Jewels of the Pyrenees National Park / Private Tour November 2021
Thursday, November 11, 1:30 p.m., I welcome Matthieu. I am delighted to guide him for 3 days for a private experience to discover the fauna of the Pyrenees. I am adapting the itinerary of our ethical wildlife tour "Jewels of the Pyrenees National Park" to best suit Matthieu's desires. Before leaving, we check our equipment and divide up the rations, in order to be in full autonomy for two nights in a cabin.
We take the direction of the Pibeste massif. During our ascent, we get to know each other. Matthieu is a lover and passionate about nature. We cross the beech grove with flamboyant colors. Leaving the forest, we then dominate the valley. A view of the entire Pyrenees chain is available to us. We feel the heat on this southern slope and we observe the Griffon Vultures soaring in the air. The Pibeste massif hosts around forty pairs of vultures. Binoculars in our hands we observe these large raptors in the distance, when the Golden Eagle suddenly appears. It passed over our heads, without even having had the time to immortalize it. A beautiful adult!
The binoculars stuck in front of my eyes to contemplate the eagle, Matthieu detects the presence of 3 mouflons on a ridge. We hurry to reach the hut in order to unload our bags and we go off the trail in the direction of the mouflons. On our way, the pair of Bearded Vultures greet us. We are lucky!
After a few minutes, we meet a herd of about 20 mouflons. We spend a magical time with these animals.
The clouds brought by the north wind then close the show, the curtain falls. We return to the cabin. We warm up by the fireplace while preparing dinner. We shared the evening with an English couple who came to hike for four days.
Friday November 12th, we get up before the sun, after a good breakfast, we try again to see the mouflons. We observe three rams near the hut. But it's only short-lived. We redo the bags and go back down to change the valley. Next objective: the Pyrenean Chamois! We then arrive in the heart area of the Pyrenees National Park. November is the rut period for the Pyrenean Chamois, the emblem of the National Park. There are still a few snowfields left after the first snowfall.
This is madness, we are witnessing the mad races of these animals. Dominant males scare away their competitors. We watch them leap between the granite cliffs. We leave our things in the Toue (pastoral shelter in dry stone). A herd is located about fifty meters away. The position is perfect. Behind the blocks, we spend several hours watching them.
The light gradually disappears, the temperature drops and we take shelter in the Toue. In order not to get cold, we eat a very hot soup. We are having a lovely evening. The moon lights up the snowy slopes.
Saturday, November 13, after a very cool night (on average three degrees), we have breakfast before returning to the Pyrenean Chamois. They are always present around our camp.
We spend the day with them. We forget the cold. The sun makes a timid appearance and we thank it when its rays come to warm us. Between the goats chasing and the goats watching over their young, we no longer see the time passing. By going to observe them with respect, by taking all our time, we can live exceptional encounters. Pyrenean Chamois tolerate us in their environment and are not disturbed in any way.
We witness beautiful moments of tenderness between the goats and the kids. It even arouses the curiosity of some hikers who have come to meet us. They congratulate us on our courage in having slept in this shelter. It’s a timeless experience!
At the end of the afternoon, the weather suddenly changed and brought us back down faster than expected. Finally, after three beautiful days, Matthieu is overwhelmed by the amount of sightings. Once home, we look at Matthieu's shots and discuss his photos. I am very happy to have shared this experience with Matthieu.
If you want to experience this immersion in nature in the company of the Pyrenees' wild fauna, whether in a group or in private, see the details of our stay “Jewels of the Pyrenees National Park”. We look forward to guiding you.
Hadrien
Guide Salva Fauna
