|
“ANDOVENTURE ‘69”
A Personal Recollection by Barry Jones
[Click HERE to view the Photo Story]
The four intrepid Ventures (from left to right):
Barry Jones, John Machin, Stephen Foster and Roger Gear.
Click on the photo to zoom.
Andoventure ’69 was a Surrey County Venture Scout expedition to Andorra, which is in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain. The event was held from 4th-17th August 1969, and consisted of teams carrying out hikes over pre-submitted routes and preparing reports for judging and trophy presentation at the end of 10 days.
Four FAVU members, John Machin, Roger Gear, Barry Jones and Stephen Foster, obtained permission to take part as a team, although it was never their intention to over-exert themselves and thus be serious contenders for a prize!
John’s notable memory - As we crossed Paris by Metro, I left my hand luggage on a metro train and had to go to the terminus to retrieve it, almost then missing the train connection to Southern France.
John’s notable memory - We took a bus from the train terminus up into the Pyrenees and it was a bit of a ‘bone-shaker’. The radiator overheated on the climb and was only rescued from boiling over by the cold low clouds at a higher point.
And so, after several days of journeying forth from base camp in different directions on local hike routes, the intrepid explorers decided that they wanted a slightly more leisurely time and wanted to take more advantage of their geographical location.
Displaying considerable initiative, they locked up their tents at base camp and set off in a bus full of Spanish soldiers to Barcelona, where they rented a room in a cheap guest house and proceeded to be complete tourists for four days, taking in such local attractions as the harbour cable car, the (still) unfinished cathedral and a genuine bullfight!
They won no prizes, but definitely had a more varied photograph album and returned far more refreshed than when they had arrived!
The final organised day of the event was sightseeing and an overnight stay in Paris, where the FAVU party succeeded in meeting up with Roger Gear’s brother Trevor (who had been cycling in France) under the Eiffel Tower!
|
