Arles to Andorra
Trip Start
Feb 10, 2008
1
21
43
Trip End
May 13, 2009
Andorra la Vella,
Andorra
Friday, May 30, 2008
There are a number of other significant sites of interest: the Saint-Trophime cloister which was started in the 12th century - the original Romanesque portal and portal sculptures are considered as masterpieces of Provence, the Church and Bishop's Palace were built and continually added to until 18th century; the Grand Priory of the Knights of Malta, now Musee Reattu, named after Jaques Reattu, a painter from Arles (1760-1833), who acquired the building to be his studio and to live in (Picasso donated a number of sketches and paintings); Hotel Dieu, the 16th-century hospital to which Van Gogh was taken when he cut off his ear in 1888, and whose courtyard he painted while he was hospitalised.
Before we leave we drive a few kilometres out of Arles to the Langlois bridge - also painted by Van Gogh in 1888
Our hotel rooftop, Arles
. The day is very windy and there's a busload of Japanese tourists going mad with their cameras and having their hats blown off.As an interesting aside, while I was looking for info about the Knights of Malta in Arles, I found out that Everard des Barres was the third Grand Master of the Knights Templar from 1147 to 1151. He accompanied Louis VII of France on the Second Crusade and saved his life during a battle, and later was put in charge of the king's treasury.
From Arles we drove past Montpellier and Perpignan in the far south-west of France then turned inland, going west along a road into the Pyrenees. It's dark and raining and we try and find a hotel at some of the small towns we pass, but they don't seem to have any. We finally arrive at a larger town called Prades and stay the night at a hotel that was formerly known as the Grand Hotel - the famous cellist Pablo Casals (Pau Casals in Catalonian) lived there in exile from the Franco regime from 1936 for some time, and many other personages have stayed there too (including us , of course).
Next morning is bright and sunny and we drive into the Pyrenees past Villefranche de Conflent, a lovely little walled town, climbing and climbing until we arrive at the Andorra border at Pas de la Casa, at 2490 metres.
From there it's all downhill - basically the country of Andorra is made up of one long narrow valley with high mountains on either side, with a couple of side valleys. There are a number of towns every few kilometers until you reach the capital, Andorra la Vella, at 1000 metres
Typical building, Arles
. All up it's around 30kms by 25kms. Andorra is the only country in the world where Catalonian is the official language, and has an unusual political situation.Andorra is a co-principality with the President of France and the Bishop of Urgell, Spain as co-princes. There is normal representative parliament with the Prime Minister as the head of government.
Andorra is one of these little countries, that has chosen to survive and prosper by becoming a tax haven and a duty-free centre (Andorrans are a minority in their own country because people from other countries have moved here to take advantage of this). The country is basically made up of modern apartments and shops. Apart from the spectacular mountains nearby the country feels completely soulless. We searched and searched to find some remnant of what Andorra was like many years ago but there are virtually no old buildings left and no trace of the past. When you go into the modern shopping centres you could be anywhere and there is virtually no street life of any kind, so unlike Spain and France on either side. One pleasant experience was drinking a couple of glasses of "cava" (Spanish sparkling wine) at a bar, accompanied by green olives and whole cloves of raw garlic - they were crisp and delicious as the garlic was so fresh.
One of our little jaunts was to the Caldea Thermal complex, which I had seen a brochure for, and as there was so little else to do we decided to go. We were told it would be good to go in the evening as there was a "sound and light" show which would be spectacular.
Caldea is housed in this modern building, topped with a spectacular mirrored spire
View of Rhone River, Arles
. The inside is like a super-modern shopping centre crossed with a swimming complex and Disneyland. There are all these kitsch constructions in the main swimming hall, including a concrete "Indo-Roman spa", and the list of attractions has been written by an advertising copy-writer, and as a consequence are a bit of a disappointment "Imagine a place where everything is light and space, where you can forget fatigue, stress and routine... a new and unique spa where, throughout the year, you will find peace and calm in the beneficial effects of thermal water. A haven to retreat to, dedicated to rest, getting back in shape, health and beauty." The water feels like treated tap-water, although it's supposed to be from a thermal spring, and its temperature is barely above luke-warm.The "light and sound" show starts and it is the most childish and kitsch production you could think of - coloured lights go on and off, a smoke-machine is turned on, loud music thunders through the loud-speakers, etc. The school kids who have been hunting in packs through all the facilities (running in and out of all the saunas and steam-baths constantly) jump and scream with excitement - it seems to be schools night because there are hundreds of them (so much for a "haven to retreat to").
On our final day in Andorra we drive into the mountains to the Naturlandia Theme Park. The attraction for me is the Tobotronc toboggan ride, which runs for 3550 metres downhill, the longest in the world, they claim
Camargue Cross, Arles
. I'm strapped in and the toboggan is taken 1700 metres directly up the steep mountainside to the starting point. At the top they check the seatbelt, show me how to use the one control to slow down, and off I go.If I don't use the brake the g-forces are quite strong - it's interesting and fun trying to ride this thing with one hand holding my heavy camera, and pointing and shooting pictures without really having any idea what I'm capturing as I can't put it near my face and look through the viewfinder - nevertheless I managed to get some pictures that give you some idea of what the ride was like. Yvonne was very kind in indulging me in letting my inner little boy out for a run.
On the way down the mountain we decide to go for a walk - there's a sign saying riu something (can't remember the name)- 30 minutes. The walk starts off well and as we head downhill there are great views. The path gets steeper and I decide to go further down the track, as we haven't come to any river, and I tell Yvonne we'll meet back at the car. So I charge down the hill, as I don't want to keep Yvonne waiting too long, but still can't find the river, then turn back and climb fast up the slope. I keep going and going (thinking this is taking longer than I thought), then catch up to Yvonne (who is saying this slope is going to kill me). We eventually decide we have gone far past the point at which we parted and are lost. We backtrack and finally find the point at which we both made the same mistake and went straight ahead, instead of taking the correct track, and find that it's only 100 metres to the car (well at least we got our day's excercise) - we have spent at least an hour more than necessary getting back.
So, it's back into the car, down the mountain, cross the Spanish border a couple of kms down the road, then a long drive through the Pyrenees to Badalona, near Barcelona.
