Continental Hotel Les Escaldes

Today was my last full day in Andorra. There wasn't a huge amount to do. It wasn't snowing, but the wind was so fierce that it seemed like a sand storm made out of snow. I had a great time watching a group of cows grazing in snow up to their stomachs. Other than that I had a walk around town and spent about an hour at a ...

After a long night on a surprisingly jam packed night train, I arrived at a train station about 1km from the Andorra border. I was slightly worried about my transportation from the train station at l'Hospitalet to my destination 26km into Andorra. The cryptic information information I was able to find on the web about buses told me that there were 2 per day, one leaving at 7:30am and the other 7:30pm. This was a bit disconcerting as my train arrived ...

Le plan original était d'aller à Cahors visiter un vignoble, mais puisque l'on n'a pas de voiture (considérant que les vignes sont dans des champs et non au centre ville) on n'a pas pu y aller. J'ai trouvé sur internet qu'il y avait plusieurs grotte dans le sud donc on en a choisi une pas trop trop loin et on a acheté nos billet de train.

Tarascon sur Ariege est à environ 1h15 de toulouse donc ca se fait quand meme bien. C'est un ...

... What it does mean, we're not quite sure of yet. Still dealing with the shock and going over a few different options. All while kicking myself for not realizing this sooner. Only one thing is for certain - I'm not going to let this spoil our trip, and we're going to have to get cycling! (o.k., two things).

... that there are many other sounds that are difficult to identify.

But eventually the weather turned more and more against us. Racing around in the mornings trying to gather bits of clothing with frozen fingers and struggling to see through the clouds our breath made all while holding a flashlight eventually caused us to retreat inside.

Much warmer and more convenient, but there’s something I miss about the sounds of the ...

A gory day full of raw meat, but surprisingly it didn’t bother me. Some issues that have arisen when discussing the idea of setting up our own small holding with the attempt to be as self-sufficient as possible was whether or not we could deal with it. So far it doesn’t seem to be a problem.

We’ve stayed a few extra days at this farm with the anticipation of butchering day. Took 2 pigs to the abattoir ...

... the time to see the final goal. Then the sweet feeling of triumph when you’re actually there!

Now it’s time to relax, but one of the most difficult parts is still to come: the descent. This is a relaxing ‘walk’ down the rock face while to seat yourself into the harness low enough that your legs are at 90 degree angles to the rock. Your weight born by the belayer below you slowly step your way down more keeping ...

... and roads scattered everywhere - if you can find them. Driving is a very different than walking. In great contrast to the towns below, the wind howled and ice formed on the road. On foot the walk was extremely harsh and I could see why there were shephards and hikers huts dotted all around for shelter. You can see why farmers train their animals instead of caring for them themselves ...

... and bouncing off of different areas on the sides of the cave, creating new shadows and deepening depths in between. Condensation causes shimmering light and shining rocks add crystal to the chandeliers.

Finally we arrive at the Salon Noir. All lights had to be turned off and left on a rock by the entrance. You can faintly hear a few exclamations from those who have a fear of the dark as the group becomes one tight mass shuffling along ...

... 8216;guardians and caretakers’ of the land with the notion that no one really ‘owns’ the land - it’s there for all use.

During this stay we’re looking forward to learning how to care for all of these animals, general farm labour, numerous renovation projects on the house, harvesting the garden and getting ready for winter!