Patagonia Austral Arinsal

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 ...

... that I am.<br><br> After I met up with my host and had some lunch, I decided to go for a walk and take some pictures. Andorra is certainly a beautiful place. The valleys are small enough that you can see all the details in the hills, and this makes for great scenery. It also makes for great walking, as you don't have to go too far before you are at the top of a huge hill and have a great view all around you.<br><br> The city has a good bit of old ...

... 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>

... that there are many other sounds that are difficult to identify. <br><br>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. <br><br>Much warmer and more convenient, but there&#8217;s something I miss about the sounds of 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 ...

... 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&#8217;s the whole &#8216;where to start?&#8217; when staring straight up at this seemingly flat face of rock. <br><br> Watching others you wonder &#8216;how on earth?&#8217;, but then it&#8217;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&#8217;t normally access. Not that we would even attempt it on bicycles - vehicles are bad enough. Windy roads where motion sickness is a given, &#8216;oh ****&#8217; handles are coming loose from repetitive strain, and a straight section of road lasts about 20m. <br><br>Our goal was a little damned in lake almost on the ...

... in when my machine came to a premature halt. The mechanic came over and, after yanking the start cord unsuccessfully for around 10 minutes, shrugged and told me "It doesn't start very well in the cold." Which obviously had me clambering for the Spanish for "What the $&*# do you mean it doesn't start well in the cold!! IT'S A %$&$£% SNOWMOBILE ISN'T IT?!?!". Not surprisingly I was still clambering when the other snowmobile guy returned and, after briefly ...

... a little day trip and I got an absolute gusher on the coach home. It would not stop. Kay had to run up and down the aisle blagging tissues off people, which I crammed to my face in an ever increasing ball. When we got back to our room I peeled it from my face and dropped the whole lot into the bath, leaving a scene not disimilar to the shower in Psycho. When I took my coat off it turned out that quite a lot of blood had ...