hiking in the French Pyrenees

The Cirque de Gavarnie was our first destination after we arrived in France. After all, this trail is regarded as a very exceptional and memorable one. So, we expected a very crowded trail and we weren't mistaken. But we got up early in the morning, before six o'clock and started to walk from the village of Gavarnie in the darkness. It turned out to be an excellent idea because we were alone there for about one hour, we listened to the sound of water falling over the rocks, observing the magnificent natural amphitheatre, and waiting for the morning light. It was exceptional. When we were returning to the village, we met an enormous number of tourists walking along the way.

Po prihodu v Francijo je bil najin prvi cilj Cirque de Gavarnie. Ker je ta pohod izjemen in nepozaben, sva pričakovala, da bo tu ogromno pohodnikov. Zato sva vstala res zgodaj, že pred 6 uro zjutraj, in se še v temi odpravila iz vasi do slapov, kar se je izkazalo kot res dobra ideja. Kakšno uro sva bila pri slapovih čisto sama, poslušala sva šum vode, ki je padala čez skale, občudovala veličasten naravni amfiteater in čakala, da vzide sonce. Bilo je res posebno. Ko sva se vračala proti vasi, se je po poti že pomikalo ogromno turistov.

The following day we planned to appreciate the view of the mountain Vignemale. The most visited trail leads near the Gaube Lake, but we decided to walk a bit longer and took the approach from the village of Gavarnie. We reached the Refuge de Bayssellance and intended to descend to Gaube lake. The weather in the Pyrenees can change immediately. Due to the cold and fog we decided to return after we

reached the mountain hut. The mighty Vignemale was hidden behind the clouds.

Naslednji dan sva načrtovala pohod proti gori Vignemale, vsaj od daleč sva jo želela videti z lastnimi očmi. Najbolj znana pot vodi mimo jezera Gaube, midva pa sva se odločila za daljšo pot iz vasi Gavarnie. Najprej sva se povzpela do koče Refuge de Bayssellance, nato pa sva se nameravala spustiti do jezera Gaube. Ponagajalo name je vreme, ki se v Pirenejih res hitro spremeni. Zaradi mraza in megle sva se kmalu po obisku planinske koče odločila za vrnitev v dolino. Mogočna gora Vignemale se je skrivala za oblaki.

We moved to the village of Heas and the following day walked to the Cirque de Troumouse. Here we walked along the summer pastures, wildflower meadows and streams to the lake.

Po premiku na izhodišče v bližini vasi Heas sva se odpravila so Cirque de Troumouse. Hodila sva po planinskih pašnikih, travnikih posejanih z rožicami, mimo potočkov vse do jezera.