Hotel Pic Maia Pas de la Casa

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 ...

... top of the first mountain, he took a little nap while the bus waited for whoever might want to get on before the departure time. As we praddled along towards Canillo I mused about our heroic bus driver, and what he might be like. I supposed his salsa music puts him in the zone in the same was as listening to “Highway to the Danger Zone” made the guys from Top Gun fly well. Maybe when he got done with his route there were women in bikinis with ...

... 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.

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...

... of apprehension before starting. Like attempting to figure out which way was up on the harness. Or when Donna wanted me to tie my security knot (walking me through of course). Then there’s the whole ‘where to start?’ when staring straight up at this seemingly flat face of rock.

Watching others you wonder ‘how on earth?’, but then it’s your turn and you preserve, slowly going up and up with each little ...

A side trip with the truck enabled us to get to areas we couldn’t normally access. Not that we would even attempt it on bicycles - vehicles are bad enough. Windy roads where motion sickness is a given, ‘oh ****’ handles are coming loose from repetitive strain, and a straight section of road lasts about 20m.

Our goal was a little damned in lake almost on the ...

... for instructions from our guide. Far enough now, and the group waits in solid silence for what comes next.

Perfectly positioned, the guide turns on a single light and we’re blinded with a whole wall full of images! Not just simple line drawing either - they are quite detailed. Many make use of the natural contours of the rock and the shadows that it creates to add life and depth to the images. A truly remarkable sight as image after ...

... were lost? Tried to get the dog to 'allez maison', but he wouldn't go anywhere for us.

Brian was determined that he knew what way to go, so I just kept following him. Once we were at the river, where do we head up? And then I heard it. That damn rooster started crowing and we knew we were heading in the right direction. That same rooster that attacked me was now guiding me. ****, I guess I can’t beat him up now!

... in Europe, especially in a tourist-only ski resort. I even have WiFi in my room, and the lady calls it ‘wee-fee’, first time I’ve heard that, even in a Latin-speaking country.

The weather is beautiful, Indian summer in a mountain town, so you can hardly beat that. My hiking boots and down vest feel almost in sync for the first time in ages. My ‘travel clothes’ are really similar to others ...

... snow was enough to break through my work´s front glass door. This didn´t get Cyril and me days off. Although a blizzard of snowflakes filled mountain air like an aquarium, I snowboarded on Friday´s lunch break. The floating white battered my eyes as I hiked up the hill. Snowboarding down, I couldn´t even see the fresh cream beneath me which guided my gliding board along like magic. By the lunch break´s end, a tiny slushball of falling snow had gathered on my eye-lash. Two girls ...

... left us to go to work. Free from his warnings, Dave and I rode the chair-lift to the 8000-feet-high top of Pas de la Casa. We didn´t get on the chair-lift properly. We didn´t know to lower the safety bar. When we reached the top, we fell down off the chair-lift, got up, peeked down the sharp icy slope, and panicked. Our trip down the mountain was at times regretful. I was descending with a bit more control than Dave. I would look up to see him gaining ...