Day 4: Meeting Friends and Family

They’re just like you and me.

They have their time for work and a professional life to attend to. They have family they catch up with. They host dinners for friends, or go over to a mate’s house and be the guests. And, they have rest days for chilling and down times for watching Netflix.

Perhaps, what’s not so much like you and me, is how climbing is just so central to all of it.

Today was supposed to be a rest day, but because Coralie’s energy is so contagious (she is Caroline’s climbing student and overflowing with motivation), Miel and I joined her for a short morning session in James and Caro’s “woody”.

A woody is a climbing term for a (usually indoor) home gym, and Onceuponaclimb has a really good one in their attic. Probably around 25 square meters, it is heavily inclined, with all four walls meeting at the top for some solid roof climbing, and studded with moderately-open to downright-crimpy holds: Three circuits of 30-40 moves instantly gave us fat forearms.

Memorizing the 40 moves.

Over lunch, we found out that James and Caro would be going out for a short excursion in the mountains. Being assured that it would not be too tiring (it was supposed to be our rest day, after all!), Miel and I hopped into the car and found ourselves spending a pleasant afternoon with Caro’s dad, plus another friend and her little boy Hugo.

Car buddies

We went to Mejannes-le-Clap, somewhere northeast of Connaux. It is a sport climbing crag in itself, but we spent the hours crafting a mini adventure for Hugo: We crawled in and out of limestone tunnels. We abseiled (rapelled) from one tunnel exit that terminates in the middle of a rock, like a pipe with no cover and spewing contents out like a waterfall.

The tunnel's rappel exit

Just 5-10 meters away from these tunnels, a short Tyrolean traverse is setup on adjacent limestone towers. Apart from crossing through the free space on two fixed lines, one is invited to traverse around towers with your bare hands. And with nothing but openness and the wind blowing behind you, and seeing nothing but the rock, your tired hands, and 2 pairs of carabiners in front of you to protect your life – the traverse was both a heart-stopper and confidence-builder for little Hugo.

Hugo taking on the Tyrolean traverse, as Caroline assists

Chilling!

Back at the headquarters, James and Caro invited two friends over for dinner. Caro’s dad decided to stay on for the party, and setup the fire for grilling. We had wine, crostini and foie gras while doing dinner preps. The two friends brought their beautiful, big, white shepherd dog named Ever. The meal consisted of home-made fries, barbecued steak and sausages, and Caro’s steak tartare, which we enjoyed al fresco in their island patio, by the grill.

Fire-grilled steak

My first steak tartare ever!

Dinner wound down with everyone scurrying into the actual dining area, as the temperatures began to drop, and the even the locals putting on their jackets. They taught us about the “mistral”, a strong, cold, wind that affects the south of France. We learned about the guy’s occupation as a designer/builder of walls for homes and various structures. He, in fact, was the one who finished the bedroom where Miel and I are staying in.

Good nights were exchanged around 11:00 PM. After all, there was work the next day for the dinner guests. As for us, there was no question as to what was lined up in our schedule. We were looking forward to more hours of climbing together. The only thing to figure out was which area we would be visiting, and that’s a surprise for the following day.