We’re catching up – the difference between blog posts and reality is slowly shrinking. I’m already going somewhere else, but I’m trying my best. Last time we visited country number 28, this time it’s number 29: Andorra.
I did not know what to expect, but let’s just say that I was pleasantly surprised.
Also last time I stated that I needed to get up at 5:30 after the one night in Nice. This was because I was trying to spend as little time in France as possible. Because it was colder, yes, but also because I wasn’t really fond of the language and the tendency of most French to not want to speak English – a stereotype I had beforehand. And while, from my short experience in France, I would say that that is mostly true, it was not the main reason I wanted to cross France as fast as I could. Honestly, I was just not really interested in France. There was nothing that really hooked me and made me say: „yeah, I’m staying a night or two there!“
But visiting new countries, that’s how you get me. I will also get up at 5:30 for that. It had to be that early because I had twelve hours of train and bus rides before me in order to get from Nice to Andorra. One regional train to Marseille, a faster train to Toulouse and from there a bus to Andorra la Vella – the capital of Andorra.
It all went rather smoothly. The trains weren’t striking anymore and there were virtually no delay. The trains and the bus weren’t that full either. Heaven on earth.
I arrived in Andorra at about 17:50 which meant that – since it’s still February – it would get dark rather soon. My hostel was also not located in Andorra la Vella but in La Massana, a city about 4,5 km away (if you draw a straight line). Now I had two options: taking a bus or walking. And since I didn’t know that option one even existed yet, I opted for walking (actually also because I was sitting for around twelve hours before that. You need to get some movement after that).
And so I walked. Hiked, almost. The route I walked was actually a trail called „Cami Ral“ and featured an incline in elevation of about 250 meters in totals. Sounds much, but over the nearly 7 km you didn’t really noticed it. Also it felt like at least 100 meters of elevation happened during the first few meters of walking. There were some stairs in Andorra la Vella which really made me question if this was a good idea.
But luckily those stairs were a one-off thing. After that, the trail was pretty level and was even paved in some spots. Most of the route went alongside a river as well which made the hike even more beautiful. And the nightsky was perfectly visible as well. Just :‘)
It was also dark though, like, very dark in some places. There were lights around, but not during the whole length of Cami Ral. And some places were kind of muddy as well. It was an adventure. But a nice one.
After about two hours I had finally arrived in La Massana and checked into my hostel for the night – which has to be in top three hostels I visited so far. A tiny hostel with maybe like five double bedrooms and only one shared bedroom for six people. It had a free washing machine, the hostel wasn’t even completely full and there was a really well-maintained kitchen as well. What more do you need.
As good as all this sounds, I was only planning on staying one night there because, well, I just wanted to be in Andorra. But as plans often seem to do, this changed as well. I honestly can’t even remember why. I think the bus to Barcelona (my next stop) the next day was already full or I couldn’t find a hostel there. Maybe both. Point is though that I didn’t book anything far enough in advance and had to adjust my plans. Luckily for me (like, really luckily) there was another hostel in La Massana just five minutes away which I could stay at for my second night in Andorra. This one was more of a clichee hostel-hostel, but it was very good as well! It didn’t have a proper kitchen, that was the only downside. But I discovered that you can easily make scrambled eggs in the microwave, so it was all good.
I also met cool people at both hostels. A guy from France who drank way to much coffee and wanted my opinions of his investment strategies (because of course I’m a pro when it comes to that), a professor from Spain who gave me some advice on what to see in southern Spain and a woman from Argentina who I talked with for a very long time. Such a fun place, this country.
But, like, what did I do in Andorra? Not skiing like everyone else there, that’s for sure. Honestly, I think I just walked around and sat in the sun for hours? I can’t really remember, but I know that it was good! 😀
And yes, I had sun! And in Andorra at least, it was warm enough to sit in the sun only wearing a t-shirt. It was too cold for that in the shadow, but I just stayed in the sun. I even had my favourite bench, life was good in Andorra.
After the two nights I made my way to Andorra la Vella again to catch my bus to Barcelona. This time using the bus from La Massana. And I also learned from my mistake in Monaco – I bought something to eat using cash. And so, it actually happened: I got a 1 cent coin from Andorra. I was so happy to see that they actually exist. This may seem weird, but all my numismatics friends will understand (which are a lot of people, trust me. They exist).
Either wayyyy: I was off to Barcelona then, excited about what would happen there and about how I would like the city. I had heard a few different opinions on in beforehand, so I was curious to find out on my own. I was a little bit sad though because I wouldn’t be visiting any new country for a few days now.
But now, we have come full circle: I am writing this post while I’m on my way to Portugal. But that is a story for another day.
Oh and before I forget, one more thing about Andorra: if you have wondered what language they speak there, I did as well. Maybe French, but probably Spanish I thought. I arrived and saw that it was neither, really. I couldn’t even figure out what kind of language it was by reading it, since it seemed like a weird mix between French, Spanish and even some Italian. And then I remebered: Catalan! It’s Catalan.
Catalan is mostly spoken in Catalonia, the north-easternmost region of Spain which has a long history of independence movements. Having its own language only fits that – and since Andorra borders Catalonia, it’s also only fitting that they speak Catalan there.
But more on Catalan in the post about Barcelona. Maybe. For now I will only thank you for reading! Moltes gràcies!
-Louis, 23, only has one tiny country left in Europe now
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