Above Py

Today was the Thursday outing. It was a 7km circular walk from the Col de Jou with about 700 metres of ascent in open mountains for the most part. I was a bit disappointed we did not actually drop down into the village of Py which would have made an interesting comparison blip with yesterday's of Evol, another typical Pyrenean village. Py is situated at the upper end of the Rotja valley. Above it is the Col de Mantet visible in the photo after which there is a short drop down to the village of Mantet. It was a route out of France operated by the Resistance during the Second World War and as Veronica pointed out, the village was evacuated by the Germans who believed members of the Resistance were being harboured. The Barraque des Allemands, a German sentry post, can still be found above the village and is now a refuge. From here it is only a short distance to the Spanish border.

Catalan can still be heard spoken in the street. I remember having a conversation in French with an old man in the street a few years ago. After a few minutes I apologised saying, "Please excuse my French, it is just my second language." To which he replied, "Well it is mine too!"