went the first time (when I had to drop out of line for the same reason). The kids filled their souvenir bottles with holy water and we went back to get the car. We drove just 20-30 minutes into Luz-Saint-Sauveur in the Pyrenees. We found our hotel and walked around town very briefly. We came back and the kids jumped into the pool. We have a kitchen so I got some groceries and we had a cooked meal. Hot dogs for the Fourth of July or course! A huge storm rolled into the valley and we are enjoying the rain and thunder sounds. I’m praying for nice weather tomorrow as we have an exciting outdoor day planned for the kids.

Picos National Park

July 3, 2018: Today we set an alarm and woke up early to go hiking. The window for good weather was small so we wanted to take advantage of it. We left our hotel around 7:20 and we were out of the car looking for the trailhead in the town of Poncebos by 7:45am. We wandered around a little bit as there was no one around. We hiked up the street and found the trailhead for the "Ruta del Cares". This is an out and back hike on a narrow path carved into the side of a cliff going along a gorge. There is an aquaduct that runs from the town of Cain to Poncebos. In the early 1900's the workers made this path to be able to work on the aquaduct. We commented that this would never be allowed in a US National Park as there are no railings or anything to keep you from falling to your death. It started out with a big climb but was then flat. We walked for about 2 1/2 hours before turning around. Once we turned around and got half way back it was jam packed with hikers. We were so glad we set out early. We ran into mountain goats, enjoyed the views and tunnels carved into the rock and threw stones way down into the river. We loved figuring out the aquaduct and wished we could get in a tube and float down the mountain in it. The water was crystal clear and very cold. Weirdly, it reminded me of a ride at Disney. It was so perfect I expected the next empty log flume cart to come by so we could hop in. We hiked for about 5 1/2 hours total including snack breaks. After the hike we got in the car and headed East. We stopped in the town of Laredo to give the kids a break, just on a whim. We found a beach and it was amazing. The beach was huge and totally deserted. The kids and James swam and we played around for at least an hour. Everyone got a little sunburned. We got some food at the supermarket. The kids finally tried churros and chocolate (like a very thick and rich hot chocolate you dip the churro in). We pushed on and into France. The kids are exhausted and so are we. It was a great day, but we are pooped!

Playa des las Catedrales

July 2, 2018: This morning we left our luxurious apartment in Laxe and drove north east along the coast to Playa de las Catedrales. Julia threw up out of the car window again. We had read about this beach but had no idea that it would be so touristy. The beach is set below big cliffs and many have been carved out to form awesome arches and caves. We were a little put off at first by the tourist factor but the kids were loving it. There were tidal pools to wander in and out of and the kids got wet up to their waists. We started to discover some small, dark caves that the rest of the tourists were not going into, so of course, this is where we went. The kids used flashlights and went in and out of little slot canyons. The water was beautiful and not too cold. James and the girls took a quick dip on the main beach as well. We got caught in a few showers and then dried out on an area with lots of flat rocks. The kids built cairns and made rock beach chairs. We spent a little more than two hours exploring this cool beach. We then pressed on to a small town near Picos National Park. To the kids great delight the town in called Poo (des Cabrales). We are going to try very hard to go to sleep early tonight so that we can get up early to hike tomorrow.

Laxe

July 1, 2018: Today we drove to the north western coastal town of Laxe. The drive was lots of windy, back roads and right before arriving in town Julia threw up out of the window. Almost every home had these interesting elevated stone homes that they store their crops in.

Laxe has the feel of Maine. Very rugged coast line, fishing town, big cliffs. We walked around on the fishing pier and then headed just 5 mins out of town to the peninsula looking West. There is a tiny beach that is covered in sea glass. I've never seen anything like it. We explored all around it, looking at glass, climbing on the rocks, and watching the ocean. Then we hiked around the lighthouse at the edge of the point. We came back to town because the weather is pretty nasty (cloudy and raining off and on). Our hotel blew our minds. It is a modern three bedroom apartment with two bathrooms, a kitchen and living room, all looking over the ocean. We hung out for a little while and the kids took a bath in the gigantic tub. Then we headed to a cafe to watch the Spain-Russia world cup match. The locals were going nuts over every little thing so it was very amusing to be a part of. When Spain lost in penalty kicks they were sad. One little boy was even sobbing. We had dinner in town. James and I tried local fare; octopus, scallops, and roasted green peppers. The kids had pizza. We finished the night with more soccer watching from our couch. It felt good to have a slower day. We're uncertain where we are headed next. Our plan was to go along the northern coastal beaches and then into Picos National Park but the weather looks terrible for this whole week. Tomorrow may be the ultimate day of winging it.

Ourense

June 30, 2018: Today was a record late start for us. Normally, when we travel, we are early birds. We get up out of our tent at 5 and are on the road or trail before anyone else. But apparently the European summer lifestyle has taken over. We don’t finish dinner until 10 pm or later, and by the time we get back to our hotel and get settled etc we are all going to bed between 11-12. It’s nuts! The next morning brings 9-9:30am wake ups and the vicious cycle begins again. One taxing part of this trip has been the winging it. James and I usually thrive on this mode. But with virtually no cell data to rely on we have to be on WiFi to make plans. Finding campgrounds, best trails, best restaurants is usually done from the passenger seat en route from one place to the next. Not in Europe. We get home from dinner and try to do some planning to know where we should head the next day. I usually fall asleep before a decision gets made and so then it has to be done the day next morning. Therefore delaying our departure. We want to break out of this rut but it is tricky. We had plans to explore all the beaches on the northern coast the next few days but of course the weather looks bad so now we have to scramble for a new plan. Anyways...back to regularly scheduled programming; my report on Ourense, Spain. We drove into the mountains today and it rained most of the trip. We found our hotel which could not have been more different than last nights opulence. This looks like a storage container unit. Does the trick though. We came here to swim in the thermal hot springs but there was thunder and lightning when we arrived so we checked into our hotel first. Things calmed down so we went out in search of this place. We parked and walked along the river, over a bridge until we discovered the thermal pools. I cannot believe this place is free. Cool little pools, all fairly shallow filled with naturally fed hot spring water. There were not a lot of people there when we arrived. I think it was calm because the weather had been bad. We had fun testing all the different pool temperatures, dipping into the real river to cool off and just relaxing. We stayed for a long while and it was getting more crowded by the time we left. We went back to shower then headed out to eat. World Cup soccer was on and we went to a locals Italian restaurant. On the way home we got out to climb up this cool looking, modern bridge. I loved the contrast to the Roman bridge just a few hundred yards away. Blogging after midnight...it continues.