Ahh.. Amelie les Bains Pyrenees 4

Losing our way is one thing, a collective but tedious addition to the adventure, but losing each other is another challenge entirely. We had left Prats de Mollo by four by four and taken to the end of a rough road which marked the start of the trail to Amelie les Bains.

It was hot.

It was when we came to ridge that the effects of heat got to us. Dave had the idea to walk along the ridge but no one was eager to go with him. The iron man was not to be swayed by the majority and so he set off as we took then lower path. Now there are some things that should have been discussed before we parted company. We should have of course checked that we had our phones, that there was a signal and that our phones were switched on. It was only later discovered that, when we tried to ring Dave, his phone was in his luggage in the taxi going to Amelie les Bains and of course switched off. The only certainty we had was extremely vague. We would simply meet were the paths would meet.

Naturally this was not as easy as we assumed. We three, in what could be called the main party, began to become more sure that things were not as simple as we thought when we set off. That feeling that we were not on the right path and that the path would not cross the path that Dave was on was becoming a fact rather than just a feeling. We decided to climb up to meet the ridge where Dave should be or should have been or should be on his way too. Such was our certainty.

Instead of a gentle stroll along a contour we were now scrambling across them and they were very close together. When we reached the top, clearly indicated by a marker we could see nor hear any sign of Dave. That’s when we realised the important and significant impact a mobile phone could have in these situations. But it only remained a mental realisation. We shouted his name. He shouted back that he had heard us. In the Canary Islands they have a whistling communication system in the mountains. Silbadors as they are called - the word comes from Spanish verb silbar, meaning to whistle - use four "vowels" and four "consonants" that can be strung together to form more than 4,000 words. We managed only to shout 'Dave'.

We finally spotted him below us and further on. And in time we became one party again. This was very reassuring and also vital as Dave was carrying the tomatoes and cheese for lunch, so we were really relieved to be with him once more.

Our trail craft was something to be pitied. We missed the letter D made out of twigs. The concept was absolutely sound, but rather like a remaindered book, it failed to reach an audience. We did pick up the empty handy tissues pack left by Dave but which we dismissed as merely litter.

And so on to Amelie les Bains, a spa town full of old, recovering people in varying states of decrepitude who were there for the treatment. The arrival of four more went unnoticed, except our initial treatment worked immediately.

The hotel was large and quite busy with a coach party from England. Dinner was perfectly rewarding and met with all round approval. It was a buffet. Now there are two approaches to eating at a buffet a word which signifies that there is plenty of food. One approach is to graze. Start with a bit of salad, go on to a bowl of soup, have a fish course, followed by a bit of meat and vegetables, move on to a pieces of cheese and round it off with a mix of desserts. Alternatively, you can load your plate with everything and just stuff yourself. Some of us opted for the former approach and one of went for the latter; such was Bob’s haste that his carrots turned out to be sausages.

After the welcome blow out, we walked into the main street to enjoy the Fete de la Musique

of which I have written already.