GR11 - Rest day - Andorra la Vella

We took it really easy today, getting up late, enjoying the plentiful breakfast at the hotel restaurant. Andorra la Vella (Andorra the beautiful) was a surprise for me. You try not to have expectations and take things as they come, but this was too much for me. It is set in a narrow valley. The mountains go up really steeply on all sides. There doesn't appear to be single-family houses. I think everyone lives in an apartment. Everything looks so modern. The buildings have no style to speak of. They all look like apple boxes. The street-level floor has shops and the upper stories are mostly apartments (at least it appears that way judging from the things on the balconies). The entire city seems to be one giant shopping centre. There were sales all over. I know quite a few people who would be in shopping paradise here. I think it is a duty-free centre. We left with a funny feeling about the place. It seemed to be so out of place, if that can be! That was the feeling I also had about Encamp when we arrived yesterday, but now, coming back from Andorra la Vella, Encamp seemed beautiful!

GR11 - Day 32 - to Encamp (Andorra)

Is there anything more annoying that having 100 flies buzzing around and crawling all over you when you're trying to eat?

We had a lot of ups and downs today. After the first pass, we could see Ordino. Who would have thought that we'd go up and down all day and always see Ordino from a different direction! By the time we made the final descent into Encamp it was pretty warm out and we were pretty parched. We ran out of water because I forgot my water bottle at our lunch spot. We had another scenery-less day through the trees, but at least we were protected from the heat. It was so hot in Encamp that I sat there in the shade with the backpacks as Peter went looking for a hotel. He had quite a surprise when he turned the corner and saw Manolo talking to two painters! We always think we have seen the last of him because he walks so much faster, but he always seems to make some side trip which slows him down. We had supper together and caught up on the news. He keeps on going tomorrow, and we stay here for a day. We will take a bus to visit Andorra la Vella, the capital city.

GR11 - Day 31 - to Arans

Leaving the Refugi de Baiau is quite strenuous. You have to go up a steep scree gully which we got wrong on the first try. So, we had to come back down. We lost 20 minutes or so. You couldn't go fast at all and always risked sliding backwards. It was so steep in places and with all those loose small stones, you would wonder if it was humanly possible to get up there! Needless to say, I was happy to see the top. The next few steps then brought us into Andorra. Then the descent started. It was long, over 1400 m, but not too bad. We arrived in Arinsal early. It's also a near vacant ski resort. We had an expensive beer and decided to go on to Arans after all. We just managed to hit the grocery store before they closed at 1:00. A good thing we were in the trees because the next 500 m were really steep. Quite a surprise for me. The other side was equally steep going down. We arrived in Arans too late for menu del dia. Now we had to wait until 8:00 to eat. It gave us plenty of time to wash both ourselves and our clothes. Now we smell sweet once again...

GR11 - Day 30 - to Refugi de Baiau

A good part of the way was on dirt roads, but we didn't mind. The sky was blue but the breeze was cool. We were clilmbing all day, though nothing too steep. Always walking in the trees is nice for the coolness, but it gets kind of boring because there is no scenery through the trees. It seemed to take forever to reach the Estanys (lake) d'Escorbes. It felt so good to see the Refugi de Baiau that the steep climb to get there was bearable. We made it in 6h15 so that was quite good. The hut reminds me of the Alpine Club hut at Mount Assiniboine, kind of looks like a miniature quanset. It is very basic, but clean, good to sleep 9 persons. We were only 3. I was irritated with Peter (and he with me for nagging) because he insisted on drinking water out of the lake, untreated, even if there were horses grazing on the other side. He never seems to get sick. I am the one who had a queezy stomach just thinking about it... Then, dark clouds rolled in, looking threatening, but they move away. We had such a nice sleep so high up there with such clean air.

GR11 - Day 29 - to Areu

Another blue sky day starting cool and getting progressively hotter. The guidebook wasn't kidding when it said that the trail climbed steeply. A good thing we were in the trees and that the trail was relatively nice. When it finally eased, we were on the edge of very exposed trails. You wouldn't want to suffer from vertigo. The next ascent to the pass was mostly easy on a dirt road, until we nearly had to bushwack as the trail was overgrown with thorny bushes - not fun... The downhill that looked so impressive on the profile picture in the book wasn't hard at all. We rolled in to Areu in 7 hrs. We went for the menu del dia and got hosed 51 euros for lunch! The weather is so beautiful that we decided to set up the tent in the campground. You can tell that the weather is now being governed by the Mediterranean and not by the Atlantic any more. It's much drier. There was no condensation whatsoever on the tent in the morning, so packing up was easier.

GR11 - Day 28 - to Tabascan

We got off to a slow start because this is an easy day. It was cool when we started, but felt closer to 30 degrees Celsius by the time we arrived. We walked on a cushy path by a creek for some time and eventually started climbing to the pass. Again, the grade is gentle so it was easy. The downhill part was a bit hard on me today - not my knees, but my feet. I think the neuromas are coming back. We arrived in Tabascan in 4h30 so we had a lot of time to visit and sit around. Tabascan is your typical small Pyreneean pueblo set in the hill, with houses all made of stone, black slate roofs, windows and balconies of varnished wood, and loaded with red flowers. We stayed at the Casa Filiu, the same one our guidebook recommends. The nice lady wasn't so nice. She managed to rip us off 21 euros.

GR11 - Day 27 - to Estaon

Beautiful day. We were on the road by 6:45. We wanted to enjoy as much coolness as possible because we had to look forward to a 1272 m climb. As it turned out, most of it was in the shade. We followed the road to Dorve instead of the trail, so that we could go a little faster. Above Dorve, we had a major navigation problem. Once again the GPS came to the rescue, but we had major bushwacking and climbing steep rocks to do before finally hitting the path. The rest of the climb was easy. The grade is so gentle. On the other side, we also had to use the GPS to help us find our way. We encountered a mark, kept on the same path and the next mark said "Not here"! Head-scratching moment... The path through the grass was not obvious, but we finally got on the trail again, and after a rugged steep descent, arrived in Estaon in 6h30. The newly refurbished refugio is beautiful and modern. The little village is also being refurbished. Beautiful stone buildings set in the hill, all brightened up with flowers. The keeper of the refugio is a technical drawing professor from the University of Barcelona. This is the 1st year that he and his wife man the refugio. They do it in style: sheets and pillowcases, tablecloths, towel in the bathroom. Peter told him that it was the Parador of refugios. For those who wonder, refugios are very basic accomodations. Usually bunk beds in a dorm for about 12-20 people. There is a contour sheet on the mattress, but I always put my own on top of it. As well there is usually a pillow, and I use my own pillowcase as well. We use our sleeping bags, but if you don't mind, you can use the woolen blankets that are available.