Thrills on the Pyrenees stage

Day 48: Do you know the Col du Tourmalet ? It is the 2,115 meter high mountain pass in the Pyrenees, which is considered the queen stage of the Tour de France , the most difficult section. Today we also completed our queen stage in the Pyrenees. We didn't cycle but rode in a motorhome, but I'm sure we sweated just as much as the professional cyclists.

And that wasn't due to the sunshine that accompanied us on the almost 170 kilometer route from Huesca to Lourdes. The route was amazing! Endless serpentines on the narrowest roads, rock overhangs over an entire half of the road, waterfalls over the asphalt that has been repaired a thousand times and abysses left and right that make your heart forget to beat a few beats when you see them. This route must be a highlight for cyclists or drivers. It was tiring for me with the motorhome. This may have been because we had a full tank and also had a lot of water loaded. We now want and have to stand without supplies for three days. The camping and parking spaces here are all still closed.

What we didn't expect at all was the snow we saw here. We were at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters. Gondola lifts and ski lifts ran here! The blanket of snow that appeared on the edge of the road was over a meter deep. It's winter here! And we walked around in T-shirts and shorts. In our defense, however, I have to say that the temperatures also allowed for that. At least we didn't freeze.

At some point it finally went downhill again, although the road conditions only improved much later. We finally reached Lourdes around 3:30 p.m. Our first impression: a nice little town. Sure, the tourist hustle and bustle around the pilgrimage site has left its mark, but we also discovered a few small restaurants and cafés, all of which we will try out in the next few days (!).