IMAGES OF CATALONIA, DAYS 6 AND 7

Dagmar and I are now at Ponts on the southern edge of the Pyrenees and still in Catalonia. In the towns, we always find old parts with narrow lanes, a church and a square. There are usually trees that give both shade and beauty. Catalan is widely spoken here. In the evenings children are always out playing and often with their parents. Regularly we see a parent with children on bicycles. It seems very safe.

Yesterday we cycled 56 miles and climbed 970m when the sun was very hot. We decided to stay two nights at Ponts and today had a day tour on the bikes without panniers.
We left La Seu d'Urgell on a main road going south. It was wide, downhill, fast and passed through several gorges.  Much traffic was going in the opposite direction but it was not distracting to look at the scenery.  We stop to look at vultures gliding low over the valley.  When tunnels appeared, we joined the old road which for some obscure reason  was often closed even for cyclists but which we ignored. This is how one gorge appeared

The temperature rose in the afternoon as we left the main road to follow little roads where we saw no cars and only one cyclist. The scenery was no longer mountainous and a huge reservoir was to our left while small fields surrounded by poppies was typical.
This morning we both wanted an easy day.  We set off on unmade farm tracks to discover the local area while in the afternoon we followed a rural route south and enjoyed many cafes. We still cycled 45 miles but it was at a leisurely pace except when a storm appeared and we raced to reach a cafe just in time before it broke

Tomorrow we resume our journey and head north west