Today started out overcast, and stayed semi overcast for the day - such a change from the clear skies of the past 2 glorious weeks! Breakfast was supplied, and it came with interesting observations on life from Paul, our host, a transplanted Englishman who has lived in France for the past 14 years. It was on the bikes and off over the Ceret Devil’s Bridge at 0845, for a day where we opted to take the longer but flatter route from Ceret to Prades. Our original route would have been spectacular, but with twice as much climbing - and on close inspection and double checking of maps and google, it seems that some of the ‘roads’ might have been unsealed - not a great prospect with loaded bikes and steep ascents and descents! The route we ended up using was not the most scenic at times, and despite carefully checking, sometimes ended up being an obstacle course - we were wondering why we haven’t seen so many other cycle tourists! While not all perfect going, there were of course lots of positives about today. The rolling countryside with the looming presence of the partially snow covered mountain of Canigou was pretty good, and the back roads often went through vines, olives and pines, fruit trees (cherries, apricots are in season and on sale at just about every farmhouse) - not so much the wheat and maize that we saw in Spain though. We saw some ultralights flying around the town of Thuir - they look so flimsy, yet kind of fun for the serious thrill seeker! (My friend Simon from Kuching, paramotor pilot, scuba diver and bike (all types) rider would be up for this challenge!) At our lunch spot of Bouleternere, we were joined at our spot by a group of cyclists from Bayonne. We had inadvertently ‘crashed’ their checkpoint - there was a support person who supplied baguettes, water and energy drinks, and who had a van - not one big enough to take all of them, it must be said! One spoke some English (they didn’t seem to understand my French!) -I think they were doing a ‘Raid Pyrenees’, a challenge to go from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic coasts within 100 hours. This is from one website to give you an idea of what they were attempting to do: https://www.pyreneescycling.com/official-raid-pyrenees.html A pretty tough challenge, and the guy we spoke to looked stuffed already (they would have just started the challenge when we saw them!) (As we have often noted, there are people out there doing amazing things that you wouldn’t normally ever hear about!) The ride along the N116 was fast, not so scenic or exciting - except for the adrenaline rush of the fast passing cars, trucks and motor bikes. There were some nice views though. We checked in early in Prades, and Eric, our host, showed us to our room with a view of the mountains, and offered us the use of the pool (we declined - it wasn’t that hot!). We could get our clothes washed for 5 euros, which seemed like a good deal, as this left us time to go awandering. Serendipitously, a free choral event was occurring in the magnificent Baroque church, which we listened to for a bit (beer and pizza was calling too!) This evening we have been enjoying a relaxing evening in the lovely garden…. The weather forecast is looking a bit grim for the next few days, the days we have some serious climbing. We may have to modify our plans, though the options are limited. We will just have to get wet and love it.