Into the Ariege

Into Ariege/ Seix to be specific

Woke to a miserable 15deg and rain!  Ian’s got a long, hilly but not dramatic day ahead, which is as well, because he’s not going to see anything!

They’ve had a lot of rain recently, and the drive north to St Gaudin and east to St Girons was miserable and uninviting.  It was a relief to be heading south again into what I can imagine would be pretty countryside, if it weren’t so miserable!  Little site just outside Oust near the river Salat, and quite expensive at 19euros, plus 7 for the washer/dryer- which we need now!

I did a cycle on my own up and around the Col de Serrailles, but not to top.  Just as I set off, Ian arrived absolutely frozen, so I left him to it, soup in the pan, and cup of tea brewing!  My cycle was very scenic up to a lovely meadow/plateau called the Prat de Cominac.  Absolutely beautiful but miserable weather, and very wet.

We went for a wander early evening into yet another sleepy, empty village with posters of yet another fete we’d missed, the night before- the fete of Sent Joan, with a bonfire and all that!  It seems that a lot of these little villages are filled with people/second-home owners, between the months of July and August, and are closed for much of the remainder.  Local shops advertise that they will be open from the rest of June, 7 days a week, until early September, but there like ghost towns until then!