IN THE HEART OF THE MOUNTAIN

It’s like the start of a new school year or the first day of the holidays… This afternoon we were all excited to start the 4th shift of the Pyrene Summer Camp! Yesterday, the first campers arrived in Barcelona from England and Miami, Florida. And this morning, more campers arrived at the airport from Mallorca. Little by little we’ve all made our way up to Cerdanya, from Gandía, Madrid, and also from Brittany, France, who arrived by train in Latour-de-Carol.

To kick off the shift, we had a little official presentation at 6 pm, and today, there were so many of us that we almost didn’t fit on the terrace of the Cap del Rec café. It was such a joy to see campers with whom we’ve shared adventures for 4, 5, and even 6 summers. A brief introduction of the team and 3 minutes to hug mothers, fathers, and children and wish each other a happy week.

We are 18 Minairons, 28 Junior Adventurers, 25 Bold Adventurers, 25 Wild Adventurers, 14 horse riders, 25 mountain bikers, and 26 from the Trekking 7×7. A total of 168 adventurous young people!

We immediately split up into camps, met our camp leaders and new friends, why not?
The hot weather has helped us to remember that it’s summer, that it’s holiday time and that it’s time to do special things that we only do on holiday.

We settle into our tents, the sun is going down, and soon it’s time for the first dinner in the camp. It’s 8 pm and while we’re eating we’re setting up the projector in the tent to watch the final of the European Football Championship. What nerves! Goal! Goal! And goooaaal! We’ll never forget watching the final at an altitude of 2,000 m surrounded by forests, horses and cows.

At 11 pm it was quiet and everyone was asleep. Perhaps the joy of the match was a balm that helped us to calm down and sleep. And surely some of us, like us too, with nerves, hopes and fears, were thinking about what the week in the heart of the mountains would be like.