Into the Pyrennes

typical Andorran sidewalk

Andorra la Vella (week 25)

We decided to drive back to Puyloubier through the Pyrenees.  This course took us through Andorra.  The Spanish end was warm, +8 in the afternoon, so after an indoor picnic lunch we had a pleasant stroll through the capital of Andorra la Vella, and up along the Anella Verda.  This is the hiking path that rings the capital about half-way up the mountain, hard-surfaced and easy walking.  We encountered several locals walking their dogs and in one case wearing 3" spike heels (we would not choose to wear such footwear on an uneven path, but Andorrans are a hardy hiking lot).  Andorran towns are buried in the valleys, and the valleys are narrow, so its easy to understand why the population centres are so small (the population of the entire country is under 100,000).

We continued along the valleys and up (it's a steady uphill climb into the Pyrenees all the way to the French border).  Naturally, the amount of snow increased until we arrive in ski country.  We had been warned that the population of France goes skiing over the Christmas holiday, so we weren't surprised when traffic slowed to a crawl.  The northern part of the country is like a continuous string of Whistlers, so bottlenecks are caused by cars trying to find hotels, skiers in boots hobbling across the roads, etc.  The supposedly 30-minute trip from mid-way to the French border took 1.5 hours, plus another hour to get through Ax-les-Thermes (the delay in Ax was simply the mid-town roundabout, which was crawling with pedestrian skiers crossing the roads).

two views of Andorra, the same day: left is Andorra la Vella at the Spanish end, right is the French border

When we mentioned the traffic jams to the locals in Puyloubier, they offered an alternate explanation: French nationals were slipping over the border for cheap alcohol for New Year's Eve, since Andorra has no alcohol tax.  Regardless of the reason, the traffic meant it was a long night to get home, but we did find a restaurant in Avignonet-Lauragais that served traditional cassoulet, which is basically beans and weiners, with duck thrown in to make it truly French.