Behind the Image

Early morning in the Basque Country

The story behind this image:

During the previous day’s stage the fog had come down during the steep climb up to the Port de Biozkornia, a reminder that in the mountains the weather even in June can change in an instant. Making our way carefully down into the village of Arrantzazu our hope that the fog might lift was dashed. We were in for a cold evening and waking up to the fog still being firmly in place didn’t exactly cheer us up.

The climb out of the village at least ensured we were getting warm. As we gained altitude the fog took on a different quality: it seemed to get lighter, giving us hope that it might lift after all the higher we got. The route zigzagged its way through a beautifully peaceful forest. The sound of something moving through the undergrowth made us look to our left when we spotted two horses grazing and slowly moving amongst the trees while at the same time the first rays of sunshine started to break through the clouds. A magical moment with the horses acknowledging and accepting our presence as we were walking through their territory, showing no sign of fear, simply looking at us curiously before gracefully moving on. A simple episode yet we were enriched by them trusting us without fear, making us realise we were allowed to share their space for a few moments.

The sun continued to break through and shortly after when we reached the top of the climb summer had returned.