DAY 34. July 1st. Encamp to Cabana dels Esparvers.

Beautiful scenery…perhaps one of my favourite days for views. Knocked out by the quality of the open refuges but we don’t sleep in any of them! Bad weather threatens so we don’t keep going to the refuge we had in mind but stop in a stone bovy. Heavy rain and thunder and we can’t get any kind of decent fire going with the wet firewood and mini fireplace in the bovy. I think we all bang our heads on the midget size doorway. We eat spaghetti al ajillo. Colin decides to risk lightning in his tent and me and Sandy freeze in the bovy. I repeat….the Ferrino sleeping bags are RUBBISH.

DAY 35. July 2nd. Cabana dels Esparvers to Campsite near Puigcerda.

Early and cold start. Spaghetti al ajillo causes farting. Long day which heats up considerably. The English guidebook warns about a certain pass which is dangerous when there is snow. We have a moment of panic when we find the snow and a rocky way to avoid it but the heat and the descent seem to suggest that we are saying goodbye to the snow for good. Pass a lot of lakes and realise that trying to reach the refuge Joaquim Folch yesterday was an unreasonable target. When we get there it’s full of rubbish anyway so our stone “fridge” seemed like the best alternative. Long, long way down to the campsite before Puigcerda and it’s hot. We all feel like a day off but the campsite is in the middle of nowhere so we wash clothes and leave in the morning.