| Show BARRIER 0 the pyrenees Pyre nees where romans on once f bathed now boast thermal spas tens of thousands vacation yearly in these r ro 0 mantle mantic mountains of southwest europe t ifon er ow lip 7 W 1 R U rr V 0 Z W prepared by national geographic society washington D C service HE pyrenees Pyre nees form a b bar ar T rier that political map makers could not ignore all the way from the mediterranean and the atlantic their mighty ramparts notch the sky like a massive chinese chine se wall they set apart the iberian peninsula from the rest of europe upon their crests has been sketched the boundary between france and spain but the pyrenees Pyre nees are more than a barrier in many of the quiet glens the early romans exploited curative baths now tens of thousands of visitors annually resort here to vacation in the mountains or take the cure at the numer ous thermal spas thanks to the efforts of industrious french highway engineers an excellent motor road the route des pyrenees Pyre nees traverses the entire length of the chain cannibals Hanni bals land your journey begins at perpignan sunrise gateway to the pyrenees Pyre nees the countryside basks in the bright sun beside the mediterranean and is rich with vast vineyards hannibal with his troops and his elephants camped hereabouts after crossing the pyrenees Pyre nees actually the pyrenees Pyre nees highway starts at cap cerbert bere so y you ou motor down the coast past elne alne ar geles sur mer and collioure Colli oure elne alne demands a sentimental pause for it is s the ancient Il liberis high up on cap cerbert the traveler halts you may look over into spain but you cannot go there because of strife in the south the frontier is closed to all traffic you mount the narrow highway which ch loops twists and zigzags zig from villefranche de confluent to mont louis both fortified by vauban fort builder for france in louis reign the road follows up the course of the tet river beyond olette olete the valley narrows into a precipitous cip itous gorge with mighty boulders forming its gateway and ramparts home hoine in the sky where the profound gap widens again you catch fleeting glimpses of a village set high atop one of the rocky walls it is more than a thou sand foot drop to the nearest bus stop but what a front window view the residents must have in less than 12 miles here in the upper tet the road spirals and mounts upward feet on the downward slope toward uie ariege you pass the road spur that leads to andorra quaint survivor of the old pyrenean republics with its loyalties united both to france and spain although bleak at its beginning the ariege increases in in prosperity as it descends and widens snow fed rivers fret noisily through axles but in the vicinity there are several hot sulphurous springs foix really is off the pyrenees Pyre nees route but it is still deep in the hills and for centuries was the capital stronghold strong lold for the counts who ruled the district by good fortune you may arrive in the town on the chief day of its autumn fair merry go rounds bumped and dodge ems catch pen ny side shows and every coney island attraction that Y young oung or old might wish fill the wide tree can ogled promenade prom enada and so to bed then lights flicker in the castle windows smoke pours from the battlements tle ments and the towers become fimm fm mM ABOVE an ox ix team learn oj of the r pyrenees Pyre nees at jean de luz lus one ua 1 of the historic villages villa ei planted pla deep in this mountainous mountainous area 1 where time lime has changed local 4 customs but little red as flames leap higher the cast casi tle tie is burning in a most realistic marmer manner is is as gay in win ter as it is cool in summer on its slopes are bobsled runs ski jumps and even a skating pond from gavarnie gavagnie Ga varnie to aggeles gazost garost and the tha side trip to the summer holiday cen ter of cauterets erets the road weaves through gorges most of the waya pau although in the bases low pyrenees Pyre nees seems on the plains when the town was capital ot of the tha 3 old province of bearn beam it was acin f R N ael eba 4 adz 1 1 A 1 5 A pelota players in the pyrenees Pyre nees use nse a long basket to drive their soft rubber ball back at the opponent tillant billant with court glory here in a room of the altered and restored castle one can see the tortoiseshell tortoise shell cradle in which henry IV slept as an in infant fant red white red er As you speed along the road you see slate roofs turn to red tile walls flash white in the sunshine and the houses take on red balconies and red shutters churches acquire differently ferent ly shaped towers and every village has its fronton or wall against which the garne game pelota is played farmers driving oxcarts of bracken d down own from the hills wear inevitable berets you have entered the land of the basques on the road through louhossoa itxassou cambo les ba bains ins larres sore and other strange strangely ly named journey the young boys places you be would had they been american playing sand lot baseball being basque they bounce balls against the village frontons frontoni fron tons for pelota is is to baseball to the basques what amer americans icons 1 several variations has the game some requiring a long field extend in na from the fronton A soft rubber is used in the play it is caught returned to the opponent from froin directly by single ingle bounce 0 or c basset basket means of a long strapped to the hand |
