#Detours pyreneens series

Was he a good man? And how big was this empire he would be working to inherit? The King of Calabasas But Jean was a small child at the time and only had vague recollections of the imposing 6’4” green eyed El Grande Basque as the first of his American friends would call him. But to do this, he would have to abandon the priesthood and this would take getting permission not only from the monsignor but also from his parents.Īnd who was this Miguel Leonis anyway? Jean Baptiste had only seen him once in his life, during Miguel’s only return to the old country years after establishing his new home. Yet Jean couldn’t get the prospect of this new life out of his head. The idea of giving up a life of the priesthood to strike out in the untamed world of gold rush California, with the goal of being heir to an empire - well this seemed like a complete 180 from the life God had planned for him. But at age 17, his young nephew Jean was busy preparing for a life as a member of the clergy. One of those letters found its way back to Miguel's home town in Cambo, France, where his brother's son Jean Baptiste seemed like a potential fit. He sent several letters back to the old country, hoping to find someone willing to learn about life in this rugged and wild new country, and then succeed him as the head of the empire upon his death. So with no other way to turn, he started thinking about his family back in France in Basque country. But at age 20, she was taken by the smallpox, devastating Miguel, who it has been said to have gone on a drinking binge that almost resulted in him hanging himself in despair. His common law wife, Espiritu had bore a daughter named Marcellina, and Miguel had doted on her and provided her with the best education money could buy. Now 35 years later, at the age of 65, the King of Calabasas as he was known, was in need of an heir. In this chaotic time, Miguel found a talent for smuggling and the discovery of this talent by the authorities may very well be the reason that Miguel made the life changing decision to leave his native France, board a ship, and head for a new life in gold rich California. But during the Napoleonic Wars, Basque control began to slip away, and then a dispute over the monarchy in Spain led the Basques onto the losing side of the first Carlist Civil War and soon their autonomy would fade into history. Caught between two powerful countries, this self-ruling society had existed since Roman times. “We gave the car back with nearly 1,000km more on the clock.It was the summer of 1889, in the area known as Calabasas, just west of modern day Los Angeles and Miguel Leonis was contemplating the future of the massive empire he had established in the western San Fernando Valley.īorn in the Basque region of France, aloft in the Pyrenees Mountain town of Cambo-les-Bains, Miguel was born into a Basque community that was quickly losing control of its territorial rights.

#Detours pyreneens series

“The series of bends almost begs you to run them sideways,” says Valerio – although the chances of achieving such antics in the rental car were slim. The road meanders along nicely, passing waterfalls and the majestic Lake Gaube but then throws in some g-inducing corners at Gave de Cauterets before going completely twist-tastic from La Ralliere to Pont d’Espagne. Next up was the D921 to Pierrefitte-Nestalas cutting through the foothills before dipping south on the D920 towards the natural springs at Cauterets. At the peak there’s an observatory, whose telescope was used to photograph the surface of the moon in planning for the Apollo landings. It’s hard to choose between stopping to take a picture or pushing down the accelerator,” he says.

Valerio started with the D918, up early to catch the best light and miss the traffic, thrashing the little SEAT through the bends that wind up to the top of Pic du Midi Bigorre.

The D918 goes to Pic du Midi Bigorre, while the D921 and 920 will take you to Pont d’Espagne. The highlights of the trip were the roads that head east and west out of Luz Saint-Sauveur. It had a 1.2 litre, three-cylinder, 70bhp engine that we had to constantly rev all the way up to the red line to drive at a decent speed on mountain roads,” says Valerio. I still feel sorry for the Seat Ibiza that we raced through that memorable journey. “We flew into Bordeaux and drove down from there. That’s exactly what photographer Valerio Lettieri did when he grabbed his cameras, a couple of buddies and a hire car. For the best roads in the Pyrenees make the town of Luz Saint-Sauveur the gateway to your mountain getaway.