18 August 2012
The Queen parachutes Olympic fever as far as the Pyrenees
Olympic fever has swept over Collett’s in the Pyrenees over the last couple of weeks, fuelling an previously well-hidden competitive streak amongst both organisers and guests. Our recent walks have incorporated various other outdoor activities, including stone skimming competitions, several ‘Who can beat the children’ challenges, alpine swimming races, and a ‘who’s got the biggest hailstone’ contest.
The latter was a real talking point – as the biggest storm Panticosa has ever seen passed through the early hours of Sunday morning. Hailstones from the storm were as big as squash balls and did considerable damage to the village, smashing through street lights and skylights, but it also raised the profile of the village as the storm appeared on national news throughout Spain and Portugal!
Much to the delight of Jo, our week with the Scottish contingent put us through our paces when Dan ‘had the legs walked off him’ on the long Pelay walk at Ordesa. This was the same week that started the trend for alpine dips in glacial rivers and pools! Brrr….
A special mention should be made about the conquering of Garmo Negro, our closest 3000+ peak. Under snow for most of the season so far, the peak not possible to complete, but four Collett’s guests and one organiser threw the gauntlet down, successfully tackling the challenge. High fives all round!!!!
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