Flying Over the Statues

Statues (center right) and chapel (center left)

The statues at Meouilles are located on the top of a little hill overlooking St Andre, the Lac de Castillon and the Chateau de Meouilles (more info here) . It's a short but satisfying walk from the village, and very popular. Today, I had a cold flight around St Andre and managed to snap the statues from directly above just before landing to warm my toes. A couple of other pics here.  

Snow in St Andre

Chalvet and St Andre

We've finally had snow at village level. It's fluffy and everything looks very pretty, so I was keen to take advantage of it while it lasts. I did a short walk just around the village, up a little hill. It normally takes around 2 hours, but the snow slowed things down a little.

Snow Shoes in the Corradour

There's very little snow at valley levels and I fancied a snow shoe hike, so I headed into the medium mountains. The Pic du Corradour is only 2200m high, but it feels a lot higher than that. It's a walk I do once or twice every year, and it never disappoints. 

Je suis Charlie

I was out all day and only found out about the horrible events in Paris at the end of the afternoon. Like the 11th of September, I find myself a bit overwhelmed. Right now Charlie Hebdo's website is a basic memorial. But I'm hoping it is functional tomorrow and I can order a subscription and that a lot of others do the same thing. I can't think of a better response to those that would kill to silence ideas they don't like.

10 Years On

It's 10 years since my first paraglider flight and I've been looking forward to an anniversary flight. Today was far too stable for a proper flight, but the weather was lovely and it was just possible to get above launch. Nothing great but very pleasant and certainly better than my first flight. And, of course, it makes you think about all the flights and the ten years that have rushed by.

Chamois and Snow

There has been very little snow so far this winter and the local ski station only has a few runs open. There was a dusting of snow just after Xmas that looks very nice, but - despite very cold nights - it is rapidly melting in the almost continual sunshine. I took one of my standard hikes along the Crete des Serres. The snow dampens sound and allows you to get nearer wildlife. I saw 3 boars and around 20 chamois - easily a record for that hike.

Early Snow

 I had a nice hike up the Pic de Chamatte today. I took the direct route up from Vergons and there was a little dusting of snow on the summit. It felt very airy and a foretaste of the coming winter.