On our way back to France from Spain, we headed into the Pyrenees mountains to stay at an Observatory for the night. We had to park Pierre (no longer Pedro as he had been in Spain) at a base town, where we then rode yet another form of transport in the form of a cable car. This took us up above the cloud line at 3000 metres altitude. The observatory's main selling point is the amazing views and the spectacular sunset and sunrises. Worth noting that sunset is approximately 11pm and sunrise at 5:30am...and how little sleep that would mean if you actually wanted to see both.....we marginally opened the blind in our room around 5am then went back to sleep ;-)...the sunset was certainly memorable. The food and accommodation (usually the scientists' quarters) were less memorable - but worth it for the view.
Pic du Midi isn't on the highest point of the Pyrenees, but in the immediate area it dominates the surrounding peak affording a panorama of exceptional drama and beauty. As the fog/cloud rushed into the valleys below it became like looking down on an archipelago floating in a misty sea. Not to be missed. After a few weeks of high humidity and temperatures in the mid 30s, we really did appreciated the cool winds blowing through the snow peaks.
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