We saw a spot suitable for eating our packed lunch down by the stream so I managed to scramble down the bank to sit on the rocks (note my blow up cushion, which I take everywhere! I still can't sit on hard things).
This is a Lackey Moth (Malacosoma neustria) caterpillar.
This picture shows where glaciers were 25,000 years ago, and you can see where we walked - from the Bains (thermal baths) of Llo, up the river valley, then around and over the hill where St Feliu is marked, then a steep slope down to the top of the village. You'll need to click on the photo to see the details.
This Pink was very bright and pretty though I have no idea what it is as there are umpteen species of wild Dianthus in Europe.
Fragrant Orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea).
The view. There was the worst haze I have ever seen - there should be mountains across the valley there! Yet we were in lovely warm sunshine so apart from the lack of views, it didn't matter.
Possibly a Heath Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza maculata). It has spotty leaves.
Keith is very good at taking photos of me with my eyes closed! 😀
Broad-leaved Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza majalis)
My favourite flower of the day was this Black-eyed Heron's Bill (Erodium glandulosum). Erodiums are related to the Cranesbill Geraniums, but much smaller plants.
Houseleeks, one of the host plants of the Apollo butterfly, along with sedums. The one on the right and bottom is the Cobweb Houseleek (Sempervivum arachnoideum). The other one that is flowering I am not sure but could be the Common Houseleek (Sempervivum tectorum).
We decided not to hike up this steep hill to the remains of the chapel called St Feliu, which you can just see at the top. We wouldn't have had a better view up there due to the haze.
Another Fritillary that I can't ID. Without pictures of the underwings, Fritillaries are very difficult to ID. This might actually be the same species as the unknown one in the previous post.
Another photo by Keith - this time it's a Robber Fly with prey of Provence Orange Tip butterfly.
The only part of the walk that I didn't like was the very steep descent back to Llo, and I thank goodness that I had my alpine stick to help. I find steep slippery slopes terrifying - the last thing I want to do is land on my bum! 😱
We came out at the top of the village. I just love this kind of old rounded slate tile that is still seen here and there in old villages in the mountains.
Down at the bottom of the village with the old ruin of La Tour del Vacaro in view on a hillside.
Back to where we parked near the Thermal Baths. Our route started off to the right out of this picture.
Well what a day! Other species of butterfly seen but not photographed:
Speckled Wood
Provence Orange Tip
Orange Tip
Black Veined White
Large White
Comma
Spanish Gatekeeper
Brimstone
Cleopatra
Clouded Yellow
Painted Lady
Red Admiral
White Admiral (or Southern White Admiral)
Small Heath
Wood White
Total approx 26 species for the day. 💜 The good thing is that this place is only 2.5 hours from home, so I certainly want to come back again, though I would like to walk further along the paved road towards the refuge next time.
The next day we went home, via Villefranche de Conflent, another Vauban citadel not far from Mont Louis. I don't have any great photos from there so I am winding up this travelogue with a final photo of me with a very strangely presented chicken kebab!!!
I hope you have enjoyed coming along on our travels with us. Many thanks to those of you who comment and let me know, or like on facebook.
This was the last full day of our holiday, and it was perfect. So perfect, it made up for the not so good weather during the first couple of weeks, and the lack of interesting fauna and flora.
We headed to Llo, where I had read about a circular gorge walk that sounded interesting and just about the right length for me (about 7km/4 miles).
We followed a quiet paved road which lead uphill, but not steeply. In any event, there was so much stopping to look at the wildflowers and butterflies that the uphill wasn’t a problem!
The first butterfly I saw was this one below, one I’d never seen before. It was perched on one of its host plants, a Cranesbill Geranium. The sides of the road had lots of large flowered Cranesbills along it, not something I see very often in the wild.
Alpine Saxifrage (Saxifraga paniculata)
Geranium Argus butterfly (Eumedonia eumedon) * (a lifer!)
Either Common Spotted (Dactylorhiza maculata subsp. fuchsii) or Heath Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza maculata). I can’t tell the difference and as you will see, I saw many that are one or the other (or indeed, something else!). The ones where I took photos of the leaves had spotty leaves.
Queen of Spain Fritillary (Issoria lathonia)
All along the way we walked beside this mountain stream, the Segre.
Above and below: either Heath Spotted or Common Spotted Orchid (Dactylorhiza species)
Yet more lifers! I saw five on this day! Asterisk denotes a lifer.
Iberian Marbled White (Melanargia lachesis) *
Pearly Heath (Coenonympha arcania) *
Unknown Fritillary
Round-leaved Restharrow (Ononis rotundifolia). I thought this was a delightfully pretty plant.
Apollo (Parnassius apollo). This is the butterfly we have been longing to see for years. It’s not a lifer as we saw some in the Jura mountains above Geneva more than 20 years ago, but we weren't into photography much back then, and didn’t have a digital camera at that time, which helps i.e. taking loads of pics! There were tons of Apollos flying about along this road and up the gorge banks. 💜
These are Keith’s images, as mine were not so close up.
Heath Fritillary (Melitaea athalia).
Piedmont Ringlet (Erebia meolans) * This butterfly took a liking to K’s foot, and jumped onboard to drink some of his sweat!
Unknown Blue butterflies. I'm not sure if they are the same species though they look similar. Possibly Amanda's Blue?
Alpine Saxifrage (Saxifraga paniculata)
Below is the only building we came across, a farmhouse called Mas Patiras.
Large Wall Brown (Lasiommata maera) * Slightly larger and lighter than the regular Wall Brown.
We came to where we turned off the paved road at a bridge and looked around for somewhere around the stream to have our picnic lunch. The rest is in the next post.
Relief map showing the Cerdagne and the places that we went to. Not marked is Llivia and its hill, where we went in the last post, bottom left.
On our way to Mont Louis which is near the campsite we were staying at for a few days we stopped at a scenic layby for lunch. There was a slope with wildflowers on it and in the gravel near my feet I discovered my first ever Bagworm! These moth larvae cover themselves in bits of stick or bark or other bits of vegetation as protection and camouflage and just protrude like the one below when they want to move somewhere.
I was really impressed by the matching bits of stick and how well it had stuck those bits on. They belong to the Psychidae family but I can't ID better than that!
Another first for me in this spot was a Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum odoratum). I have never seen one growing wild before.
Mont Louis is a citadel with a small village within, built by Vauban between 1649 and 1681. Vauban was a French military engineer who was responsible for many of the fortresses around the border of France. Most of Vauban's sites are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Looking back towards the village part of the citadel.
This part of the citadel is still in use by the French military and can only be accessed by guided visits.
You can walk all the way around the fortifications and it really is a large site. That's my brother, he manages to get in most of my photos whether I like it or not! 😀
Our campsite was at a place called Pla de Barres, up a bit higher than Mont Louis. We stayed there years ago and loved it. The campsite is fairly basic but has changed hands since we were there and now has a new reception building and basic outdoor restaurant, but hasn't lost its charm.
It's located beside the River Tet and the area is known as Petit Canada because of the pine trees, grasslands and rocky river. There are many paths here and you can walk into Mont Louis along one of the tracks.
Last time here we were lucky to see a flock of Crossbills, but not this time, sadly! Here we are wandering around, me in search of butterflies!
Small Pearl-Bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene).
The River Tet.
The native Rhododendron of the Pyrenees, Rhododendron ferrugineum.
I remember finding similar ringlet butterflies our last time here but they are hard to ID as there are loads of species and they are nearly all brown with orange patches and black and white eyes. I have hopefully identified these correctly as Bright-Eyed Ringlets (Erebia oeme). "Frequently rests deep in long grass" helped with IDing as this is exactly what many of them were doing!
This scene is right close to the campsite which is on the right of the river. It is so peaceful and lovely there, one of the loveliest campsites, even though it was much busier this June than our previous visit early one September.
The following day was the highlight of our trip - full of butterflies and wildflowers. I have so many photos I shall have to divide it into two posts!
