Hotel Magic Ski La Massana

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 ...

... transformed. Snow everywhere. I went for an early morning walk to take some pictures of the same places I did before to show the huge difference. It's been snowing all day and even now as I write this I'm starting at snowflakes the size of tissues hit the window. I wouldn't be surprised if it was up to my waist tomorrow.<br><br> There's not too much to do with it snowing like this (ironically enough the ski resorts don't even open till the end of ...

... 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>

... bit of a pain. One night cock-head decided not to go in. Still being afraid of him, I didn&#8217;t know what to do. Shaking a stick at him only seemed to &#8217;get his feathers up&#8217;. So I went for help. I couldn&#8217;t believe it! Paul walks in with a stick and the stupid rooster goes running! But not into the coop, so it was still a game of running around like a chicken with it&#8217;s head cut off. Until the rooster flew up onto the ...

... by us on cast away sausage meat revealed how skilled he really was. Spare rib roasts, rolled belly, chump steaks, rack of ribs, pork chops, and hams were all neatly packaged and labeled. Bones went into the stock pile, fat went into the rendering pile, and other bits went into the sausage pile. <br><br>After all the good cuts were stored away in the freezer it came time to process the rest of it. Brian started up the meat ...

Time to attempt something I&#8217;ve always been itching to do: rock climbing. And not the kind done on indoor walls with padded flooring. Real out-in-the-open, unforgiving stone ROCK CLIMBING!<br><br>Out in the Pyrenees in the Ariege region with it&#8217;s beautiful slopes lie a multitude of rock faces covered in climbers pretending to be Spiderman. <br><br>Even though it&#8217;s something I&#8217;ve always wanted to try, there were a few ...

... called &#8216;Patou&#8217; are raised with a herd (Pyrenees mountain dogs). As a result they will guard and defend their animals from any predator they may face - including humans. If you happen to wander in range they will bark furiously and give you many warnings to get away. If you don&#8217;t heed the warnings - you&#8217;re at your own risk with a fierce dog that comes up to your ...

... we paused to look at some other markings that had been left: a series of lines and dots. Perhaps a primitive form of communication, these too have been found in many caves throughout the area. Unfortunately, they have yet to be deciphered, so as yet we do not know what they were saying with this writing and other images. <br><br>But also on the walls are some writings that are clearly distinguishable to the modern eye. A more recent addition ...

... would not eat. <br><br>Part of the dream of our little self-sufficient farm would be making our own cheese out of cow or goat milk. Out of all the culinary arts of homesteading I&#8217;ve tried (pickling, bread making, condiments, etc.) cheese making has yet to be attempted. <br><br>In discussing different interests with Justin and Emily (our Helpx hosts) it was mentioned that they have friends ...