Sam: Hello and welcome to episode three of French en route, the podcast for French learners. My name’s Sam and I’ll be taking you on a virtual tour. On this tour we’ll meet native French speakers from around the globe who’ll share their stories with us — all in French, of course! But don’t panic, because that’s where I come in. I'll be here to explain a few things and give you tips as we go along.

To make things easier, we’ve put together a synchronized transcript that you can read whilst listening. You can find this, alongside images and videos related to each episode, at babbel.com/podcasts or follow the link in the episode description.

Now, I have a question for you: Have you ever slept outdoors? Well, in this episode, Isa is going to tell us about one summer when she spent a particularly wild night with friends in the Pyrenees!

On y va ! Let’s go!

Isa: Cette année-là, j'ai 19 ans, je termine ma première année à l’université de Perpignan, et c’est bientôt les grandes vacances : deux longs mois de vacances en perspective… Le pied ! Avec des copains, on a un projet : faire du camping à la montagne.

On veut traverser les Pyrénées de la mer Méditerranée jusqu’à l’océan Atlantique… Le 7 juillet 2000, c’est parti : 2 voitures, 4 filles, 3 garçons, et 500 km de nature devant nous ! On est prêt !

Sam: So, nineteen-year-old Isa, who’s just finished her first year of studies at Perpignan, has two long months of holidays ahead of her, which she says is Le pied ! meaning ‘terrific!’ “And where’s Perpignan?” Well, I’ve been there, so I can tell you it’s very close to the Pyrenees — a spectacular mountain range that forms France’s southern border with Spain. Isa and her friends’ plan is faire du camping à la montagne — camping in the mountains. They want to traverse the Pyrenees from the Mediterranean all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. It’s the 7th of July and they’re ready to go: two cars, four girls, three guys and 500 km of nature ahead of them!

Will they make it? Let’s find out…

Isa: C’est la première fois qu’on fait de la randonnée. On n’est pas très sportifs, mais on a tout ce qu’il faut : de bonnes chaussures de marche, un sac à dos léger, de l’eau, du pain et du camembert… Le kit de survie du randonneur !

Tous les jours, on se lève avec le soleil et on se couche quand il fait nuit. On vit au rythme de la nature.

Au milieu du voyage, on marche vers le Nord. Direction Lourdes, la ville des miracles ! Le ciel est bleu, le soleil brille, on est en pleine forme…

Sam: So how are Isa and her friends crossing the Pyrenees? On fait de la randonnée, she says, which is hiking to you and me! She then says, on a tout ce qu’il faut - ‘we have everything we need’, including: walking boots, a rucksack, water, bread and… camembert, of course! Halfway through their journey they head towards that world-famous pilgrimage hotspot, Lourdes, la ville des miracles ! Little do Isa and her friends know that they’ll soon be praying for a miracle!

Isa: Forêts, lacs, cascades, ruisseaux… Le paysage est magnifique ! On respire le bon air frais !

Et surtout : personne sur notre chemin… On est seuls ! Enfin, presque… On rencontre des vaches et des moutons.

Après 20 km, on est très, très fatigués mais loin du camping. On réalise qu’on est perdus et qu’il est trop tard pour continuer à marcher.

La nuit tombe. Il faut dormir à la belle étoile, ici, dans la vallée. Heureusement, il fait 30 degrés !

Sam: Forests, lakes, waterfalls and streams… according to Isa the landscape is magnificent! And who do they encounter on their path? Des vaches et des moutons — cows and sheep! I should add that the Pyrenees are not only home to many domesticated animals but also to the wilder variety, such as vultures, wild boar and bears…

Anyway, Isa’s group is very, very tired, far from a campsite and perdus — lost! Night falls and, she tells us, Il faut dormir à la belle étoile, ‘We have to sleep under the stars’.

Oh, and did you notice? Il faut can mean both "we need to" and, as Isa says here, "we have to".

Anyway, sleeping under the stars might sound rather romantic, but here’s where things start to get a little, well, strange…

Isa: On trouve un joli endroit pour pique-niquer. On chante, on est joyeux ! Marie a peur des araignées, ça nous amuse.

Bientôt, il fait nuit noire et il faut sortir nos sacs de couchage et nos matelas... On s’endort très vite.

Mais au milieu de la nuit, un hurlement nous réveille. Un long hurlement de bête. Un, puis deux, puis trois… Espacés. Lointains.

Je m’assoie terrorisée. Qu’est-ce que c’est que ça ?! Sûrement pas un mouton !

Sam: They’ve found a nice picnic spot where, while being entertained by Marie’s fear of spiders, they unroll their sleeping bags and mats in the pitch black. They’re quickly out for the count, but then, in the middle of the night… Un long hurlement de bête. The long howl of an animal — not once but three times. And it’s definitely not a sheep!

What sort of terrifying creature is out there in the dark, preying on tired hikers?

Isa: Marie se réveille, puis Marc, puis Louise… Bientôt, tout le monde est réveillé. On est comme paralysés.

On écoute en silence... Les hurlements sont de plus en plus nombreux. C’est sûr, ce sont des loups !

Maintenant, ils hurlent tous ensemble. Et ils se rapprochent. On ne voit rien, mais ils semblent tout près. Autour de nous.

Je n'entends plus que les battements de mon cœur et les loups. Il faut rester calme. Attendre. Sans bouger.

Sam: Everyone’s awake, listening in paralyzed silence to the howls that are increasing in number. By now Isa is certain: ce sont des loups ! It’s wolves! And they’re getting closer: ils se rapprochent. Although she can’t see anything, they seem very very close and Isa tells herself, Il faut rester calme — We have to stay calm.

Isa: Soudain, ça s’arrête. Plus rien. Ils sont partis. C’est un miracle ! Nous nous endormons serrés les uns contre les autres.

Au matin, je me demande : est-ce qu’on a rêvé ? Mais il faut partir. On marche, quand tout à coup, Marc crie : “Hé, il y a des grilles derrière les arbres !”.

Plus loin, on voit une grande pancarte : Parc... animalier... des Pyrénées. Incroyable ! On a dormi à côté d’un zoo !

Après cette nuit, nous n'avons plus fait de camping sauvage, vous pouvez me croire… Mais nous avons continué nos belles randonnées dans les Pyrénées !

Sam: Suddenly the howling stops. The wolves have gone. It’s a miracle! The friends fall asleep huddled tightly together and by the morning Isa is asking herself if they’d dreamt it. Mais il faut partir — we have to go. And when they start walking again, Marc spots a gate through the trees and, not far from this, une grande pancarte, ‘a big sign’, that reads: “Animal park of the Pyrenees.” That’s right, listeners — they’d been sleeping next to a zoo! Mystery solved.

After that night, Isa tells us, the friends never attempted le camping sauvage — that is, ‘wild camping’ — again. But they did continue their jolly hike through the Pyrenees.

So listeners, does Isa’s story put you in the mood for a long mountain hike? Or does the thought of wolves put you off? I’ve also hiked this route — in summer and winter, and can vouch for the spectacular scenery of the region, including its pure blue mountain lakes. But if you go, take a friend! Even a group of pretty French cows can strike fear into the heart when you’re camping in the mountains alone.

And what else have we learnt today? Well, if you go hiking you’ll definitely need des chaussures de marche, un sac à dos léger, un sac de couchage and un matelas. Camembert is optional… but highly recommended!

And as you might have noticed, Isa used the phrase il faut a lot in her story. If you’re curious about the different ways to use this expression or just feel like a bit more practice, head straight to our Babbel lessons!

Now don't forget — you can hear each episode as many times as you like! Repetition is super useful, so rewind whenever you feel like it and listen again to the words and phrases that might have eluded you the first time round. And if you’re feeling confident, you can listen to the French-only version without my commentary!

We’d love to hear your feedback, which you can send us via email at podcasting@babbel.com or directly through your preferred podcast app.

Thanks for listening and see you for the next episode of French en route… Au revoir!