The mountain men of Andorra

When last we left off, Christine and Hovan were sitting in the lap of luxury at what could be the most expensive and luxurious point of the vacation. Upon leaving Cardona, we decided to head to Andorra to see what this tiny mountain country was all about. The drive through the mountains of northern Spain into Andorra was absolutely beautiful, passing into the Pyrenees Mountain range.

We were in Andorra all of 5 minutes when we fell in love with this tiny territory. The country pretty much consists of mountain activities and shopping. Due to lower taxes, the price of everything from gas to food to clothing is about 25% cheaper than in Spain or in France. As you can guess a lot of people come into Andorra to purchase items and so the border guards keep a sharp eye out for tobacco and liquor being brought home. (Left - some old stone walls and houses along the trails in Andorra).

After stocking up on all manner of food and other necessary items at bargain prices we decided to see what the real Andorra was all about. The towns/villages appear to be in a long narrow strip through a valley range, and as high up the mountain sides as they dare to build. The whole population seems to live in this long snaking corridor through the one valley. After gathering some information about Andorra, Christine discovered that there are mountain cabins available all over the country that are free to stay, so we made a snap decision to spend some time staying up in the Pyrenees Mountains. Christine has fond memories of her dad talking about a similar set up in the Rockies with the Alpine Club. (Right - the hiking trail in Andorra).

We found a route that did a complete circle of one of the mountain ranges with 2 cabins and thought that we would hike up, spend a night at the first cabin, circle around and stay at the second cabin and then head out. Now in Andorra, when you hike up, you really hike up. Unlike backpacking in Canada, with significant undulations in the territory, these routes go up and up and down and down, there is barely any flat parts and you certainly don’t go down when you are supposed to be going up. (Right - the cabin we slept in in Andorra).

We hiked for several hours the first day and made it to the cabin before dark. Unfortunately we forgot a lot of stuff due to our hasty packing to beat the sunset, but certainly nothing critical. The first cabin was nestled in this tiny valley, with sweeping mountain cliffs on every side. There was a pasture that had a significant number of cows grazing on the grassy slopes. The cabin itself is designed to sleep 8 individuals and there were already 2 German university students having dinner when we arrived. Shortly thereafter, 2 young men from Spain also joined us. Now night time in the Pyrenees in September is apparently quite cold, so we decided to start a fire to warm the cabin. The Spaniards only spoke Spanish and a few words of English. The Germans spoke a reasonable amount of English and no Spanish and Christine could manage a bit of Spanish. It was like a UN summit with hand signals to get the fire started. Two Canadians, two Germans and two Spaniards trudging off into the woods with a dull axe, a poor saw and a desire to share a warm fire built on limited communications. To make matters more challenging, when two of us were carrying a rather large log, dodging cow patties and trying to stay on the trail, a cow decided it wasn’t happy moving from it’s peaceful perch at a point of the trail where we couldn’t go up or down. In the end, after significant teamwork we managed to get a nice fire going and enjoyed a peaceful sleep in the mountains. (Left - Hovan cutting wood with a Spaniard, Right - a cow resting near the cabin we stayed in).

The next morning the weather was beautiful, so we continued our climb to the peak of the trip and down to the next cabin. Along the way, we encountered more herds of cows grazing in mountain fields, a bunch of horses tame enough that we could pet them, an electric fence right along our path and one very friendly shepherd who scrambled around the hills with the ease of a mountain goat. The views were magnificent and the Pyrenees

mountain range is a beautiful site to behold. (Left - hiking through the beautiful Pyrenees in Andorra)

Upon reaching the second cabin, we discovered that we were out hiking during the annual one week hunting season of Andorra and that all of the cabins in all the mountain ranges, except the one we stayed the previous night, were completely full with hunting parties. Where we were planning to spend our second night had space for approximately 10 people, and the group squeezed 19 friends into that one spot. Stopping to have our lunch at the cabin before proceeding on to hike out that day, we met our new friend Antoine (Tony), the camp cook. He was such a kind a friendly man we took an instant liking. This was of course helped along by the fact that he brought us some wine (which Christine fell in love with) and some pate and specialty cheese to eat. He also offered to make us some hot soup, but we didn’t want him to do any work on our behalf. (Right - Hovan making friends with the horses).

After chatting some more, along came his friend Joseph, back from climbing through the mountains on a hunting expedition. Joseph, as it turns out, was just as kind and friendly as Tony, and so we added a second friend on our travels through the Pyrenees. Joseph and Tony (along with the other 17 fellows) have been friends since they were little children and though they are now in their late 60’s, this annual hunting tradition has been going on for more than 30 years. They seem to show no signs of slowing and I would bet any amount of money that Christine and I would collapse from exhaustion if we tried to keep up with Joseph hiking through the mountains. (Left - the hunters Tony (left) and Joseph (right)).

The hunting party seems to be just that, a huge party. The amount of alcohol and pop and food that they brought up was staggering and when I was looking at them cook with a massive propane tank we asked them how they lugged it all in, they said they had a helicopter bring all the materials up. It seems that the hunting trip is a great excuse for a boys week and there is more joking and eating than hunting perhaps, but it seems a wonderful tradition.

Tony and Joseph made a delicious late lunch, of which we partook. Christine particularly enjoyed Joseph’s wonderful pasta dish (since she is a total pasta lover in withdrawal), and we will have to make it when we return home. Tony and Joseph were so kind and thoughtful that we fell in love with Andorra all over again. Tony, the old wizened mountain man told us that it would rain later in the afternoon (and he was right) and that all the cabins were full. While Joseph was busy negotiating a really good price on a very nice hotel in Andorra for us, Tony was trying to track down his daughter, then son in law, then wife to find out where we could get an authentic mountaineering wine skin like his for Christine. The entire conversation took place in French, with a smattering of English here and there.

Before we parted ways, both of them recommended that we visit a water spa in Andorra right next to the hotel they found for us. It is a massive structure with more types of water spa treatments than you can find, and is a perfect way to relax the muscles after a long hike. As we were departing, they showed us a large family of marmots scampering about the hills, and the tunnel systems that they had burrowed. They walked us to the trail head, gave some advice on heading down and away we went. It was a wonderful and very memorable experience, and the 3 hour visit with those two gentlemen will forever leave a wonderful impression of Andorra in our minds. (Right - the marmots of Andorra)

After hiking out we enjoyed the nice hotel they selected and the water spa was absolutely amazing. The next day we trekked back into Spain to a local village suggested by Joseph, and after an hour or two of searching, found an authentic local wine skin for Christine. Then we were off to France for a couple of days in the south before moving on.

We sped off next to a city called Carcasonne, one that we could not miss visiting, since we have the board game. We spent a lovely day camping by a river and wandering through the town. It is a beautiful old castle, one of the great fortifications of Europe and looks exactly like the setting you would see in an old Robin Hood movie. The castle has more than 50 spires, there are two large defensive walls. A castle, church, and a large number of shops and houses sit inside the walls. There are still more than 120 people living inside the castle walls, and the shops are bustling with all sorts of artisans and others hawking tourist crap. It was a splendid day and a place well worth visiting. (Left - the castle of Carcassonne, France)

Our travels next took us to Monaco, to see Monte Carlo and this famous tiny little country. It is the second smallest country in the world, after the Vatican. We arrived late at night, and so we stayed in a town called Menton, camping on top of a mountain. We arrived late in Menton, had a horrible time finding a place to stay, wound our way up a tiny road to the cliff top, found the camp ground with no-one to sign us in and decided we would just pitch our tent and pay in the morning. It turns out that the showers were ice cold, the bathrooms were filthy, and the tent spots were soft and muddy. After finally hunkering down to sleep, we heard a popping noise and pellets kept pelting the tent. I knew right away that it was a kid playing with an airsoft rifle. After getting dressed and dragging myself from the tent I found a bunch of pellets on the ground. I found one teenager in the nearby woods hanging around with no-one else around (everyone was in bed), but couldn’t see any airsoft gun. I let him know that I had seen him, and that if it happened again and he was there, I would assume he was the one doing it. We didn’t experience any more “gunfire” for the rest of the night. Later that evening, Christine and I awoke to the loudest thunder storm I have ever heard. The entire tent was bright from the lightening, but the thunder was absolutely incredible, deafening and shook the ground we slept on. The rain that pelted the tent was a complete deluge and the wind almost ripped the fly off the tent and the pegs with it. In the end, Menton, did not leave a positive impression on us. (Left - the harbour of Monte Carlo, Monaco).

Monaco was a nice visit, where we spent the morning and early afternoon seeing some nice sights. The changing of the palace guard was entertaining, and the city was enjoying an annual ship festival so there were loads of sailboats anchored off-shore. The extensive harbour was of course loaded with massive multi-multi million dollar luxury yachts. The city itself is nice, but expensive. I told Christine that it looks like it’s hey-day was in the 1960’s and 70’s and the whole country is covered with large buildings that are not the most attractive. They are too old to be beautiful and sleek, but too young to carry the grace and beauty of other older cities in Europe. (Left - the changing of the guards in Monaco. Right - the beautiful sailboats in the harbour of Monte Carlo)

Christine and I then zipped through to northern Italy, stayed a night in a small city called Aosta, in the base of the Alps mountain ranges. This morning, we passed into Switzerland through a series of very long tunnels and winding mountain roads. We are now in Gruyere (yes, just like the cheese). We visited a small cheese plant and watched the making of gruyere. It has left us with a hankering for some fondue and gave some pleasant thoughts about Christine’s family tradition of having gruyere infused fondue for Christmas Eve dinner. (Left - the Swiss cheese man checking the consistency of the Gruyere Cheese)

The area is beautiful, and our campsite is surrounded by mountains. We plan on taking a slow journey through Switzerland, seeing the sights and hiking the mountains. A land of hearty food, delicious chocolate and the Alps, what’s not to love? The people here are very polite and pleasant, and we expect this to be an enjoyable stay.

Christine & Hovan