The Pyrenees

The Pyrenees mountains stretch for 480km from the Atlantic coast across to the Mediterranean forming an impressive natural frontier between France and Spain. They rose from beneath a shallow sea millions of years ago when the European and African continental plates collided. Since then the gigantic glaciers that covered most of Europe during the last great ice age have shaped the magical natural features we see here today.

The Pyrenees mountains are not just a geographical barrier between France and Spain, but a divide of culture, climate, flora and fauna and way of life between two very different countries. The Pyrenees are one of the last wilderness areas of Europe and can only really be appreciated on foot. 

The Capcir plateau offers hiking trails to short walks and Capcir and Haut Conflent are traversed by the GR10 and HRP (marked long distance footpaths) linking Hendaye to Banyuls.

You can get your copy of my ebook  "Capcir Spring"by clicking HERE if you are in the USA or here if you are in the UK  Thank you

Who were the Cathars

"The Cathars were heretics without a name. The word Cathar is a slang name, used by Catholics as an insult. The words Perfect, the elect, and Credentes for the followers are similarly lifted from the annals of the Inquisition. They called themselves Good men, Good Women or simply Good Christians. They were, undeniably, dualists who believed that there were two Gods – the good God of the spiritual world and the Bad God of the material world. Accordingly the material world was of no interest. They believed that you had to reach a spiritual enlightenment in order to finally reach the Good God. The Catholic Church with its sacraments, relics, rules and prohibitions was seen as, at best, an irrelevancy to the Cathars. Catholics had simply missed the point.

The Catholic Church in Languedoc was a sad mess at this time, the late 12th Century. Corrupt and worldly Archbishops and Bishops led a trail of usury, ignorance and malpractice right down to the average village priest, who probably had a few concubines and was woefully ignorant of the substance of Christianity. In comparison the wandering Perfect were ascetic, saintly men who ate no meat, were celibate, learned and lived as simple, wandering artisans. They had little difficulty winning adherents. But while dualism was rife throughout southern Europe there were special reasons for its success in the Occitan; as mentioned, the Church was feeble, but the feudal system had not thrown up the central organisation it had in Northern France and England. The ancient custom of dividing land equally between all children, men and women, had seen to that. Cathar Perfect could be women as well as men, and many of the leading lights of Catharism were noble women of limited, but independent means. The Occitan was a fragmented, independent state, not easily controlled or regulated.

And so the Dualist faith thrived. In many mountain villages Dualists were in the majority while in towns like Carcassonne or the region’s capital, Toulouse, Cathars and orthodox Christians (and indeed, Jews, remarkably enough) rubbed shoulders happily, each content to worship their own."

This quotation is taken from a website authored by Brian Creese.

You can get your copy of my ebook  "Capcir Spring"by clicking HERE if you are in the USA or here if you are in the UK  Thank you

Walking in Capcir, France, Pyrenees

Walking in Capcir
Some of the best walking in Europe can be found in the Pyrenees with the summits attainable for most relatively fit walkers. There are plenty of well maintained footpaths and marked trails that criss cross this mountain range from coast to coast. This photo was taken by one of the many small lakes in Capcir.



You can get your copy of my ebook  "Capcir Spring"by clicking HERE if you are in the USA or here if you are in the UK  Thank you

Walking in Capcir

Capcir - walk the same trails as John in the novel

Walking through the Pyrenees

 Starting the tour de CapcirA short minibus journey takes us into the Capcir, a high bowl of lakes pasture and forest surrounded by mountains and known locally as "Petit Sibire" (little Siberia) which tells you a lot about its winters. We start walking from the pretty village of Matemale and skirt the eastern side of the Capcir in a long day of forest tracks and paths, with cracking views across to the Puig Carlit (our eventual high point of the week, and the highest peak in the area, even higher than the famous Canigou). Skirting the lake of we cross its dam to the old village of Puyvalador then on up a beautiful side valley to the hamlet of Espousouille.

CamporellsWe leave our friendly gite d'étape and follow the Vall de Galba upwards into the mountains. A good path takes us to the remote and beautiful Camporells refuge (bunk beds, outside toilet, basic food). A gorgeous spot.

Traverse of the PéricsThe two mountains in front of the hut are the little and big Pérics. We will climb them both by some extremely steep paths followed by a descent involving a bit of scrambling, down the northeast ridge. Vistas of mountains all round, a good chance of seeing vultures, and possibly a lammergeier. We traverse the Puig de la Cometa and drop down to the even more remote hut of D'En Beys. Similar accommodation.
Into the Vall d’Orlu
We leave the Camporells and retrace our steps of day 4 briefly before heading up the mountain to the Estany del Diable, the Lake of the Devil! We cross the ridge and descend steeply into the Orlu valley. We make our way up to the remote Refuge d’En Beys.

Puig CarlitHopefully you had a good rest because this is the big one. An early start heading south down the very remote valley then we strike steeply up the western flank of Puig Carlit, at 2921m the highest peak in the Capcir, and in this part of the Pyrenees for that matter. Tremendous views from the top. We then descend a long rough path followed by wanderings on green pasture next to a multitude of shimmering lakes, with semi-wild herds of horses. Finally we drop down to the huge Bouillouses reservoir and cross its dam to get to the relatively opulent Bouillouses refuge. We can even go out to dinner, as there is a bar/restaurant next door!

Completing the circleA relatively relaxed start and we soon strike off into the forest. Coming out onto alpine pasture we skirt the Lac d'Aude and easily ascend Mont Llaret behind it. Superb views of our previous adventures. A steep descent through the forest brings us out onto a forest road and down to the beautiful lake of Balcere with its little cafe and ardent anglers. From here we follow the forest track to the village of Les Angles. The lake of Matemale glitters below. We descend and skirt the lake (possibility of a swim) then a short pleasant walk through open woodland takes us back to Matemale, and we are soon back at the hotel.

Further infomration can be found at the Pyrenees walking website .

You can get your copy of my ebook  "Capcir Spring"by clicking HERE if you are in the USA or here if you are in the UK  Thank you

Pascal on the Pyrenees...

“There are truths on this side of the Pyrenees, which are falsehoods on the other.”

Blaise Pascal


You can get your copy of my ebook  "Capcir Spring"by clicking HERE if you are in the USA or here if you are in the UK  Thank you

Plotting a novel is like sex

Plotting is like sex. Plotting is about desire and satisfaction, anticipation and release. You have to arouse your reader's desire to know what happens, to unravel the mystery, to see good triumph. You have to sustain it, keep it warm, feed it, just a little bit, not too much at a time, as your story goes on. That's called suspense. It can bring desire to a frenzy, in which case you are in a good position to bring off a wonderful climax.

But also

Plotting isn't like sex, because you can go back and adjust it afterwards. Whether you plan your story beforehand or not, if the climax turns out to be the revelation that the mad professor's anti-gravity device actually works, you must go back and silently delete all those flying cars buzzing around the city on page one. If you want to reveal something, you need to hide it properly first.
(Colin Greenland)

You can get your copy of my ebook  "Capcir Spring"by clicking HERE if you are in the USA or here if you are in the UK  Thank you