Day 8: Val Ferret to La Fouly

What a lucky day.

With a slight cold, Gaby decided a later start was sensible. We opted for the free bus to the trailhead, due at 8:09am, which meant a relaxing morning and a lie-in until 6:45am.

After buying some fresh bread, we headed to the bus stop outside the campsite gate. Around 20 people were already waiting. Earlier we had discussed a contingency plan. As it was the first bus of the day, we suspected it might be full, so Plan B was put into action: casually stroll past the stop as though we were heading somewhere else. Around 400 metres down the road was the previous stop, where we found just two other Brits from our campsite who had come up with exactly the same idea.

The bus arrived on time and was already nearly full. With a few smiles and some strategic compression, all four of us squeezed aboard. At the next stop, our campsite, one person got off. Everyone on the bus breathed out and only one person managed to get on. The other 20-plus people were left with the choice of waiting two hours for the next bus or walking the 6.8km up the road.

The scenery was once again ridiculous. Hanging glaciers, snow-capped peaks, glacial rivers and wildflowers in every direction. It made the 800m climb to Grand Col Ferret pass surprisingly straightforward. The pass marks the border with Switzerland, where, as expected, the price of everything immediately increased, including the refreshing Fanta we enjoyed after descending to La Peule mountain hut.

The final 6km down to the campsite was hot. Very hot. There was barely a breath of wind and the afternoon sun seemed determined to extract maximum effort from a downhill walk.

Camping des Glaciers was a welcome sight. Check-in was efficient, the welcome friendly and the views certainly justified the name. The showers were excellent, we secured one of the last shaded pitches and avoided spending the afternoon slowly roasting inside the tent. There was even a free sunscreen dispenser and comfortable chairs available for campers, luxuries that felt increasingly important as the day went on.

I managed three conversations in French today. One of them I actually understood.

Now that we know the supermarket closes at 6:30pm, we're off for ice cream.