Ceret

May 24, 2014

Over Coll d'Ares and down into France

After yesterday's tough climbs, today's crossing of the Pyrenees over 5000' Coll d'Ares seemed almost easy by comparison. We took our time starting out - breakfast at the hotel did not commence until 9, but we were in no hurry anyway because it was quite cool outside. Once we started we began climbing almost immediately, toward the border and the pass summit. We climbed about 2000' in about 11 miles, but it was never arduous. It became gradually cooler all the way to the summit, and at the top it was overcast, windy and quite cold.

We stopped at the summit to layer up for the coming descent - a 4500' drop in 30 miles to our night's lodging in Ceret. Even with long pants, an extra shirt, a jacket and warm gloves, we were shivering when we arrived in Prats de Mollo 15 miles later. Riding the whole stretch to Ceret seemed too cold, so we stopped in a pizzeria there for an omelet and tea. We were somewhere between amused and appalled there when a friend of the staff walked in with her cheerful border collie on leash, visiting in the doorway to the kitchen as her dog energetically wagged its tail and was vigorously patted by the kitchen crew. Ah, France!

We were still a bit chilled when we left our lunch stop with another 15 miles of descent still to go; but as we lost elevation it gradually warmed up, and by the time we arrived at our hotel in Ceret we felt decidedly overdressed.

Ceret is a wonderful small town, and a delight to wander around and explore. The historical core consists of a network of very narrow streets lined with Catalan houses with their characteristic wrought iron balconies. Ceret is renowned for its artistic history - for several years Picasso and Bracque lived there and attracted several other impressionists to visit. It has a significant modern art museum (which we came across too late in the day to visit), as well as several showcased public works of art. It made a perfect one night stopover.

Net elevation gain: 2,100 today, 27,500 total.

Video clip from the summit: https://onedrive.live.com/redir?resid=73ED18EEC8BA7424!544&authkey=!AEcJjgKnJtWA7-I&ithint=video%2c.mp4