Hi guys. Hope you’re enjoying the new look to the website – a wedding gift from the very generous Matt Webb. As Sue posted, I’m currently in the Pyrenees in Benasque. The place is a nightmare to get to; a flight to Barcelona followed by two buses and a total of around 14 hours travelling for me, but once you get here it’s worth it. Not as hot as the rest of Spain as we’re so high up, nevertheless the last few days have been very warm and sunny. I feared it would be pretty unpleasant weather and brought three jumpers but so far it doesn’t look like I’ll need them.
However when I arrived the place didn’t seem like the idyll it undoubtedly is. First we had a huge thunderstorm that lasted for hours. The following day we found the whole town’s water supply was down. Luckily I showered when I arrived but still I had to make my way to the first round unshaved and unshowered. If that wasn’t enough, during the first round the power went down for 30min or so too and the boards were bathed in shadows – luckily none of that has repeated itself yet.
We’ve just over half way through the tournament so far and I’m on 5.5/6 after drawing today against Mihail Marin, author of the famous Quality series on the English. I managed to outprepare him but went down the wrong path and had to offer a draw.
During the mornings here I’ve taken advantage of the beautiful scenery and gone for walks. Today I headed over to a nearby lake a few kilometres away and on previous days I’ve taken mountain routes up through the woodland. Below are some of the photos I’ve taken – if the internet connection lets me put them up!
