PYRENEES ADVENTURE 2012 (Part 3)

Sunday 1 July 2012...continue

It was around 3.00pm local time, when we finally arrived at our destination in the small village of Figols de Tremp in Spain. You could hardly call it a village as it only consists of 10 houses, so it's more of a hamlet, really. Some houses were occupied by families, others were completely empty. Figols de Tremp nestles just beneath the 1000m escarpment of the Serra de Montllobat in the Catalan Pre-Pyrenees.

Nero enjoying the view from the cottage

Figols

Figols surrounding scenery

Local landscape

Casa Rafela a typical Catalan stone built cottage was gonna be our home for the next 8 days. The house looks out directly over orchards, olive groves and open woodland before the landscape drops sharply to the floor of the Conca de Tremp, once the bed of an inland sea where dinosaurs roamed. In the distance, and in contrast to the typical Mediterranean landscape around the village, the peaks surrounding Andorra can be seen, snow capped from October to May, whereas nearer to hand lies the 'Parcs Naturals' of the Serra de Boumort and the great natural barrier of the Serra de Montsec boasting 300m sheer cliffs in its dramatic ravines; the Congosts de Terradets and Montrebei.  

Casa Rafela

Terrace

If you're planning mountain trekking and climbing holidays, it's not a bad thing to have a place to stay after a long and exhausting days out, and in times of bad weather. Of course, it might not be always possible to have a comfort of warm bed, not when you're planning to ascent high peaks where the climbs can spread over few days. But not in my case, not this year. This year will be the first time for me to do mountain trekking along with my dog. It's not the best idea to have a dog accompany you on such adventures, but it's not impossible either. Personaly, I would say ...if your dog is 100% obedient with good physical condition and stamina, there is no real issue in taking him with you. But keep in mind, even then he will find it tough and exhausting. Rough alpine terrain can often cause injuries to the dog paws, so having your dog equiped with a walking boots it's more than necessary! And one pair might not be enough, as it wasn't enough for Nero. On his first ascent he completely destroyed them walking across sharp rocks. Also, it's great to have your dog carry a light backpack with his water supply, electrolytes and k9 first aid kit. Harnesses are necessary, too. There could be times, when you will have to pull or lift your dog to help him.

k9 socks to be used with boots

Nero with boots on

k9 summit backpack

To be continued.....