We are currently re-visiting Albarracin, it was an easy decision having been here once before, we spent 5 days here a couple of years ago and the climbing was brilliant. Armed with a re-vamped much more developed guide book we have some new areas to explore, as well as some unfinished business to attend to.

With and underdeveloped guidebook for the area we picked our way through the 12 sectors. A lot of the problems I was psyched to try seemed worn, sandy and missing a hold or two; others were simply too highball or committing for a single spotter. This hasn’t stopped me getting a few good ascents. One of which even had a name, Spanair (strange for this area).

A massive contrast from where we had just climbed in Targasonne, from hardly granite to soft crumbly sandstone. Not to worry thought should be just like back home. We had a few days of getting to know the area and then the rain caught up with us.

Disillusioned by my ascent L’oeil du Voisin, I thought I was still on form, even with a month off before coming away. I was soon shut down by an 8a (no surprise there) but then followed by a 7a+, maybe my fitness has dropped a touch  :(

That evening we heard a friendly English hello, in the form of Jason and Claire. Not only did we find two new climbing partners, but two fantastic guides of the area. We woke up the next morning psyched for some classic problems and a guided tour of Targasonne.

So as we arrived in Carcasonne we were met with a beautiful medieval town situated high up on the hill side. After a few hours of exploring the walls and taking lots of photos, we thought it best to press on to Targasonne. However, after about 40 minutes of guiding Ivan through the twisty back roads in the pitch black we pulled up at a quiet town to get our heads down for the night with the intention of carrying on in the morning.

Well that wasn’t the start we had planned for, a long drive to Font only to find it typically wet. Hung around for a few days to see if it would dry out and took in a few sights, after much pondering over the forecast we thought it best to keep travelling south. So we have left the familiar surroundings of Fontainebleau to drive straight south to the beautiful town of Carcasonne in a hope for better weather to climb in the neighbouring boulder area of Targasonne.

Ivan seems to be holding up well, still getting our heads around the fact we are now living in a van. It’s strangely homely and toasty for the month of January, after refusing to pay restaurant prices we found ourselves parked on the roadside munching supermarket pizza and wedges. We also found the smoke alarm works, note to self, remove batteries before cooking.