20-22 May Getting into the Walking

Sunday dawned - it was time to get back into some serious walking. We're very keen to explore the countryside like we did last year, with plenty of 12-16 kilometre walks. A reasonable re-introduction was the Hauts de Ceret route, a loop up in the hills behind Ceret which takes just under 2 hours. We cut that out easily, following it up with a coffee at Bar Pablo to rehydrate. We managed to pick a nice number of ripe and juicy cherries from trees overhanging the track along the way. The 'hunter gatherer' mode kicks in pretty quickly when we are here. We're already planning a walk much further up in the Pyrenees where we should be able to crop raspberries in July or August, and in another location in September where we know there will be vast numbers of blackberries. October is the season for scouting for cepes, the local favoured breed of mushrooms.

A local 'serpent' we frightened off his or her sunny perch beside the track

Sustenance along the way

Monday saw us take a step up with relaunching our 1hr walks which include 3 to 4 30-second sprints (HIIT - High Intensity Interval Training). We've found it is the best way to achieve and maintain fitness. It was pretty ugly. It's probably 3 weeks since our last sessions in Nelson and our edge has seriously been eroded. However, at least we did it and we now have a benchmark showing how much we can improve. Needless to say, the rest of the day was fairly quiet and revolved around trying to decide on a trip itinerary for where to go when our apartment is rented out from mid-July until mid-August. We so enjoyed our tour around Brittany last year when the same thing happened, that we are planning to do a similar trip this time, but in Rhones-Alpes and Alsace areas, in NE France. Our focus will be on doing some decent walks in the Alps. 

More sustenance - how's that for size. About NZ$3.

We enjoyed our first apero (drinks and nibbles) since our return with a delightful French couple on Sunday evening. They had bought the apartment immediately below our first one, in Place d'Eglise. We got to know them well then and also spent a few days with them in their holiday house in the Limousin two years age.  We get together whenever they are in Ceret visiting family. They live in Paris. Their younger son stayed with us for a few days in Nelson when he was travelling around NZ earlier this year. Anyway, we had a very enjoyable few hours, speaking mainly in French. Another couple also arrived - he was a Brit but born to a French mother and she was Kenyan. They now live here and run a business looking after holiday houses.

We had planned a long walk for today but the forecast was rain and our bodies were keen to stay in bed as long as possible. In the end we opted for an hour's walk in the countryside above Ceret, and of course the sun remained blazing so we didn't need to worry about the weather. 

Flowering roses are everywhere. They are simply gorgeous.

More trip planning in the afternoon and we are slightly further advanced about where we might take off to in July. It did indeed rain momentarily in the middle of the afternoon but came out hot again. Summer definitely seems just around the corner and temperatures are in the 20s.

We have to get on and sort a builder to come and look at the leak in our roof. The ceiling in the mezzanine is covered with mould in one corner. The builder who constructed it, and has been back three times at our request to try and remedy the leak, has failed miserably. It is worse than ever. Our co-proprietary has insurance for the building so we should be able to work in with this. 

There is obvious evidence that the English woman below us (plus her 3 horrible dogs) is moving out. The stairs are now harbouring boxes, suitcases and rugs. Great news. Hopefully all 4 will depart within the next few days and we won't have to hear loud vicious barking every time we use the stairwell. It's rather unnerving. We are planning to email the new buyer and offer our services of helping her with a builder (not our one), electrician, plumber and so on so she can crack on with her renovations as soon as she wishes. She's an interior designer and are told is planning to do a complete makeover.