Encantados

Another day in the mountains dawns bright and clear, and with about a week’s washing done and drying on our two little verandas, we buy some bread and ham for lunch and check out the options for getting up the mountain. 

We choose to drive to a car park about half way, then impatient with waiting for a taxi, enjoy a beautiful 4 km walk up through forest and meadows into a mountain wonderland at Sant Maurici Lake.  This part of the Aiguestortes National Park is called “Encantados”, or “Enchanted”, for good reason. 

It. Is. Just. Beautiful.

   Walk options beyond the lake are limited at the moment because there is still a lot of snow around, but one trail we’ve been advised is open heads around the lake then climbs to a higher lake, Estany de Ratera, and perhaps on towards Les Agulles d’Amitges (the Amgites Needles). How far we can get will depend on the snow.

Every few metres there is a new panorama. We climb up past the Cascade de Ratera and into snow just before the Estany de Ratera. At 2 pm it’s time for lunch.

No sooner had we settled in than these two guys turned up, and we were inseparable for the rest of our time at the lake.  They had no fear and were very keen about anything we might have to eat.  

Have you ever been chased by two waddling ducks while trying to make speed on slippery snow?

The Estany de Ratera is the most beautiful place, but we had to accept that we really didn’t have the gear to go further up this route, so headed back down with the intention of trying a different walk from Sant Maurici Lake, lower down. 

However, on the descent to the lake we agreed that the building clouds looked remarkably similar to the ones that had hailed on us yesterday…. 

At Sant Maurici Lake we were able to jump into a 4WD taxi down the mountain almost instantly, and got back to our apartment just in time to get our washed and dry clothes inside before the rain started – and it hasn’t stopped in hours…

Sadly, that’s the end of our walks in the high Pyrenees.  Tomorrow we are on the move again, heading east towards Barcelona.