¡Viva los Pirineus! - ¡Visca els Pirineus!

But why "unspectacular", "only Europe", "due to the time"? Because, as with our trip to Abruzzo last year, this was not going to be the case this year either.

So it was going to be Europe. As luck would have it, after asking the above questions, a bouldering specialist gave us the tip to consider the Pyrenees as a summer destination. We asked Knut, the local expert, and when he also recommended the Spanish Pyrenees to us, we decided to go there. We wanted to tackle a 10-day crossing through the central part of the Spanish Pyrenees (Aragon).

A few days later, we were spontaneously on a plane to Madrid with our bags and tents. From there, we embarked on what felt like an endless bus odyssey towards our starting point of Candanchu. The journey probably seemed particularly long because the landscape between Madrid and Zaragoza is quite monotonous with its desert-like character. We were highly motivated at the beginning, as we had decided to do the tour by fair means, i.e. we had all our food with us and wanted to travel completely self-sufficiently. After the first few hours on the trail at the latest, the ominous memories of our arduous trip to Kyrgyzstan came flooding back, as the backpack was quite heavy again at just over 20 kg. However, the impressive backdrop of the mountains made up for this right from the start. In contrast to the lunar landscape on our arrival, it was lush green here and there were springs, small rivers and lakes everywhere. We hadn't expected this and we didn't know until then that the Pyrenees are the mountain range with the most lakes in Europe (perfect preparation!). These are also used in many places to generate sustainable energy.

In the canyon of the Valle de Ordesa, you will find an extremely popular hut, which regularly becomes the scene of a horde of people of all ages and mountain abilities in the evenings. A veritable tent night spectacle takes place there, which is somehow funny and sociable: from Japanese senior citizens to Spanish gangster youths, everything was there. Away from the hustle and bustle, you can watch numerous eagles and bearded vultures soaring weightlessly over the valley. Very impressive!

The loneliness of the Pyrenees was suddenly brought home to us when we witnessed a fall in the steep and blocked alpine terrain. It quickly became clear that the network coverage is not comparable to our Alps. Getting help meant a march of several hours. An unpleasant experience for everyone involved, especially the seriously injured woman. In the evening, we were reassured to learn that the injured woman was finally picked up by helicopter before sunset after several hours of waiting.

After ten exhausting but beautiful and sunny days, we arrived in Benasque. There we had a final view of the highest mountains in the Spanish Pyrenees, some of which are still glaciated. But even there, climate change is leaving devastating traces.

On arriving home, the questions from our colleagues were there again: "So, how was it for you?" This time we were able to answer with a clear conscience and without apology: "It was unique, I'd love to go back to Europe and the Pyrenees!"