The Pyrenees: they live up to their reputation

After two tremendous days in Torla and the surrounding mountains, we decided we couldn’t leave yet. The weather forecast looked unbelievable, and we still had swimming (yep, you read it) and more trekking to do.

Torla, Spain

Our first big day, we hiked some 3000 feet up to the snow. Though we didn’t expect to get that far, we couldn’t help but keep going. In the first hour of our journey, we got a brief look at what looked to be a Lammergeier. Lammergeiers are enormous birds of prey that live exclusively in high mountain ranges, nesting on the “most inaccessible steep cliffs” as Matt’s bird book puts it. They are stunning birds, and emblematic of the wildness and beauty of the Pyrenees. Near the end of our hike, we were blessed to see a pair, and watched them with and without binoculars, speechless. They were soaring among the surrounding peaks, and we felt small and so fortunate to share those few minutes with them. It was one of those moments we’ll never forget and a defining experience of the trip so far.

The trail kept going up, so we did too. Our last “it’ll probably be about ten minutes…” push landed us at a saddle with a 360 degree view of the Pyrenees (some 35 minutes later). We feel that we’re running out of superlatives, and none of them suit the day anyway.

Our shorter days consisted of meandering along the Rio Ara, the river that runs through the Ordessa Valley. It’s crystal clear, the classic blue of snow melt. We spent a good chunk of time laying by the river, taking in the water environment, the trees along the valley, and the massive cliffs above. So many ecosystems, so little time. We were accompanied by gorgeous butterflies, water birds (grey wagtails and dippers), Egyptian vultures, fish, and each others company. Amber also jumped into one of the pools much to the delight of trekking Spaniards. Brrrr!

The jump....and swim!