Early 3rd Trimester

Here are some recently taken 3rd trimester photos. It's hard to know how to pose for these kind of photos, what often happens is I find myself awkwardly standing in front of the camera, asking Cam, "What should I do?" "I feel weird posing."  And he says, "I don't know, ya, do that." So I've included some other models in these pictures to take the pressure off of myself. The models include Kindle (our little French black kitty) and Lion (big U.S. kitty), this way they can share in the 3rd trimester photo shoot as well. By the way, the cats are handling pregnancy pretty well. Although they do have a fascination with climbing up on my belly that I tend to get rather frustrated with. We have heavy cats, so I've made a "no belly rule" they sometimes decide to follow. Most of the time it goes like this: Lion or Che jump on what's rest of my lap, then they try to sneak up on my belly, I say no and push them down...30 seconds later they try again. Repeating this pattern until I get so frustrated Cam has to come over and take them off my lap (while laughing of course, b/c I'm not able to get them off myself due to lack of ab muscles and sitting up power...I'm sure I look like a turtle lying on her back just getting more and more pissed off). 

Stam & Ceph's Newest Adventure

So, looking at our last blog entry I see it has been almost an ENTIRE YEAR since we wrote! Somehow time has passed quickly in the slow moving region of Ariège. A lot has happened in our lives since this time last year, so here we go...

I (Steph) am still working in the towns of Muret and St. Gaudens (France), teaching adults English. It's an enjoyable profession. I have had the opportunity to meet many quality people that are excited about learning, which is a refreshing break from teaching Public Speaking where I had to convince my students that learning was important! ;) I recently went to Helsinki, Finland for a work conference/project with the European Union. It was an incredible opportunity to be a part of the progressive development of intercultural communication within the EU. The project consisted of creating a resource website in which teachers and trainers could find teaching tools to further intercultural communication training in the classroom. Exactly my kind of project. :)

Cam's work life has changed quite a bit since last year. He is now an official computer programmer! He's been super busy working away on several projects, and amazing me with his incredible knack for learning anything he sets his mind to! He's having a ball, and it's really been fun to see his progression in his new career path.

Here's a few pics of Helsinki...

The veggie garden is back, bigger than ever, for the summer! Cam decided to enlarge are already very large garden to accomodate for...us two. Whatever the reasoning, we have a VERY big veggie garden this summer. We planted approximately 200 potato plants, a plethora of tomatoes, beets, carrots, spinach, onions, garlic, shallots, cabbage, peppers, pumpkins, cucumbers, artichokes, rhubarb (thanks to Bettye and Diane), rasberries, strawberries, blueberries, zucchini and a couple types of lettuce. Whew! We should be set for a summer filled of weeding and eating delights!

Garden pics:


As you can probably tell from this last photo...my physique has changed quite a bit since last year too. Hmmm, what's the news...

We're having a baby! Cam and I are expecting a little baby (girl) around October 2nd. Preparing for parenthood has been an adventure in and of itself, we can only imagine what the real deal will be like. We are super excited about this new adventure, it makes moving to France seem like nothing. :) So far a challenge has been figuring out how to work our new (used) super stroller that transforms into 3 different things. Talk about confusing. But we've also been trying to enjoy the down time we have by climbing, traveling just a bit, and playing with our super funny kitties. They're going to be in for a big shock when the little one joins the family! :)

More Pregger Photos:
To finish off this blog post, I'm posting a picture of our last construction project. After having finally finished the hardwood floors in the house (great job Camicito), our next project was building a systems board (wooden climbing wall) in the garage. It's a very nice addition to the garage that Cam is super psyched on. I can't use it during pregnancy, but I'm all about it when the little one arrives. She'll have something to train on too! :)

Gorges De Galamus

Dans ce roc pelé que troue la sabine

Où l'aigle dans son vol osait seul venir

Pendu par une corde avec la barre à mine

L'homme comme l'oiseau a trouvé un chemin

("In this bare rock that pierces the Sabine
    Where the eagle in his flight only dared to come
    Hanging by a rope with the crowbar
    Man as a bird has found a way")  

...translation courtesy of Google Traduction, my French still sucks...

Often, we explore with the intention of finding, yet, there is something magical about turning a corner and seeing something unexpected.  The sense of surprise makes the object stand out in ways that perhaps we wouldn't have noticed, were the circumstances different.  While the Gorges of Galamus are by no means a secret, our discovery of this amazing landscape was wholly unexpected and that much richer as a result.

We were returning from a trip to Barcelona with Elise.  After visiting the chateaus of Peyrepertuse and Quéribus we were making our way back home and happened to take a small road.  Simply marked on the map in small font, the canyon didn't proclaim its uniqueness, but we decided to pass by in the off chance of finding some interesting limestone crags to salivate over (more me than Steph & Elise).  We were fully surprised as the road began to narrow, the cliffs began to loom and the center line disappeared before the highway finally pinched down to one lane.  We turned a corner to find that the narrow, winding road was actually carved out of the middle of a limestone wall that plunged into the cascading river below. 

The natural beauty of the canyon is breathtaking, but the area also has a fascinating history.  Given the engineering difficulty of the highway project, the road wasn't carved through the canyon until the 1890's.  When it finally became a reality, a large part of the construction was done by men hanging from ropes attached to the cliff.  Given the date and technology at the time, I can't imagine how sketchy it must have been.  

Despite the road not being constructed until the late 19th century, several caves in the area have been inhabited regularly since the 7th century.  Hermits seeking refuge in the canyon were some of the first documented inhabitants.  Far away from the noise of society, the hermits sought solitude and peace in the caves shown in the picture below (a chapel and small residence were later built at the entrance to the main cave). 

According to local history, the chapel referenced above (interior pictured below) was constructed in 1782 to honor Saint Antoine after several people from the nearby village of Saint Paul de Fenouillet were miraculously cured of "Suette" (a.k.a. sweating sickness) a mysterious infectious epidemic disease that primarily plagued England and mainland Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries.  

The chapel and hermitage also became popular pilgrimage sites, drawing people on Easter and Pentecost. 

In addition to the natural beauty and religious element of the Gorges de Galamus, the canyon was also a setting in several movies, including Roman Polanski's The Ninth Gate (1999) and Chine Ma Doleur (1989) by Dai Sijie. 

 
 
The Gorges de Galamus offer some climbing and what looks to be excellent canyoneering.  Although the canyoneering doesn't appear to be technically difficult, it looked super fun.  We watched as this group hopped casually from pool to pool on their way toward the chapel.

The natural geography is also incredible because it creates an extremely strong wind tunnel.  We visited the area on a moderately windy day, but at this corner in particular, there was steady wind strong enough to support your weight as you leaned into it.  As we left, we saw a cyclist ride pass.  I was bummed I didn't get to see him come around the corner because I imagine it was totally epic.  :)

A Glimpse of Cathar Country

Ariège has a ton of interesting chateaus, castles and ruins that date back to the 13th century.  Although these sites have long archeological histories, many of them were defined by a short period of time of religious persecution, the effects of which may still be seen on today's landscape.  

Catharism was a sect of Christianity that contradicted certain fundamental Catholic doctrine during the middle ages.  As a result, Pope Innocent III declared Catharism a heresy and authorized a crusade in order to eliminate the opposition to the Catholic Church.  The Cathars, a great many of whom lived in the southeast of France, were hunted down and brutally murdered (usually by being burnt alive).  In order to fend off the crusaders, many Cathar fled to seemingly impenetrable fortified chateaus atop rocky buttresses.  

Living in this Ariège, it is impossible not to notice these buildings towering over the landscape below.  Many of them have fallen into disrepair of the centuries, some were destroyed by the crusaders, and fewer still remain relatively intact (or were reconstructed), but all of them have a fascinating story which has been awesome to explore.  

Elise and Hanan exploring and imagining what the Chateau of Roquefixade, a Cathar stronghold near Foix, might have looked like 700 years ago.  

Elise and Hanan trying to imagine what it would be like to get a clear photo of the elusive Colorado mountain troll. 

Fêtes des Fleurs - Cazères

Continuing the tradition of local festivals, last weekend was the annual Fêtes des Fleurs in Cazères, which consists of a variety of activities, including a parade of floats adorned with flowers.  Despite being small, the parade was fun and entertaining. In sharp contrast to American parades, where the parade route is guarded vehemently by police and barriers, the Fêtes des Fleurs parade was relaxed, low key and hardly regulated. 

In fact, much of the parade seemed to consist of people just enjoying themselves, like this group of ladies, who were walking along, laughing and having a good time and seemed somewhat oblivious to the fact that they were in the middle of a parade.  Here they stopped for a quick snapshot, before continuing on to the next camera person who was waiting another 5 feet down the road.  

I milled in and out of the paraders for most of the time, which was far more fun than just standing in a crowd of sweaty people, trying to look over someone's shoulder to see the floats roll by.  Granted, we were in a small town, with a small parade and this may not be representative of the greater French culture, but I would say that it was refreshing.

Lots of stuff going on...

Things are a bit hectic around here for the moment, but we've been doing lots of cool stuff and will post things in more detail as we get more time.  But, for now, a few pics...

A weekly market in Rieux Volvestre. Steph and Elise picking through the produce and learning how to manage market crowds/lines.

We also went to a "Vide Grenier," which translates literally as "empty the attic".  It is basically the French equivalent of a town wide yard sale, where people try to sell all the random junk that have been collecting dust for the last who knows how long.  Needless to say, there are a ton of intriguing and slightly bizarre objects that appear...everything from clothes, to climbing shoes (size 42 Mythos if anyone is interested), to religious relics, dishes, rusty tools... the list is endless.  This ice axe thermometer caught my eye because it seemed lonely and out of place among all of the other, very clearly non-climber objects. 

The Vide Grenier is also excellent for people watching.  We happened to see this couple dressed up as clowns, who proceeded to randomly approach people and do clown things much to the amusement of everyone around, especially Elise and I.  In fact, we both stopped at the exact same time to take a photo of them.  I would say that clowns are not a normal occurrence, but it was indubitably entertaining nonetheless. 

A Thursday Promenade

Similar to the weather back in Colorado, the weather here has been rainy, cloudy, (snowy at times) and much colder than normal.  According to Patricia, the local weather expert, this is pretty out of character, and the end is in sight, which we're super excited about.

That being said, we have found that cloudy, rainy, miserable weather is excellent for going on exploratory drives of Ariège.  Thursday, we decided to drive south past Foix toward the Spanish border.  We joked that we could drive to Andorra (a tiny country tucked in the Pyrenees, between Spain & France) for a quick cup of coffee before a dinner engagement with an English couple on the other side of Castex.  We laughed, thinking it was actually a totally absurd idea, but set off to explore anyway.  Shortly after driving through Foix, we found ourself faced with the dilemma of actually driving to Andorra, which lay an hour or less further, or turning south toward the small town of Niaux and unknown sites along the small roads at the base of the Pyrenees.  We chose the small roads...

Our route is marked in Green above.

The first stop along a winding road came after Steph had to repeatedly tell me to keep my eyes on the road because I was gawking too much at all the limestone cliffs everywhere.  After seeing a giant cave not far off the road, we had to pull over and investigate.  Ironically, it turns out that people have been visiting this particular site for quite a while, and we weren't the first people to be drawn to it's towering opening.  After putzing around on narrow side roads and a brief pit stop at a smaller cave, we realized we were at the famous Grotte De Niaux which is a prehistoric site dating to the Magdalenian era of the Upper Paleolithic period (around 18,000 - 10,000 Before Present).  

The site boasts a number of prehistoric paintings, but also serves as an interesting timeline of human history up to the present day.  Along with ancient rock art, the cave walls provide glimpses (amusing at times) into countless generations of inhabitants.  In "recent" history, there are scrawlings dating back to the 1600's, including a newer entry that proclaims, "Ici, j'ai perdu mon pucelage à l'age de 13 ans".  (Here I lost my virginity at the age of 13).  

One of the things I find most fascinating and enriching about exploring France is the visible depth of history.  While the Colorado has archeology dating back to at least the Clovis time period (11,500 BP +/-), it is extremely difficult to see.  The ancient history is normally hidden & buried under feet of dirt, like the Lindenmeier Site just north of Fort Collins.   Looking at dirt mounds and imagining what it would have been like is ok, but actually getting to stand where someone painted a bison with a twig 18,000 years ago is spectacular. 

Needless to say, our Thursday visit to the Grotte De Niaux was slightly hindered by a bus load of middle school kids from Andorra who were running around like crazy and had filled all the tour space.  We're hoping to return soon (maybe with Elise?) and check the grotte out in full detail.  In the mean time, here are a few pics...

A small grotte just before you get to the main entrance to the Grotte De Niaux.

The entrance to the caves.  I don't fully know what the building is on the right.  It seems to be a visitor center of some sort, but I'm not exactly sure what the story is behind the architecture or why it was built here.  We'll do more research and report back.  As a little bit of scale, you can just see the top of a tour bus on the left side of the frame.  If it weren't a major historical site, the cave would have a ton of amazing routes out it. 

View of adjacent town from the Grotte.

After noodling around at the Grotte, we made our way back onto our promenade itenerary (if there is such a thing, and headed farther south toward the Pyrenees before contouring west along the foothills.  Before long, the road became smaller once again and the persistent drizzle turned to a fog.  Houses and other attractions would appear and disappear with equal aplomb, including this roadside waterfall that was overflowing.  

Shortly after stopping to gawk at the waterfall, the snow began to fall, then get heavier, then it began to blow sideways, and I wondered if we had been somehow teleported back to Colorado.  The road seemed to wind on forever, switchbacking up and up...into more snow and less signs of civilization.  We finally summited and I saw an obscure sign that said Port something or other....  I'm not spectacular at French by any means, but I thought "Port" meant "Port"...as in the place where there is lots of water and boats...  Looking around, there was lots of water (in various stages), but no boats.  Perhaps that is a funny French way of saying bobsled?  The road after the "Port" seemed to certainly resemble a bobsled run a little bit...maybe they were on to something.

Merry 13th of May.  We saw a Santa Clause on someone's door the other day.  It's not quite as funny and out of place now.  :)

Nearing the end of the snow.

The houses seemed to change with the landscape as well.  The closer we got to the Pyrenees, the more they became Chalets, to the point where I felt like I was in the Swiss alps rather than in Southern France.  I'm amazed by how France has an amazing amount of diversity within such a small area.  The rest of the drive was excellent, including a cool sideroad with tunnels, but I'll let Steph tell that one...

Climbing - Calamès with Matt Robbin

So I keep hearing grumbling about too many gardening and rambling posts, and not enough climbing, so here it is... day 4 & 5 of climbing here in France...  Matt Robbin, who is studying (a little bit, between climbing days) in Grenoble came down to check out Toulouse and be our ropegun for a couple of days. 

Matt applying a healthy dose of sunscreen "à l'Americain"...also known as bringing New Jersey to the crag. 

Les Murettes...Barbarela.  Word to the wise.  Stay away from the bearded woman.

Steph leading the all-time most heinous route ever.  She did awesome on it.  After coming back to the ground, we watched 4 people totally flail on it, including several guys who just got off Matt's project, which was supposed to be way harder.  I smelled a total sandbag and stayed away.  

Matt on "Crache ton venin," a short, power endurance route that is fun and well-worthwhile.  The route is pretty manufactured, but the movement is great and it has a little redpoint crux right at the top...just to keep things interesting.  

Matt at the crux.

Steph doing some championship belaying action while I was a slacker and took photos...

 There was a group of French climbers working on routes around us, and in between attempts, Matt mentioned that they were welcome to take a burn on his route since the draws were already hung.  What we didn't realize was that everyone in the group was going to try it.  In the end, Matt didn't get quite as many burns on it as he expected, but all the French folks were super nice  and it was cool to get to meet some local climbers.  The were helpful in directing us to a local gym and some other crags, that hopefully we'll get to check out. 

Matt taking one last burn on Crache...  Not quite enough juice, but perhaps if he ever makes it back over here, he can try it again.  Although, I imagine it will be pretty hard to justify driving past Buoux, Ceuse and some of the other spectacular rock in his area to climb at Calamès again.  

Enjoying a nice sunset in Foix.

I'll post more pics of another day Steph and I had where we climbed a 5 pitch route to the summit of Calamès where there is a 11-12th century chateau guarding crest.  It was pretty cool...