(Lesley) I mentioned, last post, something about Cathar castles. We went to see two big ones: Quéribus and Peyrepertuse. They sit south of us, in the Courbières (mountains). They are both big old castles in some state of disrepair, real fixer uppers. They are up on high rocky peaks. I posted some photos in the last post.
We really enjoyed seeing those castles. They were great fun to drive up to and for each castle we also had a good walk as well. The views from the castles were breathtaking. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to live in them. Not handy to anything, but that is their advantage in terms of defences. Quéribus had one side (east) that seemed a little vulnerable because although the valleys to the north, south and west were very deep and anyone defending the castle had good views of approaching invaders, the east side didn’t have a deep valley and the peak to the east was just as high as the castle. You may have noticed how thick that wall was that Sam was looking out over in the photo from last post, well that is protection against potential attacks from the east.
Peyrepertuse was bigger that Quéribus. The drive and especially the walk up were both quite fun. You can see each castle from the other though a fair distance separates them. I wouldn’t have wanted to have to take a message from one castle to the other, not without a donkey, a warm sleeping and a pack of food.
It was cool and rainy the day we saw both castles but there were moments of sunshine.
After seeing the castles, the next day we took a day of rest and stayed home to read. Mhari wrote for her blog. Sam and I went for a little wander around the village.
Then on Monday we did a big hike. It was one of those 2.5 hours uphill, followed by 1.5 hours downhill. We left from Caunes-Minervois and took a trail to Citou (where there is a castle). Now, we never intended to go all the way to Citou that was 20 kms through a gorge and a few valleys. Our intention was to go just over halfway then find the turn around (doing the petit boucle). Well, we did that and a bit more because we didn’t have a proper ordinance map, just a little leaflet with a rough outline. We ended up doing the petit boucle with a Carrière du Roy (King’s quarry) 5 kms detour. We knew we were adding a little loop and the quarry was interesting so we were happy to add the kms. It rained lightly all day long so we ate our lunch in a little shelter made for the lookout herder. It was a dry stone hut, (a capitelle). It was quite small, but we fit in, had our snack and stayed dry for a bit then carried on. We took some photos along the way and should post some because it was a superb walk. It was nice to get some exercise after our day of rest the day before.
Today we went in search of nougat. We nearly attempted that on Saturday but ran out of time and energy after the castles. We went to Limoux, the place of origin of some rather nice nougat we had previously tasted. We hunted down the little artisanal shop where it was made locally and purchased some samples, not many mind because they weren’t cheap. Then we went to Esperaza a little town we had heard was cute or quaint. It was cold out, so after a quick walk around we headed back and lucked upon another small local nougat making operation. (They had chocolate too..) We bought some samples, tasted them in the car then Sam was sent back in to make more purchases. The lady smiled and asked if we had finished the seven nougat bars we had just bought. Sam assured her we had only sampled them as of yet but was picking some up for the family. He asked if they gave guided tours of their operation. She laughed, but they did not do guided tours despite how keen we were.
Other news…
· -We had mustard potato chips today. Yes, paprika ones were new for us in Iceland and today we stumbled upon mustard ones, so we had to try them. Not bad.
· - We found a scorpion today. It was on our couch. We think that it came in with us from the hike yesterday as it was with our stuff from the hike, that or it came in with the wood for the fireplace. It was a small scorpion, Mhari picked it up thinking it was a bit of balled up string. She dropped it once she realized it was alive. What excitement! I don’t know how common they are here or if all scorpions sting and I didn’t test it out or play with it too much. John chucked it outside after capturing it in a jar.
· -Mhari washed and brushed her hair. This is the first time it has happened on the same day! WOW!
· -Sam is learning to multiply and divide fractions.
· -William and Kate are engaged! Uk news from our British telly.
· -We have booked beds in Barcelona.
Wed Nov 24th
We did another hike today. Just 10 kms with less ups and downs. It was the Sentier des capitelles. (those dry stone herder huts providing a dry spot to sit and watch the flock while sheltered from the cers: the cold wind from the north) It was basically a hike to see all the capitelles around Villeneuve-Minervois. There were lots on the hike at least 25 of them. The views were pleasant but less spectacular than those from the other day.
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