Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 11.
Route: Pic du Midi de Bigorre -- Puivert (spend the night)
Must-Incur Costs :
(1) Entrance fee to Pic du Midi de Bigorre - EUR36
(2) Accommodation at Puivert - EUR15
The Story
110915 : Today, we woke up to a beautiful sky. It is a good weather today to be at the mountains. While we were brushing our teeth, I saw a few llamas and donkeys approaching us. They look pretty tame, and I think they are used to seeing visitors. I suppose they were looking for food. I wished I could pat them but I am afraid they may follow me back. Prof Sweet Tooth may not welcome extra guests in his car.
Today activity is to visit Pic du Midi de Bigorre. As always, this place was suggested by Prof Sweet Tooth. I did mention that he has planned this trip for a long time and has a list of places in his mind. My job was to arrange these places on which days in the itinerary. I agreed to this place because it would be exciting to see an astronomical observatory on a mountain peak!
The Pic du Midi de Bigorre or simply Pic du Midi (altitude 2,877 m (9,439 ft)) is a mountain in the French Pyrenees famous for its astronomical observatory, the Observatoire du Pic du Midi de Bigorre (Pic du Midi Observatory). Construction of the observatory began in 1878 under the auspices of the Société Ramond, but by 1882 the society decided that the spiralling costs were beyond its relatively modest means, and yielded the observatory to the French state, which took it into its possession by a law of 7 August 1882. (Source from Wikipedia)
The entrance fee to the observatory is the most expensive among all the places we have been to. Prof Sweet Tooth was half-heartedly paying for the ticket. I assured him that we are not stepping back into this place anymore. We have to see this place since we are here. Plus, it was your suggestion! Haha! I did felt the price was expensive since I mentally converted the currency. We queued up to get inside the cable car. It was just a 20-minute ride to the peak at 2,877m.
As soon as we exited the cable car, I felt the pang of chillness. I could feel it in my bones. I was shivering. I wore my woolen hat and gloves. Unfortunately, I only wore a pair of tights which was not warm enough for my legs. Even Prof Sweet Tooth, the Scandinavian was cold. I tried very much to ignore the cold air, and enjoy the panoramic view of the Pyrenees mountain range. I can said that this was the icing on the cake in my trip. I saw the mountain range and I know how is it like to walk on the mountains after experiencing the short trek in Pyrenees National Park. There was a information board to show the names of the mountain peaks. The view was magnificent. It is the perfect closure to the Pyrenees trip. We were almost at the end of the trip, anyway.
We entered the astronomical observatory and I was so glad of the warmth. It was a museum inside and the history of the observatory was divided into 5 floors (if my memory served me right).
I even saw a raptor flying at my eye level at the peak! Now I know how high raptors can fly.
After 1.5 hour at the peak and satisfied that EUR36 has been well utilised (with Prof Sweet Tooth buying 2 books at the souvenir shop - high places, literally, comes with a high price), we were back in the cable car. I am ready to have a change of scenery from all the mountain views I have seen.
We were absolutely hungry and stopped at the first restaurant to have some French food. I ordered a fancy name (Tarli Maison) on the menu which was actually a hot meal of potatoes and cheese with salad. It is a lot of cheese for me, because I don't eat cheese. EUR10.50. It did get me filled up though. Prof Sweet Tooth had grilled lamb that came with grilled tomatoes, fries and salad. EUR12.50.
I wished we were in no hurry to leave and could enjoy the lunch for a long time with the scenic view of the mountains. Here, I wished I was travelling for a long time. Here, I wished I did not have to work to pay any bills. Here, I wished to stay in the mountains.
Guess who dropped by for lunch - a few passing llamas! It was hilarious
as they strolled inside the village. They broke into a run when a few
dogs chased them.
We continued the drive to Peyrepertuse but we decided to stay the night in Puivert, a one-hour drive from Peyrepertuse. It was time for clean laundry. We were in luck as we found this Bed & Breakfast for EUR15 per person in Puivert Town. We did not do any booking but was knocking on doors asking if there were any vacant beds. The place had a small garden where one could eat outdoors during a good weather. We were allowed to cook too, but we did not use any of the facilities.
In my next post on Peyrepertuse, I have invited Prof Sweet Tooth to write it. You will read the exact words from Prof Sweet Tooth on the place.
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