Still Chillin in the Pyrenees

Now that we’ve fallen in love with the Cerdange region, after five weeks on this spectacular plateau where France meets Spain at the top of the Pyrenees, we are finding it surprisingly difficult to move on. Among other things, it feels amazingly safe and remote here, an ideal place to lay low and stay hidden while our homeland implodes under the rising pressure of white supremacy and populist nationalism.

But in all honesty, a big reason for this sense of sedentariness is that we haven’t been able to find a new host. Things seem to slow down this time of year. With shorter work days and inclement weather, not a lot of households need an additional family of four to be cooped up indoors with them. That’s understandable.

For now we are putting all our hope towards an eco-village at the other end of the valley, on the Spanish side. They’re not on WorkAway, but a friend of a friend says they’re in need of help, and their website looks very promising. We’re supposed to meet with one of the family members tomorrow. We’re hoping they can put us up through the middle of next month, when we fly to Germany for a week of Christmas.

After Christmas, we are set to do another month of house-sitting, not far from here, but further up in the mountains, on the French side. I for one am looking forward to a real winter in the snowy mountains of the Pyrenees. I’ve also developed an affinity for that type of work. It’s funny how fresh and limber the body feels after a long day of house-sitting. Just hope the kids don’t get cabin fever from a month of secluded hibernation.

Otherwise, everything’s going just as smooth as duck liver. We’re still planning a day trip up to Andorra, the nearby micro-nation, and one of these days we’re going to venture down to Barcelona for a taste of cosmopolitan culture. But for now, we’re just happy and grateful to be on this side of the Atlantic.