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Sparrowhawks & Honey Buzzards can be seen in large groups. In the inner valley passages such as the Cerdanya, the Ariege, the Val d’Aran, Cette-Eygun and the Pays Basque, the passage between and sometimes over the high summits can be observed in March and April and again in autumn. By early May, most of the returning birds have arrived, are indeed breeding. The Black Kites begin their return south in July. Two of the most spectacular visitors to the Pyrenees are Egyptian Vultures and Short-toed Eagles, whose principle diet is snakes. Egyptians, crisp white with a yellow face, are excellent scavengers, eating almost anything. All four European vulture species are found in the Pyrenees. The Griffon being the most numerous, ubiquitous, living in colonies, principally in Spain. The solitary Bearded Vulture seeks bones as its main diet component. The Black Vulture, the largest of all, mainly transits the Pyrenees.

 

Golden Eagles are found in relatively good numbers throughout the year. Ospreys are seen in spring on the eastern salt lakes. The beautiful Bee-eaters adorn any scene and Hoopoe are a wonderful addition, reasonably common. Cuckoos and Nightingales are also very audible. Golden Orioles also, shy but vocal. There also many other rarer Mediterranean and mountain species to be found. So spring is a veritable, exciting feast for the birdwatcher or for anyone to just take pleasure in the sounds and colours so beautifully presented by nature.

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The other great migration, the human exodus, equally numerous on occasions, and also borne of necessity, a desperate urge, the need to flee, to seek refuge, freedom and to continue the fight, flight. As with the birds, also in both directions. But not as seasonal. The terror of the moment meant, as mentioned, that people attempted crossings all year, in deep snow, the heat of summer, violent storms. We take hiking groups along these same paths, but only during periods that allow safer passage. In the spring each year, we follow the old smugglers, freedom trails in eastern end of the Pyrenees. Here many tens of thousands fled north from Spain at the end of the Civil War. Up to 500 000 Spaniards crossed the border into France in 1939. France, already in turmoil politically and fearful of a coming war, of internal insurrection, struggled to cope with such numbers. This sad history still is a cause of pain and controversy. The fine, moving Camp de Rivesaltes Memorial Museum explains this episode extremely well.

 

Then, horrifically, World War 2 created the conditions for a reverse exodus. That natural barrier, the Pyrenees, again became both hurdle and doorway. The Pyrenees border area has always been fluid, inter-connected. Trade, friendship, love has always passed largely unhindered. That long history, the precise knowledge of the land, the weather, the safe places was to play again a crucial role in saving thousands of lives.  In 1940, a huge mass of humanity fled south, towards the then free zone, many to Marseille.  The coastline around the Pyrénées Orientales also became awash with those fleeing the Nazi wave that was sweeping all before it. In those early days, the border was reasonably accessible, passage attainable with the right documents and contacts. Back roads, shepherds’ paths were now again routes to freedom. Money changed hands, the mad scramble to escape began.  Hundreds of soldiers left behind at Dunkirk had by then congregated at Marseille. Eventually plans were made to rescue these soldiers from the long, sandy beaches near Perpignan. This was the beginnings of the Pat O’Leary escape line, one of a many that would eventually enable 12000 allied aircrews to return to the fight. 

 

Political prisoners, Socialists, Jews, working in camps such as at Le Barcarès, Le Mémorial des 3 Colonnes https://goo.gl/maps/vUFyDx62s4FWjtfJ7 took the opportunity to flee when the chance arose in those chaotic summer months of 1940. We spent a moving, emotional few days with US journalist Jessica Shaw in 2021 as she retraced her grandfather’s flight from Barcarès, and his eventual crossing of the border with his young family. Like so many, a story of courage, chance, joy, and horror. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/01/travel/holocaust-pyrenees-jewish-refugees.html

 

A similar path was also taken by Walter Benjamin, a German Jewish philosopher, cultural critic and essayist. Although he managed the crossing, he never attained his freedom. He tragically died in Port Bou. A path in his name follows the route he and so many others took during those desperate days. As the war and occupation progressed, so the efforts to close-off the Pyrenees, and thereby Europe, intensified. The relatively “easy” coastal routes were swifty closed, all routes carefully monitored. In Nov 1942 the whole of France was occupied, firmly put under the boot of Nazi authority. Escape became extremely difficult. Escaper and helper were under immediate risk of death. 3000 German security/customs/mountain specialist personnel were employed in the Pyrénées-Orientales alone in 1944. The escape routes became higher, remoter, more extreme. But that is another story.

 

The Pyrenees in spring are beautiful, colourful, vibrant, exciting. Days are warm, the roads are quiet. Restaurants, terraces are open. The beaches empty. There can be rain, snow still sits on the high peaks and should be avoided. I have chosen the theme of migration, movement, of barrier and haven for that is the true essence of the Pyrenees. A wild, unspoilt place, full of human history and endeavour. A proud bastion of freedom, haven and gateway. 

If you would like any more information concerning the topics I have covered or about the Pyrenees in general, please do contact me. We provide self-catering accommodation in the Pyrénées-Orientales. Spring ‘23 Mediterranean Treks and other event throughout the year can be arranged through https://freedomtrailtreks.com/.