Tag Archives: bm536

A new profession: bordermarkerguide?

I remember well how I was guided in 2009 by Jean Iglesias from Coustouges to the remote and hard to access bm542 (see this page).  I visited since then the area many times. And ten years later, it’s me who performed as a guide. Yesterday, I took Carlos and Conchita Roca (see their website) into the forest and down steep hillsides to the range bm536-542. Especially bm536 and 542 are not easy to reach and in their approach and return demanding. The last one was bm542 along the Rio Major. And that’s where Carlos learnt me how to tackle the last meters to the bordercross by skillfully climbing a rock in between while Conchita gave directions.

 All went well and my ‘clients’ were delighted to have covered this gap in their collection from Andorra to the Mediterranean. And I was content with their cheerful company and their perseverance. At the foot of bm542 a portrait of us three.

Jean Iglesias still ‘live & kicking’

Found on the internet: a newspaper article on the yearly survey in 2012 of the bordermarkers near Coustouges in the eastern Pyrenees. I have fond memories of the rough and mediterranean landscape south of Coustouges. Dense forests, steep hills and deep canyons. Two of the most difficult bordermarkers to find are located in this area: bm536 and bm542.
I was grafeful to meet the friendly and hospitable Jean Iglesias of Coustouges, a local expert on the bordermarkers. Without his help, I wouldn’t have found those bordermarkers.
And he’s still ‘live & kicking’ as the bordermarker-guide for these surveys. I immediately recognized him in the party of surveyors.