Himalaia Soldeu Hotel

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 ...

... only thing in sight, a bus in a gravel lot. It then struck me why there were only 2 buses that left from the &#8220;station&#8221; per day, there are only 2 trains per day. So, half relieved and half amused, I loaded my things onto the bus, paid the short stout Spaniard my fare and saddled up for the ride to Canillo.<br><br> At first I could only laugh to myself as I got on the bus watching the tiny but wide driver bounce back and forth to blaring salsa ...

... village et quand on est arrivé, il avait le marché du matin. On a acheter du vin à environ 1 euro le litre (vin de pays) et du bon fromage bleu pour le déjeuner.<br><br>On avait pas le droit de prendre des photos dans la grotte pour pas faire de la pollution lumineuse (il y avait déja des ptites pousses de plante pres des lanternes...ils veulent pas en rajouté non plus). Aussi il faut pas déranger les chauve souris...pauve cocottes...<br>

... 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). <br>

... a large pile and is allowed to &#8216;work&#8217; for another year. After this it&#8217;s ready to go on the garden. <br><br>Hard work though. Took several days of lifting. One night Brian came in to say that **** was really heavy - hence hauling some heavy ****. But the chickens love it - scrambling all around eating the bugs that congregate, and scratching. Making a right good mess of the nice pile that was made. <br><br>Hungry Hungry ...

... the weekend and they&#8217;re ready for pickup and processing. Brian had always been interested in butchering meat, so here was an opportunity to learn a bit. <br><br>The drive back from the abattoir was more difficult than I&#8217;d expected. Sitting beside 4, ½ pig carcasses was less than comfortable. +6 degree weather outside we still drove with the windows down and the A/C on trying to get the temperature down to 2 or 3 ...

... than anything else. However, for a first time climber this is often the most difficult. The death grip mush come off the rock and weight comes off your feet. Floating on air! You push aside thoughts of whether or not the rope will hold and begin to descend. <br><br>Actually, I found the job of belaying much more difficult than that of climbing. Not only ******* the arms hauling the rope around and holding it securely, was the knowledge that ...

... 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 ...

... returned to year after year to seek shelter from the harsh weather outside. When inside the cave, they would dwell fairly close to the entrance to take advantage of the natural light, but these paintings are deep in the cavern - some almost 3 km in!<br><br>So why did these people venture all that way with only little lamps and torches to paint pictures? Who knows! Walls lined with images of bison, ibex and horses (which are found in caves all ...

... I was worried. Lluis was ready to go. I had to go and knock on his bedroom door and basically shake him awake. He quickly got ready and we set off. We got to the train station after a silent car ride. When they had left, it took me a while to realize what had happened. I had visited my Spanish brother. And in just a few days, I´ll see my other one. Didn´t really catch at first. Because it really just felt like yesterday but being at the train brought me back to present day.