Today we took a zero day in the village of Gavarnie, which lies in the valley below the magnifique cirque de Gavarnie! It is possibly the most famous of all the mountain massifs of the Pyrénées, and people travel from all over to witness its sheer grandiosity.
After a great breakfast at the hostel (toast, jam, coffee, OJ, and milk) I booked another night (because it was such an enjoyable place), left my pack in the room, and went out to experience the town.
I was able to get some food for the trek to Parzan at the market, throw my clothes in the wash at a campground, and grab some camping gas and freeze dried meals at a camping store.
Then I took a pleasant walk down the main trail to get a closer view of the cirque. The Cirque du Gavarnie is surely one of the most beautiful natural wonders of the whole trail. I got as close as I felt necessary to get good pictures, and then walked the 3km or so back to town.
Later on in the evening, I made my own dinner at the auberge, as all the chefs in town seemed to have taken off for the Gavarnie festival, an annual extravaganza of theatric plays! Tonight’s selection was the classic Orpheus and Euripide. It was too rich for my blood, thus why I just hung out at the inn and enjoyed the view in the evening.
The inn-keeper came out and talked with me for a bit. He is fluent in so many languages, its quite impressive! I suppose that is a trait you need if you run a hostel at an international tourist hotspot. He told me about his flying over the pyrenees, and gave me his youtube channel so I could check out the mountains I’ll be hiking over from the sky.
He also taught me a new french phrase. “Ho putain!” It means “oh shit!” Hahah!!
We both went to bed early having big days tomorrow. Good night!