GR11 - Day 29 - to Areu

Another blue sky day starting cool and getting progressively hotter. The guidebook wasn't kidding when it said that the trail climbed steeply. A good thing we were in the trees and that the trail was relatively nice. When it finally eased, we were on the edge of very exposed trails. You wouldn't want to suffer from vertigo. The next ascent to the pass was mostly easy on a dirt road, until we nearly had to bushwack as the trail was overgrown with thorny bushes - not fun... The downhill that looked so impressive on the profile picture in the book wasn't hard at all. We rolled in to Areu in 7 hrs. We went for the menu del dia and got hosed 51 euros for lunch! The weather is so beautiful that we decided to set up the tent in the campground. You can tell that the weather is now being governed by the Mediterranean and not by the Atlantic any more. It's much drier. There was no condensation whatsoever on the tent in the morning, so packing up was easier.