We found ourselves newly carless after selling our van in Chamonix. Without Bleu Lightning, our plan of driving and climbing our way back across France was no longer possible. Luckily this gave us the chance to visit our friend Sebastian in Asturias, Spain and another day with Michelle and Zach, who gave us a ride to Zurich on their way home.
Zurich
We enjoyed our mini roadtrip from Chamonix to Zurich from the back seat! We took a stroll around lunchtime on the posh coast of Lac Leman, and watched the hills roll by from the impeccable Swiss freeway. In Zurich, we walked along the river and enjoyed high-end window shopping. We had dinner at an awesome vegetarian buffet restaurant before turning in to our hotel, where Mel and I got our fix of Spades (the official game of the Michelle&Zach reunion trip) and finally eked out a win after a weekend of losing to these pros.
Bilbao
The next day, we boarded our plane and flew over the Alps to Bilbao, Spain. Sebastian met us here, and together with his friend Michael from North Dakota, we toured the town. It just so happens that this is the week of the “feria,” and so the whole town was covered in tented bars and people. Munching on Pintxos (Basque tapas) and drinking cervezas, we watched some traditional dances, flute/drum players, an absurd sport involving a very heavy piece of metal, and art. The city has so many big art displays, especially near the Guggenheim museum – a very successful effort in beautifying the formerly industrial town. In the evening, we hopped into Sebastian’s van and made our way to Gijon.
Climbing
For the next 3 days, we spent our time following Sebastian to crags, getting a taste of the Spanish climbing. In the cliffs above Otura, we cragged until we could sweat no more. To remedy the sweat, we went to the beach, where Mel and I tried surfing for the first time!
The next day, we went to the beach! But before getting in the water at “Cuevas del Mar,” we got on the walls lining the shore.
Afterwards, we drove into Picos de Europa National Park, and hiked up a foggy slope toward a hidden mountain. Our bivvy site was blanketed in clouds, supposedly near the base of a mountain we were to climb the next day. We each woke up at some point in the middle of the night to find that the clouds had descended to create a sea of fog below us, with the moon shining overhead and the dark silhouettes of the mountain suddenly very present and imposing. Later in the night, the moon would set and the stars were amazing. In the morning, I couldn’t wait to start our route, maybe to the point of being annoying, and I shook Mel awake and we headed to the base of “Elixir Para Calvos” (6a) (Elixir for the bald?). What an excellent route! It was our first traditional route on limestone, and I had a lot of fun fitting cams into weird pockets and cracks. After about 200m of runout but fun climbing, we reached the summit. The summit had a great view, but to our great dismay, it was covered in flying ants that were in no way happy to see us. I dashed up to the summit, barely managing to snap a photo before being chased away by the little fiends. After a few rappels, we drove back to Sebastian’s place for a super successful homemade pizza night and passed out.
Gijon
On our last day in town, the weather decided we should take a rest day (Okay, we needed a rest day). We walked around the city and along its beaches. Nestled in between the mountains and the ocean, the principality of Asturias seems to be a hidden paradise for climbers and surfers. In the evening, we had an epic Asturian meal at a cidreria with Albert, another friend from earlier this year. Cider was poured from far overhead (with about 20% ending up on the floor) to properly aerate the bitter drink, and empty cider bottles magically accumulated as we consumed an unusual amount of cheese, bread, veggies, and [for some of us,] meat.
And back to France
Satiated in so many ways, we took a long bus trip back to the Southwest of France. My host-parents from yesteryear picked us up in Hendaye, and we had 3 days of relaxation and French food before beginning our Journey to Asia. In between chilling and eating, I managed to take a stand-up paddleboard out onto Lake Hossegor at high tide without falling in.
Geneva
This impeccable city is a seat of the UN, so we took a tour of the campus! It was neat to see some of the rooms where diplomacy has taken the place of war for the past 70 years. Otherwise, before our flight to Tokyo, we treated ourselves to Swiss chocolates, felt inspired at Mechanical Art Devices Gallery, and wandered the cute streets. And then, before we knew it, we were leaving Europe, on our way across the world.
