We are briefly out of lockdown here in France, anticipating a third national confinement from January. My body and soul were aching for the mountains, so Remy suggested we take a day trip to Gavarnie. A quick online search led to descriptors such as ‘natural amphitheatre’ - perfect.
As we are now up at Remy’s parents’ property just inland of our apartment in Ondres, southwest France, Gavarnie was a little over a two-and-a-half-hour drive. We set out early and the excitement was real; our first wild adventure since our three-day sailing trip to San Sebastian at the end of summer. The drive alone from Lourdes to Gavarnie was breathtaking. Remy and I fell in love with the stone-and-wood combination architecture style abundant in the Hautes-Pyrenees. I’m not sure exactly what that style is called but we will be researching further as Remy is super keen to learn this type of construction technique.
We parked at Gavarnie and walked the two hour round trip to the hotel below the natural amphitheatre, as far as you can go during winter so we are told. To be honest, with the right equipment, I’d like to explore a little deeper, but as we only had basic winter clothing and don’t have crampons or snowshoes (yet) we stuck to the main path and this alone was absolutely stunning.
Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the ski resorts in this area of the Pyrenees are closed this winter, but in the future, we will definitely be back to hit up the slopes.
