We actually visited the area twice, but the first day it was too cloudy and they said we wouldn’t be able to see anything, so we moved on and visited some caves in the area.  The next day it was still partially cloudy but it was our last chance so we went up anyway.

You can see the clouds in the above photo that I took on the day that we ended up leaving.  We sort of suspected that it might be too cloudy as the entire campground was in the middle of a cloud when we woke up, but we hoped it would clear up by the time we got there.  No such luck.

The next day things were a lot more clear and I was so excited when we were driving up the mountain and could see our first glimpse of the peak!

We had to ride to the peak in one of these, it was pretty full and got really warm but what a great view along the way!

Oh, I also have to mention the guys who work these things. Don’t even try to ask them questions, don’t try to socialize and well, basically don’t try to make any use of them at all.  From what we could tell they were a very small step up from trained monkeys who are there to bring you to the top and back without dying… beyond that, they are absolutely useless.  On the first day we visited we tried to talk to them to ask about the conditions at the top and if it was worth going up, and even though my husband made the effort to speak to them in French, all we got was a few grunts in return.  Our experience of trying to be friendly with them the following day was met with the same kind of reception.

So if you are looking for information, a smile or a friendly face, don’t look there.  Visit the ticket office which is not in the same building, but down and off to the side of the lift area.  They will tell you whatever you need to know and sell you your tickets.

When I looked out and took this photo I wasn’t sure that I could believe my eyes, were those little specs along the path actually people?!

Sure enough, it was, and they were looking pretty darn tired.  The man was trekking along with his nordic walking sticks and the woman was being dragged along behind him by holding onto his backpack.  The boy looked like he was completely out of juice and was being pulled along by his mother.

I had to give them credit, I’d never have attempted that walk!  I wish I could have gotten better photos to show just how long and steep that path is.

This lake was visible just before we reached the peak.  To give you an idea of the scale of everything, there were people walking along those paths as well, they are just so small you can hardly see them!  Tiny little specs along the path!!

Then we finally reached the top, which was amazing. The sky was so blue and the weather was beautiful, although quite windy!  There was a fair few people there but it wasn’t packed to the point of being uncomfortable.  There were people eating at the restaurants, sitting out having picnics and lots and lots of photographers.  More than once I found myself suffering from varying degrees of lens envy while standing shoulder to shoulder with other photographers up there.

One piece of advice I would give anyone that was visiting the area, is to pack a lunch.  The restaurants were busy and somewhat expensive, but there was plenty of areas to sit and eat a packed lunch.  We found ourselves wishing we had done so as it was coming along lunchtime when we were there and we were both starving.  We had food in our cooler in the car but we didn’t think to bring it up with us, so we took the edge off with a chocolate bar from a vending machine and then went in search of a place to stop and eat once were back on the ground again.

The view from the top was even better than on the ride up there.  It was a bit of a hazy day so we couldn’t see as far as you can on some of the more crisp and clear winter days but I’m still so glad that we made the effort to go back.  Like with most things, the photos really don’t do it justice, it’s something you have to see for yourself.

Seriously, I can’t even imagine what kind of view you get when it’s totally clear, it must be amazing. I’d love to visit sometime in the winter but just the thought of driving up into those mountains at that time of year frightens the crap out of me.

Oh, and a funny thing about visiting that area, there are always animals just roaming free.  You’ll see a lot more of them in photos from other areas we visited but for some reason at the Pic du Midi it seemed to be donkeys!

They just hung around the parking lot and socialized with the visitors, from what I could tell they often got quite lucky as well, most of the tourists found them VERY cute and shared their lunches.  I get the feeling that these are some seriously well fed donkeys.

Another interesting thing we noticed is how early people start arriving to watch the Tour de France.  If you look in this photo, you can see all the white motor homes lined up along the road on the bottom right of the photo.  We spent the rest of the day driving through the mountains along the same path that the Tour de France was going go through three days later.  Anywhere that had enough space was covered in trailers and people waiting to get their view of the bikers, it was crazy!

One last piece of advice… if you want information on what you are seeing or what is inside the Pic Du Midi, I’d suggest picking up a little booklet somewhere or printing off info online. I was somewhat disappointed to go through the place and find that there were no translations available.  All of the boards, videos and information are in French and apparently everyone else is out of luck.

Some things don’t really require you having to read anything though, like this miniature version of the Pic du Midi, which I found pretty cool!

If you are every lucky enough to be able to visit the Pyrenees, I’d definitely make the Pic du Midi one of your main destinations, especially if you have a really nice clear day.  I know if I ever return I’ll be going up again, without a doubt!

For more info you can visit their website, again… only available in French, but Google translate is your friend!

Related posts:

1. Movie Review – The Holiday
2. Review: Camping Pyrenees Natura
3. The 19th Wife: Book Review

It was pretty long and had a few turns so it was impossible for me to get the entire thing in a photo, but from the road it was a really beautiful sight.  It went quite high up the side of the mountain and there was a fenced walkway that allowed you to climb up to the top.

It was so peaceful there, if there had been a bench I think I would have sat watching the waterfall for ages.  We stayed and looked around for a while and then hopped in the car and headed off to the Pic du Midi, which was our destination for the day.  I will be working on the photos from there next, but I can tell you it was amazing!  It was actually the reason we chose to go to the Pyrenees in the first place, because I was really eager to visit that one particular spot.  The rest was just a bonus.  Will report back on that visit soon!

Related posts:

1. Where’s That Damn Waterfall?!
2. Hey Moon, You Are ZUPAAAH!
3. Lac d’Estaing

While we were at the lake, we stopped to get an ice cream and I saw this postcard…

They look pretty nice, right?  I really wanted to find out where the waterfalls were so I could get some photos.  I asked the guy who worked in the shop where we could find them and he said, AND I QUOTE:

You drive to the end of the road and it’s just a short walk from there.  It’s not far at all.

Ok, that sounded like something that might be fun!  We hopped in the car and headed towards the end of the valley.

When we got out of the car I was looking up at the hill, you can’t see it in this photo but there were people walking along a path way up the hill. They were so small they looked like ants!  I thought to myself that they must be going somewhere else, somewhere past the waterfall.  I hoped to myself that they were going somewhere else because we weren’t at all prepared for a hike, with only sandals on and one small bottle of water.

You can already see where this is going, can’t you?

It was clear from the start how this was going to go, with Xander being a lot more fit than I was it turned out to be a series of him walking ahead and then stopping to wait for me to catch up.  I huffed and climbed, trying not to worry too much about it as I was convinced that the waterfall was right around the corner.

Nope, all that was around the corner was a nice view back towards the lake.  Oh, and this really nice little mountain shack. I wondered if anyone lived there but we didn’t see anyone around.

We could see a little stream, so where there’s water there must be  a waterfall!  It must be up around the next corner then.

Yeah, not so much… all that was around the corner was a wider path that kept climbing steadily upwards, that is also not as visible on the photo but it was a definite incline.  By this time I was starting to wonder if we were about to become some of those tiny little ants I saw from down at the road.

Before long the little mountain shack was long behind and the waterfall was still nowhere in sight.  Maybe I was just tired but the distances seemed much greater than what it appears to be in the photo.  It was far though, we had been walking for quite a long time at this point.  Surely we had to be close, but there was no end in sight!

Before long neither the shack nor the lake could be seen when I looked back.  WHERE IN THE HELL IS THAT WATERFALL?!!

The entire time this little stream was trickling along beside us.  I wondered, if this is coming from these roaring waterfalls, why does it not seem a little more… rapid?  There was still a long stretch of path ahead of us though and I didn’t think we were ever going to find it.  It was a myth, I was convinced.

The problem was that we’d already gone that far, I couldn’t turn back!  Even though I was fed up with walking on that rocky path with totally inappropriate footwear, I was red as a beet, sweating and getting slightly sunburned… I had to know. I HAD TO SEE where that damn waterfall was!

Thank goodness there was some beautiful scenery along the way!

Then… this happened.

This is starting to look like what should be at the base of the waterfall, look at the sticks and debris… there was some serious water flowing along there.  Notice I said WAS??  Yeah, because there wasn’t anymore!

After hours walking and climbing in our stupid sandals, having long run out of water, THIS is what was waiting for us.  A water trickle.

MOTHER FUCKER!!!!! *echo* Mother fucker…mother fucker…mother fucker *echo*
Yeah, I screamed.  I’m pretty sure hikers all over the Pyrenees heard my cries.

Well, I screamed as well as I was able to while I gasped for breath.

You know those soccer player dudes who crashed in the mountains and had to eat the muscles out of the asses of their dead friends?  That’s pretty much what I imagined my evening to be like, because by this time I was done.  I was just completely and utterly finished. I was going to be stranded in this mountain forever…   After all that, we then had to turn around and walk all the way back down.

We had spent the entire day on this and other than burning a few calories, the photos and chatting along the way, we had nothing to show for it.

I was never so happy as when I turned that corner and saw our car.  Seriously, I was about two steps from having someone call a helicopter to rescue me.

If I had more energy left I would have gone back to that shop and punched that guy in the throat.  Instead we went back to our campground, ordered some dinner from the canteen and booked ourselves an hour in the whirlpool hot tub to rest our aching muscles, it was wonderful!

One day I’m going to go back there and see those waterfalls when they are actually falling.   I have to, it’s like we went to war and the mountain won, I must get my revenge.

Related posts:

1. Hey, There’s a Waterfall!
2. Lac d’Estaing
3. Damn Kids…

I so wanted to go on a trail ride as it’s been years since I’ve been on horseback, which used to be pretty much my entire life when I was in Canada.  Xander didn’t want to though, and I didn’t want to go by myself, so it didn’t happen.

The area around the lake was just lovely.  The road that our campground was on pretty much ends at the lake and the scenery was great.  We were going to take a walk around the lake but when we stopped to get an ice cream at the restaurant I noticed a postcard with a really beautiful waterfall on it.  I asked the guy who was working there where the waterfall was and his answer was “If you just go to the very end of the road, it’s a short walk from there”, so we decided to do that instead.

What an adventure that turned out to be… but that’s a story for another time!

Related posts:

1. Leaving Our Mark on Lake Salagou
2. Where’s That Damn Waterfall?!
3. The Lavender Bush

It’s no secret that I love taking photos of animals, and also that one of my favorite parts of visiting my in-laws is their dogs.  I have such a soft spot for these animals… not just because they are beautiful but because they are so incredibly well trained.  It makes me want to ship Bailey and Pixel off to the south of France for boot camp with my father-in-law!

You may remember last year when I posted about their dog Timo.  Well, sadly a few months after our visit he became very ill again and had to be put to sleep. I wept like a baby when I heard it so I can’t even imagine what it must have been like for my in-laws.  We weren’t sure that they would get another dog, but after they gave themselves some time to grieve they decided they did want to get another dog after all.  Their other dog was quite lonely without Timo and they felt that they were up to bringing a puppy into the house again.

Enter Finley!

Not as much of a puppy by the time we got there, at least not physically, but definitely still a puppy by nature!  He was so playful, he loves to play fetch and play with is toys and my goodness does he love to cuddle!  He loves attention, and you just can’t help but give it to him because he’s mastered the puppy dog eyes, big time.

There is no resisting that face. It’s just not in our genetic makeup to have that kind of strength.  I challenge even the most hardcore dog-haters to spend a day with Finley and not give into that stare.

I also love him because he’s willing to model for me.  I took so many photos of him, which I will post later when I get to them, but I had to share the ones I have done so far.  If you think these are cute, wait until you see the rest.  I’m going to do it in small doses because it would be cruel of me to overload you on the cuteness all at once.  I’m not sure you could take it.

I have only one complaint about these dogs… and it’s about Lally.  I love her, she’s so docile and gentle. Ok she may not look it in the above photo but that’s Finley’s fault, he’s always tormenting her.  Honestly, she has this way about her that makes you just love her.  Every time she looked at me I imagined her as one of those dogs in a Disney film, the ones with the soft and warm voice of a mother or grandmother, ya know?  The one that takes care of all the other Disney dogs.

Notice I have no photos of that look?  That is where my problem is with her, she’s so camera shy!  Every time I try to get near her with the camera she gets up and walks away.  I’ve tried getting my in-laws to command her to stay, and even that doesn’t work. She’s all like “No paparazzi please!”.  It’s very frustrating!!

I still love her, but it’s my life’s mission to get a beautiful portrait of that dog.

I think this is enough cuteness for you all for today, but stay tuned because there’s more where this came from!

Related posts:

1. Hallerbos: Belgium’s Forest of Bluebells

My MIL had been there previously with some friends and really liked it, so we decided to make this our last stop for the day.  I didn’t get as many photos as I would have liked, it was the hottest part of the day and the sun was blazing, but I got the most important bits.

By the time we arrived, we had run out of water and were all totally parched and warm.  The plan was to visit the gardens, have a drink and a bite to eat and then head out.  It didn’t go quite according to plan though.

Before we paid to get in, we double checked that they had a little café where we could get a drink, and were told that they did.  So we paid and headed into the gardens. We decided that before we even bothered walking around that we’d look for the café, but when we got there all the tables had been pushed back with stacks of pizzas on them and some women were there pouring juice. My MIL asked them where we could buy drinks, and the woman pouring the juice acted like we were a total nuisance.  She said that they were busy and the café wasn’t open.

Uhhh… well we were after asking that specifically before we went in, and we were all so thirsty and tired by that point that we had no patience for this at all. My MIL continued trying to talk to the lady, asking if there was any way we could even get a glass of water, and she pretty much told us to piss off.  Nice!   I hadn’t even seen the gardens by this point but I was already set to leave.

Thankfully, my MIL is not the type to just let something like this go. She went outside of the café and found a guy who looked like he was in charge and told him about the response we’d gotten from the lady inside.  He explained to her that they were setting up for a tour group that was there to see a concert (we could see the large group of people on the other side of the gardens) and continued to tell her how it was inconvenient that we were there looking for drinks while they were starting to set up for this party.

Boy did he pick the wrong woman to mess with.  My MIL then proceeded to tear a strip off him and ask how inconvenient can it be to give people who paid to enter the gardens a glass of water in that kind of heat?  I mean, she really gave him a what for.  Then he said if we waited until the group came around we could probably mix into the crowd and get a drink then.  So basically, crash the party.  I could do that!

That’s when we walked around the gardens.  We were all so stunned, pissed off and warm that while we did still see the beauty in the place, a big part of it was spoiled for us.  I took some photos but by the time we got part way around the garden we saw the party gathering to get their food and drinks, so we kind of motored through the rest of the place so we could go get our drinks.

When we went into the café area, they had orange juice that they were filling glasses half way with and then filling the rest with water.  I don’t know if they thought the juice was too expensive or what but at that point we didn’t care, it was wet!  It wasn’t nearly enough though, I put mine back with one gulp and was still dying of thirst but I just did not want to face that heinous bitch again.  She was busy pouring drinks at this little table so my MIL had tried to pour herself a glass of water, and the woman literally wrenched the bottle of water out of her hands.

I wonder, did the people spend so much on this garden that they aren’t getting the return they had hoped to get?  Are they THAT broke that they need to squabble over WATER?!  We had even told them we’d be happy with tap water and were still told to get lost, so I’m not sure what the problem was, to be honest.

I think my MIL was more disappointed than anyone.  She was so excited to show us this place, as she’d really loved it the first time she went and she knew I’d love taking photos there.   We could tell that she was really angry and disappointed with how our visit had gone, but it wasn’t her fault.  I’m sure that if you go on any regular afternoon when there is nothing else going on, it’s great.  You can probably sit and have a drink, then comfortably stroll around the gardens, just like we had intended.

If you go when there is some sort of group there or activity going on you are screwed, because I just don’t think they are set up to handle those kinds of situations.  The words “biting off more than you can chew” come to mind.

In the end, we decided we’d had enough of the place and ended up taking our empty bottles from the car and filling them up in a bathroom outside the gardens.  I think it’s safe to say, I’d never make it in the desert.

All in all, this is a beautiful garden and it’s amazing what they have done with it.  I think it’s worth seeing if you are in the area, but I wouldn’t count on them for anything and if you are there in the dead of summer like we were? –  Don’t trust the people at the entrance, and bring your own drinks!  Also, be sure to check their opening hours as they aren’t your usual 9-5 type of hours, it’s more like a few hours once or twice a week.

Related posts:

1. Book Review: The Birthing House
2. Review: Camping Pyrenees Natura
3. Holiday Destination Review: Pic du Midi

One more thing we did while at the campground was played a giant game of checkers.  My husband isn’t a big fan of playing games, unless it’s something like Trivial pursuit where he knows his knowledge will always trump mine.  I couldn’t believe it when we came along the giant checker board and he said he didn’t know how to play.  How could that be?  I urged him to play and hoped I could use this to my advantage.

I don’t know how to put this delicately, but… I totally kicked his ass!

I tried not to gloat too much as he hates losing, so I patted him on the back and told him I just got lucky.  Then I made sure to take a photo so I could gloat later… because that’s just the kind of wife I am.

No related posts.

We looked at a place that had Mongolian Yurts, which looked really cool, but were unfortunately booked already.  Then I thought, well… if we were going to stay in a tent, why not our own?  Then I settled in with Google to look for what campgrounds were in the area of the mountains that we wanted to stay in.  I remembered some camping forums I had posted on when I was looking at my camping gear and asked them if they had anywhere they could recommend.  The forum is made up mainly of British camping enthusiasts and you can be fairly certain that there is someone who has been to the destination you are planning to visit.

They all came up with the same answer, Camping Pyrenees Natura.  It came very highly recommended!

It was about a five hour drive from my in-laws and we arrived late in the afternoon. By the time we looked around, unpacked and got the tent set up, the sun was already starting to disappear behind the mountains.  You can see that the sun was already starting to go down as Xander hammered in the few last pegs of our tent.

I never really thought of that when booking the campsite, the fact that we would be in a valley where sunshine would be more limited due to the surrounding mountains.  It didn’t matter though, because before long we were both completely in love with the place.

How could we not be? This is what we saw when sitting just outside our tent…

Sunshine, hills, mountains… oh my word, they really do still exist!!  After so many years in the Netherlands, we sometimes forget that the rest of the world isn’t flat too.  So when we see things like this, it almost takes our breath away!

Sunshine, fresh air, spaaaace!  We could stretch out, enjoy the peace and quiet and just take in the scenery.  We’d only been there a matter of hours and were already more relaxed than we could remember being in a very long time… and that was after setting up our monster of a tent!

Once we were finished with the tent we went for a walk around the grounds.  I wish now that I had taken more photos, but it will just give me one more reason to go back for a visit.  Not like I don’t already have about a hundred anyway.  I would go here every summer if I could, no lie…

One of my favorite bits is this little old water mill, which they have turned into a tiny shop.  I wouldn’t have even noticed it if they hadn’t told us about it when we checked in.

It’s small, but holds a surprising amount of supplies. If you were out all day and didn’t get a chance to stop somewhere for food, you could easily put together a meal from what you’d find in this shop. They also have bottles of wine and snacks if you are feeling peckish in the evening.  The closest proper supermarket is not exactly within rock throwing distance so it’s best to stock up as best you can if you are going to do a lot of cooking for yourself.

What I love most about this little shop is that it runs totally on an honor code.  Which, coming from Rotterdam, was almost unfathomable.  When you go into the shop, there are pens and little pads of paper for you to write down the prices of the items you take.  You pick out the food, write down the prices and then go to the main desk to pay.

The little shop is open all day, people could easily just walk in, grab a bag of crisps and then head back to their tent without paying.  I think the amount of trust they put in the people who are staying with them is amazing, and I liked the feeling that gave us while we were there, it was nice.  That’s the kind of campground they are though, it’s not a commercial campground that is aimed at families with a lot of children who need constant entertainment.  It’s a small, quiet campground where all are welcome but are expected to follow the rules, such as recycling your garbage and adhering to quiet times.

The quiet times were after 10pm, and boy was it quiet.  I was in heaven!  We would go to bed with no sounds other than the nature around us, which thankfully never got too frightening at any point.  Not that it really mattered, we both sleep with ear plugs so if something was coming to get us, it’d get us before we even heard it coming.

We both slept like babies straight through until the mornings, which at 1000m up in the mountains was usually in the middle of a cloud.

It was always a bit difficult to tell what kind of day was ahead of us, because even though it looked totally rainy, cloudy and wet, that didn’t mean that it was going to stay that way.  Often a cloud had just settled on us and after hopping in the car and driving for a bit, we would drive right out of it.

Well, that would mean getting out of bed first, of course… which I was never keen to do.

I’d still be up with the birds, but it was just so cozy there in the tent that I hated getting out of bed.  It may have had something to do with it being pretty darn cold at night and early in the morning.  The temperature would drop down to 10-12 degrees overnight, which isn’t terrible but I wasn’t in a big hurry to crawl out from under my warm covers either.

My husband knew me well though, and always took advantage of one of the campgrounds other perks… the bakery!  Each evening you could put an order for bread, pains au chocolat and croissants at the main building and in the morning you could go pick them up, still warm from the oven.

You can bet your ass I got out of bed for that!

There was a lot more that we loved about this place.  We loved that after a long day out hiking (you’ll hear more on that later) that we could book a room with a big hot tub and infrared sauna all to ourselves for 12 euro an hour.  At first I thought it was a little expensive, but an hour is actually a fair bit of time, not to mention it was so relaxing we ended up doing it three nights in a row!

They have games around the grounds that you can play, like the chess set seen above, checkers, ping pong and other activities, so if you are waiting for dinner or just want something to do on a quiet evening, you have options.

There are planned events leaving from the campground each day, whether it’s a nature walk, a local sheep festival or horseback riding, they always have something on the go for people who may be looking for something to do.

They have herb gardens planted around the campground, so if you are cooking you can cut off herbs and use them to give your food an extra kick.  Another thing I noticed close by the herb gardens was a misting pole.  I didn’t know what it was, and foolishly stood in front of it and pushed the button.  My guess is that it’s there for those hot days when you want to cool off.  I wasn’t warm that day though, so all I felt was wet.

Their washrooms and showers were well kept and spotless.  The showers were quite modern compared with some other places I’ve been, as well as free!

I don’t think we had a bad thing to say about this place. Our pitch was beautiful (we got their largest pitch and it was more than enough for our tent and car with space to spare), the staff was extremely friendly, the campground was well organized and quiet, just the way we like it.

The only warning I would give is for those with large caravans / trailers.  To get to the campground you have to go through a few small villages and it’s a tight squeeze in places.  I know from speaking to some who were there with caravans (trailers, to us North American folks)  that said it was difficult getting through.  I’m pretty sure they all felt it was worth the effort though. So just be aware that there are some tight spots along the way.

We would go back in a heartbeat and recommend it to anyone who was looking for a beautiful, clean, and quiet place to stay in the Estaing area of the Pyrenees!

(The first / featured photo was not taken by me. It’s from their website. I thought it gave a good view of more of the campsite)

Related posts:

1. Holiday Destination Review: Pic du Midi
2. TV Review: The Big C
3. The 19th Wife: Book Review

It was hotter than the 7th level of hell the day we were there and we were not at all prepared.  When I looked it up I had this weird idea that it was something you drive up to and look out over the rocks.  In reality, it’s off the side of a little village and you can do all sorts of walking trails through the rocks.

I wore my most comfortable shoes (that I had brought with me, it was that or my flip flops!), which happened to be a pair of black mary jane Crocs (don’t judge, those things are damn comfy!).  I figured if there was any walking at all that these would be my best bet.

SO WRONG!!

Have you ever touched a tire that’s been sitting in the sun all day?  Have you walked on a sidewalk or sand that’s been in the blazing sun all afternoon too?  Well, put those things together and you get what was on my feet that day.  I don’t know what it is with me and setting my feet on fire but sweet baby Jesus, I was literally hopping!  By the time I had walked from the car to where this billboard was, I was almost in tears.  The black rubber shoes were soaking up the heat that was permeating from the rock and sand beneath my feet and I was literally like a cat on a hot tin roof.  Of course, my husband thought this was hilarious, me?  Not so much…

Thankfully my mother in law, who was with us at the time, and my husband also didn’t have footwear on that was appropriate for hiking, so we decided we’d just settle for this view and move on to our next destination.

Apparently there are a few different walking trails that you can follow through the Cirque and if you are up to it there is even a part that you can climb up and get a great view of the surrounding area.  After a quick peek through the village of Moureze we stopped to have an ice cream and were chatting with a British lady who had just done the hike with her dog,  She said the view from up there was spectacular.

This is definitely on my list of things to do on one of our future trips.  Uhh, when we go in winter so it’s not so hot, and I have better shoes on, and I’m in better shape and ….  Ok, it might be a while!

No related posts.

This is a photo I took of Lake Salagou back in 2010 on our previous visit to the south of France.  We had visited for the day with my mother-in-law and went for a lovely drive around the area.  When we saw her this year we decided to visit again.  I didn’t take a lot of photos around the lake because I’ve been there a few times already and done that, but there is something we did that we’ve never done before.  We have never left our mark on the lake, like so many others before us have…

All around the lake are these reddish colored hills covered in names, initials,  and comments.  People pick up small stones and write whatever they feel like writing in the hills.  There are hundreds of names, a lot of so and so loves so and so type of messages.  It’s such a cool idea!

We decided that we would put our name in the hills too!  We decided to put Xammy (for Xander and Tammy), the same as we left on the Lock of Love!

Now anyone who visits Lake Salagou will know we were there.  Xammy was here, July 2011!

Related posts:

1. Lac d’Estaing
2. Where’s That Damn Waterfall?!
3. Navacelles