Winding mountain roads all day today. Woke up to a bit of sleet and near freezing temperatures outside.
Our first stop was Puigcerdà which was right up by the French border – in fact, so close you could easily walk into Bourg-Madame. It was a nice town with lots of villas/mini mansions on its outskirts and bustling shops and cafes in the narrow streets.
Got a bit wet walking back to the van when the rain started. We continued into France passing Latour-de-Carol and then going over the Col de Puymorens to eventually reach El Pas de la Casa at the entrance to Andorra. We’ve been here lots of times over the years but never actually driven through Andorra itself. Today was the day, although with thick fog and snow everywhere, for the most part of it, we saw nothing! Guy chose to go over the Port d’Envalira rather than through the tunnel …I think he thought he was on his bike! It’s the highest road in the Pyrenees and often used in the Tour de France and Vuelta.
Amid all this snowy excitement, our phones were pinging ten to the dozen. Assuming it was the usual ‘Welcome to Andorra etc’ I ignored them as we breezed through the tiny country with Googlemaps on, listening to a bit of ‘70’s groove on Spotify. It was only when my phone stopped working, shortly followed by Guy’s, that I realised the texts were saying ‘Andorra is not in the EU therefore we’re going to charge you extortionate amounts of money’. Between us we ran up £25 in the short time we were there.🙄Time for a sharp exit back into Spain.
More mountain roads but eventually it got a bit warmer – even sunny at one point. Trying to explore the Spanish side of the Pyrenees a little bit. We’ve come down into a valley near the towns of Sort and Rialp, which are known for fast river rafting. We are parked at the side of said river and it definitely is fast flowing. Looks very challenging to the canoeists.
Had a walk across a brilliant swing bridge and along a footpath in the late afternoon sunshine – it’s all very peaceful.