Moved on to the southwestern France coastal city of Perpignan and what a welcome change -- this is how the south of France should be. Staying in a lovely ground floor flat decorated in a Moroccan theme and a patio covered in a grape arbor -- just step outside, pick a handful of grapes, rinse them off and eat -- decadence!
The Cathar Fortresses are a chain of castles dating from before the 11th century -- the Cathars were an ultra-devout Christian sect who clashed with the Roman Pope and were ultimately crushed by the Crusaders in the 13th century. They ruled the Tet Valley which oversaw overland trade routes between Spain and France/Italy. There are four castles within an hour or so drive of Perpignan and the plan was to visit each of them -- unfortunately, that didn't quite work out.
Got an early start on a cloudy, overcast day for the Chateau de Peyrepertuse, the largest of the four. Perched on a sheer spur of rock with a drop of over eight hundred meters on all sides, it stands majestically above you as you approach on a narrow winding road. As soon as I saw the start of the path up to the castle, it became apparent that this would be my most challenging ascent of any of the castles I've visited.
I'll use the word "path" but it was actually more of an overgrown chute -- straight up. You gain about seven hundred fifty meters of altitude in maybe a half to three quarters of a mile -- a constant climb with no breaks. The path consisted of miserable tree roots, loose tennis ball size rocks and the occasional patch of loose clay -- all wet from the clouds that had moved in before I arrived -- doubt they'd ever heard of the phrase "trail improvement". This goes on for most of the way, then it gets steep -- steps of uneven size from twelve to twenty four inches tall thru a series of zig-zags until you reach the castle gate (or what's left of it). The only "public" word I can use to describe this path would be "treacherous".
Going up got my heart rate going but it was thinking about descending that had me wondering if this was such a smart idea -- falling going up meant I'd be on my hands and knees -- falling going down meant bouncing twenty to thirty meters before stopping -- figured I could always go down on my butt if need be. Needless to say, I took my time.
Made it up in one piece only to find dense fog quickly moving in -- there went any of the dramatic views I had read about. Once in the castle, it was fairly flat except for climbing the walls or venturing down into the underground storage vaults. I can't even begin to picture how they built that place -- it was literally clinging to the sheer granite outcrop at the top -- outside the walls it was straight-down. I also can't imagine how they got supplies up to the castle -- the path was way too steep for a loaded pack animal much less an atheletic person carrying more than 30-40 pounds.
The fog was getting thicker -- couldn't see from one end of the courtyard to the other so decided to make my exit while I could still see going down. Took my time -- didn't have to go down on my butt but wished I'd worn my hiking boots and had a pole a number of times. Got back to the bottom just as the fog started swirling around the car. Glad I did it but it was a challenge -- only saw five other people the whole time I was there and they were all twenty five or under and fitted out for serious hiking.
Wth an oxygen deficit clouding my brain, I decided to try going to one of the other castles -- my knees got outvoted on that one. Started driving up the narrow mountain roads -- hairpin turns and sharp drop-offs -- hit the fog bank (visibility was maybe twenty feet) -- took the first wide place in the road to turn around -- figured being able to do one of the castles and be able to tell about it beat most of the other alternatives.
It was still only mid-afternoon so decided to try and make it to La Cite, a Medieval city and fortress in the old section of Carcassone -- it was also up in the mountains and I needed to go through some fog but it was a little further north where the fog didn't look to be as bad. Glad I tried -- it was worth it.
"Sprawling" is a good term for this place -- comprised of narrow winding cobblestone streets working their way up the hill to the castle -- lined with two-story half-timbered front houses -- talk about quaint and charming -- but all there with only one purpose in mind -- separating you from what's in your purse or wallet! What's the phrase -- "nice to look at but dangerous to touch"!
Wandered around eventually making my way to the castle -- French castles are only slightly diffferent from English castles -- apparently not that many "castle designers" around back then. This one varied in that the battlements were intact -- so about a mile later I had made a circuit of the castle walls -- of course it was "walk a ways" -- climb fifteen to twenty steps -- walk a ways more -- descend fifteen to twenty steps -- walk a ways -- repeat, repeat, repeat! Being a guard walking these battlements, you had to be in shape!
Slept well that night!
