Andorra is a landlocked country, it has no airport and almost all of its population live in the city of
Andorra La Vella. Aside from Skiing in winter the country's main influx of people is those coming to buy goods and services at
low tax rates. Since Andorra is not part of the European Union's single market they can import goods and then sell them with lower
taxes and this brings in people from surrounding countries. We aren't massive skiers or shoppers so instead are focus on visiting
Andorra was the impressive mountains that surround the country on every side. Our task to hike, walk and see many of the sites
situated in these mountains.
Even at this time of year (June) the weather in Andorra is significantly cooler than the surrounding countries. This is in part
because most of Andorra is at altitude. Even the capital Andorra La Vella sits at over 1000 metres. This made it strange coming
from t-shirt and shorts weather at lunch to needing jeans, jumpers and jackets by early evening.
Andorra La Vella would be our base while in Andorra. While there is accommodation in other small towns and
villages in Andorra most of these are very isolated and would have limited options for food and amenities. Additionally the longest
drive you could have in Andorra is 1 hour, with most being well under 45 minutes. Andorra La Vella is located fairly centrally and
meant we had easy access to everything we wanted to see and do in Andorra.
During our time in Andorra La Vella we undertook a walking tour of the main city sights. The central city is fairly small and this
really only takes about an hour to complete. After this we hunted out one of the few little bars that were open in summer and enjoyed
some wine before we sat about finding a place to eat dinner. Again there was only really about 3 or 4 options for food in the city
so we ended up eating at the same place both nights. Which wasn't an issue given the food there was very good. All in all we got the
feeling not many people actually stay overnight in Andorra and those that do probably stay at ski lodges in the winter for easy
access to the slopes rather than in Andorra La Vella.
This day would be our main hike in Andorra. We'd picked this hike as it takes in the very pretty Estanys de Tristaina (three alpine lakes) before climbing up to the Pic de Tristaina at 2878 metres. The walk is quite a challenge even without the peak summit. When we started the trek the weather was fairly pleasant however once we started up to the summit we only made it to around 2700 metres before the weather turned very wet and it would have been dangerous to continue. While we hadn't quite reached the summit we still had enjoyed our hike and felt we'd accomplished what we set out to achieve, a mountain hike in the Pyrenees mountains. Despite it being mid-June there was still snow around and we had to cross a couple of small snow shelfs to reach parts of our trek. This is fairly typical or all high mountains though as the snow tends to start to thaw end of May and into June. With the drive here, back and the hike taking 3 to 4 hours this was still a mostly full day activity.
Our second day in Andorra would be a part day with us heading back into Spain for the afternoon and evening. When we'd first thought about coming to Andorra the main thing we'd seen to do was the Tibetan Bridge at Canilo which was supposedly one of the longest of its type in the world and the longest one in Europe. It was certainly a breathtaking experience even for those who aren't afraid of heights given that it's a suspension bridge across a very wide gorge with long drops all while it swings. We made it half way across before doubling back as we didn't feel the need to cross the whole thing. After our visit here we went to the nearby Mirador del Roc del Quer which is simply just a lookout platform over the steep and pretty valley below. Thankfully the weather held out for us here and the views were fantastic. You don't really need much time at these sites however you are at the mercy of the bus schedule as you are not allowed to drive up and down yourself.
Here was where our little jaunt through another small slice of Europe ended as we caught our flight back to the UK. While we hadn't experienced everything these countries had to offer, this was not the point of this trip. We had had a good mini break experiencing a small but significant part.
