Tuesday 4th July: Weather 10°C to 32°C hot with blue sunny skies
Gavarnie to Gedre: 12.2k walk: 4hrs 30 mins from 10am to 2.30pm
Altitude Gain and Loss: Total Ascent 600m: Total Descent 800m
Accommodation: Logis Hotel La Breche de Roland
Goodbye Le Hotel Marbore
Highlight today was nothing in the way of mammoth ascents and descents but the short climb up to the Plateau de Saugue at 1600 metres, with the most spectacular views back to the Cirque du Gavarnie and Breche de Roland, the scene looking like a set of lower teeth with one missing. Then arriving at our Hotel de Breche de Roland, with a clear view up the valley to the Breche de Roland - of course that’s why the hotel is so named!
It’s a very late start to the day. We were tired after our big day yesterday that ended at 8 o’clock last night. It’s after 7am when we wake, and I begin to sort the 100 photos Ian took yesterday and make a few blog notes. But it will have to wait or we’ll miss breakfast. So after a quick chat home, we’re down to breakfast at 8am with Bill and Joan arriving a few minutes later. Breakfast is the same magnificent spread and I’d give Le Hotel Marbore 10 out of 10 on booking.com.
We say goodbye to Bill and Joan who are catching a bus to Luz st Sauveur, then upstairs to finish packing. At 9.30 we're up the road to buy a baguette for lunch. We have enough tomatoes butter and cheese to make do. It’s almost 10am by the time we walk down the road through the Vallee de Gavarnie to find the track up to the Plateau de Saugue. It’s 6pm in Brissie time, and we get a text from Will and Cass who have been to see the QLD State of Origin team train at Langlands Park - with the obligatory photo with Alfie Langer.
Plateau Saugue views to Cirque
Cirque de Gavarnie
CaAdmiring fields of Irises
Drying Icebreakers at morning tea
Cows on Plateau Saugue
Beautiful Irises and shepherd's hut
Cirque de Gavarnie
Distant view Breche de Roland
Hotel de Breche de Roland
Hotel view of Breche de Roland
Lunch - cold beer, baguette, soft cheese, tomato and melted butter
Then we turn left off the road and head up a very steep unmarked track, hoping it meets the GR10 at the top. After almost an hour of climbing we find the GR10 markers and walk north towards the Refuge Saugue, constantly looking back at the magnificent view of the Cirque de Gavarnie, with the Breche de Roland coming into view soon after. The day is a hot 32°C and the high plateau is quite deserted of hikers.
At 11.30, we come across a shepherds hut, and sit on the steps in the shade - the first time we’ve looked for shade for 5 days. We have a coffee with views back to the Cirque du Gavarnie and the Breche de Roland, above to the cows on the mountain meadows and beside us, fields of purple Irises. It’s so hot, our Icebreaker shirts are wet and sweaty and we take them off to hang on the stone fence to dry.
The track continues to the Gite de Saugue, a new looking gite, but we’ve seen only 2 hikers today so we’re not sure how busy this refuge is. Soon after, the track meets a road that we follow down to Gedre. We’ve deviated from the GR10 again to break up the 30k day from Gavarnie to Luz Saint Sauveur into 2 shorter days. It's hot walking down the road. We’re looking for shade and a short cut down. But the short cut track is completely overgrown so we stick to the hot road. The road is well graded as it descends 600 metres down into Gedre, a pretty village at the junction of several valleys.
We stop in the centre of the village so Ian can locate the Hotel de Breche de Roland, and find it’s 300 metres down the road. it’s a 3 star Logis hotel and really nice. There was not much choice in Gedre but this suits us perfectly - and there’s drying racks in the boiler room downstairs. But first a drink. We dump our bags and find the little Alimentation Generale 200 metres further down the road and buy 2 cold beers and a warm rose. I start to ask the shopkeeper in French if we could leave the bottle of rose in her fridge until we return at 7pm tonight, but she understands my sign language perfectly and takes the bottle of rose to put in the cheese fridge. Perfect.
Back to the hotel and lunch of baguette, melted butter and tomato with a cold beer. Then time for a shower where I do a stomping wash on all our clothes spread on the shower base. Washed, rinsed and rung, Ian takes them down to the boiler room and soon we’re on the bed blogging 2 days worth of adventure and watching the Tour de France.
Ian snoozes while I blog and watch Mark Cavendish crash in the Tour de France. It’s 6.30 when we walk down the road to collect our cold rose and but a bit of this and that for dinner and breakfast. There’s a freshly made bowl of pate in the fridge. The lady tries to explain what it is but no comprende. So we take a chance.
Back at the hotel, we spread out dinner on the floor and have left over mace and tomato from Gavarnie, our fresh baguette from Gavarnie, and our fresh pate from the little shop in Gedre. The pate is crunchy - we can only guess what’s in it - has to be some good gut bacteria! The rose is perfect and cold and at 4 euro - about 6 aud - it’s cheap. We’ve had 30 euro bottles of wine that taste worse. The Hotel is not very busy and we have a room at the back with a view of the garden - it’s incredibly quiet.
By 9pm, we’re ready for bed.