Trek-tacular Tales
July 12, 2024
Hola and Bonjour parents!
After landing in Paris and letting you know that they made it safely, the group got their first experience on the metro and navigated to the train station as if they were locals. We got lunch in Montparnasse and waited for the platform number to pop up on the screen next to our train, as we don’t find out where we will board until about 20 minutes before departure. Everyone jumped into action and we were the first to board our designated cart. Hayden gave a quick talk about cultural sensitivity, saying that the French are generally pretty quiet people, especially on trains, and that we needed to read the room and be respectful of overall noise level. Even though this impromptu lesson was important, it wasn’t needed as everyone slept off the jet lag on the train and gazed over the French countryside we were passing through when not asleep. The 6 hour train ride to Lourdes flew by and we were met by two drivers, Sascha and Matthéo, at the station and transferred to our hotel in Luz, just 30 minutes up the winding valley. We wandered around the town and found some dinner before our first Moonup as a group and a much needed early bedtime.
The next day we slept in and took it easy in the morning, indulging in croissants, granola and yogurt for breakfast before getting lunch supplies to make a picnic next to Château Saint-Marie, a castle constructed in the 12th century with a haunted history. Corey and Hayden surprised the kids with USA plates and sunglasses, courtesy of Walmart for the 4th of July and we celebrated our country’s Independence Day while listening to music, playing hacky sack, and eating local French foods. Your kids are so adventurous with their food and even requested the stinkiest cheeses to try. Harry won first round of “death sack”, besting Sophie who put up a great fight in the veggie off where they acted out “confused cucumber” to decide the winner. We appreciate that these phrases may be totally unfamiliar so definitely ask your kids what on earth they played on Moondance, the stories will undoubtedly end in laughs. After a relaxing lunch we went back down to the town to reset before going back out for the evening. All the boys played Egyptian rat slap and the girls napped before going bowling, officially becoming international bowlers. Halle won the girls with a 70 and Nico won overall with a 71 on his first time ever bowling! We found an amazing Vietnamese spot for dinner just down the street before going to a soccer field for Moonup, sitting under the towering peaks that surrounded us and gawking at the golden hour. Caleb exclaimed that everywhere you look there was a view and that he didn’t know if he had ever been somewhere so beautiful before. We ended Moonup celebrating the fleeting moments of our Independence Day with pop fireworks, which Sara enjoyed surprising people with, and giggled back to our hotel for an early bedtime.
Our guide, Mandy, met us in the morning and we were shuttled to our first refuge of our French Pyrénées section, Chez Soaz, in a tiny town called Heas where we dropped some weight before a day hike around Cirque de Troumouse. We ascended 700m up and had our picnic lunch tucked in behind some boulders to escape the mountain wind, sharing riddles and jokes and silly games before descending down to the river for a polar plunge. Lucy is our current queen of riddles, keeping us puzzled and distracted during some difficult climbs. The rest of the hike went by quickly and we were back to where we started our day in no time. Games and showers filled the rest of the time before a delicious pot roast and rice dinner. We have the coolest sleep spots at this refuge, giant yurts! We’re so lucky to get to stay in such unique places. A storm rolled in after dinner and put everyone to sleep in no time.
The storm still hung around in the morning and sprinkled rain on and off until we were ready to go. We set down the road and the unpredictable storm caught up to us, causing us to turn around to our stay the night before. Everyone settled back into the dining room to play cards and warm up with some hot chocolate. We scheduled a taxi transfer that arrived in the early afternoon and all the kids entertained themselves with card games, funny stories, and music until our transfers arrived, taking us to Gavarnie where we headed up the trail to our A frame refugio, Espuguettes. The fog was thick and hid the towering peaks, leaving us to only imagine the scenery that lay before us. We checked in and played the card game “president”, which Cate picked up the quickest and dominated before the host brought out the steaming bowls for dinner, a 3 course meal that left everyone stuffed!
The next day was Elle’s birthday and all the boys woke the girls up by singing the classic song, causing some giggles and sarcastic eye rolls and a big smile on Elle’s face. We awoke to a blue sky that had everyone glued to the window, gasping at the fog filled valley below, the cirque, and the mountain face just above the refugio while eating breakfast. We descended into Gavarnie and the Breche du Roland faded behind the ridge to our left as we stumbled upon friendly horses and donkeys. Upon entering Gavarnie, we treated the kids to ice cream before checking into our hostel just on the outskirts of town, then engulfed another 3 course meal to fuel up for the next day.
Another classic French breakfast was consumed before our biggest day yet, a 20k bruiser up and over a pass and into Spain. We ascended the west side of the valley and gawked at the crystal clear view, stopping for lunch behind a house sized boulder to get out of the wind. It’s pretty crazy how quickly things shift when you cross the border, bonjour immediately becomes hola, the crowd shifts from French to Spanish, and the structure of the mountains is noticeably different. The group experienced all of these as we passed over our first border crossing by foot on a 1000+ year old trail, the Camino de Santiago! The trail on the other side was steep and we descended deeper into Spain and arrived at our first Spanish Refugio, Bujaruelo, positioned just feet away from a Gatorade blue river with a cobblestone bridge to complete the scene. Everyone braved the cold water and jumped in numerous times to wake up and recover from a long day in the mountains before an eagerly awaited dinner. Pasta salad for the first course and bratwurst with fries for our second, followed by a lemon tart to wash it all down.
The kids became fond of the Spanish style breakfast, the same bread and butter, but this time with bacon, salami, cereal, muffins, hard boiled eggs, and a state of the art toaster. Everyone loaded up, but the need wasn’t as strong for today was a shorter hike along the same river we stayed by the night before, descending the valley to a quaint cobblestone town named Torla. The group could not help themselves when presented with the opportunity to jump into the river. The mystical nature of this town rubbed off on the group and everyone skipped down the street and into a local restaurant where we had a three course meal consisting of fresh food gathered from the surrounding valleys. Luckily the restaurant had a TV and we watched the Spain vs. France soccer match with Spain pulling a 2-1 victory. Will was glued to the TV the entire match!
The next morning we woke up early and caught a bus transfer after another filling Spanish breakfast to the parking lot of Ordesa and Mount Perdido National Park. Today was a day hike and we ascended the canyon wall in the forest and then walked the rim all the way to the end of the canyon. The walls towered over us, the cows mooed in the valley, and the roar of the final waterfall filled the open air to give us a 10 out of 10 rest spot before descending back to the parking lot through the valley floor. Another van transfer took us back to the magical town of Torla where Corey got the group a bunch of snacks as a celebration of the big day we had. The local restaurant provided us another 3 course meal with Fanta and Coke, filling our bellies and putting a smile on everyone’s face. It’s such a joy as a leader look down a table and see kids laughing with people they met just days prior. After an incredible dessert we hit the hay early to get ready for another big day the next morning.
On the last day of our Pyrenees section we ascended the Spanish side to the border and met our van transfers at the parking lot on top of the ski hill. Everyone cheered as we crossed the border together and walked the easy trail the rest of the way. The van with the girls went to Gavarnie to get some chocolate treats for everyone and the van with the boys went back to Luz to get everyone’s bags from Sian’s house. We checked into our hotel and enjoyed a relaxing afternoon before a celebratory meal out on the town.
The past week in the mountains has been amazing, with each kid getting out of their comfort zone in their own unique way and challenging themselves in ways they never knew before. We are beyond proud of their effort, mental and physical fortitude, and great attitudes.
Which leaves us entering our next section, sea kayaking in Costa Brava! We will catch a bus to L’escala and have a celebratory beach day before kayaking for two days. So much to look forward to still!
Much love and appreciation,
-Corey and Hayden
And now for shoutouts from your kids!
Sophie:
Hey mom, dad and twins!
I’m having such a great time in the Pyrenees, trekking is so cool and the food is amazing. Tomorrow we are going to SPAIN!!! I miss y’all so much and can’t wait to be in ER!
Love You!
Ps: Dad I’m watching the euro cup here!
Halle: Bonjour family,
Today we finished trekking for seven days in the Pyrenees. We crossed the border from France to Spain by foot! The meals here are really good. I have eaten my favorite food every day (bread). Tomorrow we will be in Costa Brava and I’m super excited to be by the ocean and get some sun. The Pyrenees was super beautiful and we walked around 10 + miles each day. I miss you guys so much and I’m looking forward to telling you more when I am back. We got to watch the Euro cup and we will be in Spain for the finals!! Happy Birthday Mom and Peeps
Love you guys
Sara: Hi Mom and Mary Henley! I have been having the best time trekking all across the Pyrenees and crossing borders (France to Spain) BY FOOT! This trip has been absolutely incredible from the people to the views to the food! MH, I just know you are having the best time in London! I can’t wait to compare stories! Mom, I hope you’ve had time to relax and enjoy some free time! I love and miss y’all so much!
Will: Hey mom, dad (maybe Alex and Elaina too)! What’s going on?! We just finished trekking through the Pyrenees which was by far one of the coolest things I’ve done. I did the semi finals and saw France got knocked out 🙁 and England made it. But we’re gonna be in Spain during the final so it’ll be crazy. I hope you guys r loving Portugal! See you soon ish!
Nico: Hey mom and dad! How are you guys? We just finished trekking through the Pyrenees. After about 3 days of walking through France we crossed the border on our longest day yet into Spain and even met up with the Camino! Now we’re back in France and are about to leave for costa Brava for some awesome sea kayaking. I’ve had so much fun so far and I hope you guys are doing amazing in Istanbul, can’t wait to hear how it was.
Harry- bonjour mom and pops I’m having the best time in Europe and I’m getting jacked from the trekking. I’m super glad I chose this trip and I know the next part in costa Brava is going to be crazy especially with Spain playing in the euro cup finals while we’re there. I know the best is yet to come and I’ll have to come back here someday with you guys. Love you and good night Cleveland.
Caleb- Having lots of fun in France. Miss you, love you, see you soon.
Lucy – Hola, Bonjour, & Hello! I am having the best time and the Pyrenees were SO amazing!! I love my group and leaders and can’t wait for the next few weeks! Thank you so much for sending me on this trip and I can’t wait to see ya’ll! Love ya!! ❤️❤️
Cate- Hi guys!! I’m having so so so much fun. The Pyrenees were amazing and the views are crazy here. I miss everyone so much but I love it here SO much! See you guys soon-ish, love and miss yall!! 💜
Elle – bonjour!! i am having an amazing time so far and we just finished trekking through the Pyrenees crossing the border TWICE thru France to Spain and back. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to go on this trip and I can’t wait to tell you all about it when I get back! I love and miss you all soooo much!! P.S – happy early birthday Kennedy I love you kk 🥳🫶✨
Safe Arrival in CDG!
July 3, 2024
Hello Chamonix Families!
We heard from our leaders this morning that the group has landed safely in Paris and begun their transfer day to Luz! The trip is off to a great start, and we cannot wait to hear more stories from their adventure as they prepare to begin trekking in the Pyrenees!
Please remember our leaders and students will be unplugged during their trips, but we will be posting trip updates throughout the next week! This will allow you to follow along with the trip. You can also follow us on Instagram, @moondanceadventures, to see more of what we are up to!
-Moondance HQ
