Page 2
Andorra
2004
Page 2
The higher we climbed
the better the roads became - wish we'd come on the bike!
Arcalis. In winter this is one of the top ski resorts of
Andorra. Judging by the amount of 4x4 vehicles here, in summer it
becomes a favourite place for off-road enthusiasts. Whatever the purpose for
being here it's a beautiful place
Near the top. yes that is snow, and it's the end of July.
The lake at the top of the mountain, it was
so hot up there, we took our shoes off and dangled our feet in the water
...................It was bloody freezing!
Above - our road back through the mountains to
Canillo.
We'd got a bit lost and ended up on well used and very ripped up dirt track,which is
where this shot is taken from. We're just about to re-join the main
road seen here after trundling over huge rocky lumps and deep potholes for about 3 miles. The little Yaris did very well but it had few
worrying suspension knocks afterwards.
At a place called Encamp a cable car will take you up the mountain to the
high ski slopes. This thing is a few miles long and
goes over some lovely valleys. It's so deserted up here in summer we had
the car all to ourselves
Just look at that road and not a thing on
it. We came back up here in the car
later in the day and there was still nobody here,
and this is the middle of the holiday season
On the way back down, Encamp
can be seen at the bottom of the
valley
Andorra really is a special place, the mountains here especially around Arcalis are heartbreakingly beautiful, almost every bend you go round reveals yet another stunning landscape showing the work of nature at it's very best. The towns can get a bit congested but you don't come here for those. We spent a few hours shopping in Andorra le Vella, the main town and that was enough for us. We did manage to pick up a few tax free bargains to take home with us while we there though. A friendly waiter in a Pizza restaurant advised that if we had any alcohol etc then we'd be best taking it out of Andorra by the north and into France as they don't bother stopping too many cars. The Spanish side however like to stop more tourists and love confiscating booze. I don't know if this is true or not but just in case we went out by the north route into France and they just waved us through. If the Spaniards do confiscate your stuff I wonder happens to it? Bet they have a hell of a party at Christmas.
This is one place we'll return
to one day, I'd love to see in it in the snow.
Spain
On the way south to Callela in Spain and leaving the high Pyrenees & Andorra
behind
Blanes, not far from Calella
The missus .......Well, I can always wish.... Bugger, there goes another
testicle!!
Flotsam on the beach at Blanes.
Jim
and Dessi's place.
And their pool
Next up is a little run to Scotland with my lad Ben
