A Long Weekend in Andorra

Rory has come and gone again, but last weekend we loaded up the car and headed to Andorra for a little family/training time. Andorra has become one of our favorite places for a weekend trip. It is a 3-hour drive through the mountains and as soon as I arrive I feel like I am back in Colorado.

Our favorite village in Andorra is called Soldeu. It is tiny and there is not much there, but it has a great hotel for families. The suites are large and there is a great pool and hiking trails, etc. The hotel is very large and is probably hopping in the winter, but in the summer it is practically deserted and the kids love exploring.

We woke up to ominous clouds on Saturday morning.

We decided to hold off on exercise (Rory was taking advantage of the altitude training) and we hopped in the car and went down to Andorra la Vella, the larger city. I remembered to bring jackets for everyone...except myself! I ran in and out of a few stores and ended up buying a jacket to keep warm.  It was raining off and on and the temperature was just 9 degrees celsius, so a jacket was needed!

After lunch the weather cleared a bit, though the temperatures were still low. Rory bundled up and went out for his training ride and I bundled up the kids and we headed out for a hike. Soldeu sits at about 1,710 meters above sea level (5,610 ft). The kids wanted to hike to the higher mountains, but I spent twelve years in the mountains of Colorado and I know how weather can move in quickly, so I suggested a local trail along the river.

 This trail ended up being the best option because there was ample tree coverage and it was drizzling a bit here and there. The trail was pretty narrow and there were some steep climbs, but it was a solid afternoon hike.

The wildflowers were so beautiful and we couldn't help but collect as many as our hands could carry!

 Aurelia is really coming along with her hiking. This hike was 6km and she did it solo except for a few of the steep bits. We take turns being the leader because I want the kids to learn about safety on the trail (really just rocks and animals) and have some practice.

 Aurelia was tired near the end and thankfully her brother is always there to help her.

 Aurelia was tired after our hike on Saturday afternoon, but Rory had a surprise for us. The skies cleared at about 6pm, so we got in the car and he drove us up one of the mountain roads he had trained on that day. At the top of the mountain was the most amazing lookout!

 This portion of the lookout went out over the cliff, so you could look down into the wide open  from these glass viewing things. It made you feel like you were standing on absolutely nothing, but Aurelia was loving it.

See that thing hanging out over the mountain? Yep, that is where we were. 

 Aurelia insisted on capturing the moment:

On Sunday morning the skies were perfectly clear and the temperatures were much warmer, so I told the kids we could hike to the higher mountains. Aurelia was a bit tired from the previous day, so I brought the hiking carrier and loaded it with water and some healthy snacks. I tossed in rain jackets in event the weather went south and we headed to the trailhead. 

Now, I was keen to try a trail we had never done in Andorra (we have been here a few times). The trail head (according to the map) was just a few kilometers down the main road from our hotel. I didn't want to walk on this road (fair amount of cars), so we jumped in the car and drove to the parking lot. Well, what I thought was the parking lot. There was an information booth with hiking maps, so Eston went over and chatted with the woman (everyone here speaks Catalan) and grabbed a couple of maps. Apparently she asked Eston if we wanted train tickets, so he came back to me and asked. I was a bit puzzled and said no, so we started walking down the road. After a couple of kilometers I realized that the parking lot was not truly the trailhead. It was more of an entrance...?? One had to walk (or take a little "train" car) approximately 3km to the actual trail system. Whoops. 

The trails are designated by color and most families were heading out on the blue trail. Pppffff. My children and I are tough! We don't do blue trails! So off we went on the orange trail, which would eventually lead us to the top of the mountain and (allegedly) a small glacier lake. Here are a few photos of the start of the hike... 

 I adore the old stone farm houses in the Pyrenees. I want to live in one. Seriously.

 The road that eventually leads you to the trail:

 We found the orange trail! Now to hike to the mountain behind the mountains in this photo...

 The orange trail started off so well. It was gorgeous!

The trail went from a gradual climb to a steep incline pretty quickly and Aurelia was tired. Can't say I blame her, we walked 3km just to get to the trail. I put her in the backpack and slowly but surely followed Eston up the hill. 

The orange trail may not have been the safest trail. The trail was narrow and rocky and while that looks like fluffy grass (well, it is), the edge is right there. I told Eston to only walk on the dirt. Yep, I am mom-of-the-year. In my defense, he loved this hike. We talked about what to do in emergency and he was all set. Aurelia was in the pack off and on throughout our ascent.

We had been climbing/hiking for nearly two hours when I started to debate turning around. Eston really wanted to make it to the top (roughly 2,500m/8,465ft). We were at roughly 2,250m/7,382ft according to the map and markers and I knew we had to make it back down and then 3km to the car. We stopped to discuss it and decided that turning around was the safest bet. 

Descending was no picnic with the sketchy trail, but we finally made it back down and decided to rest by the stream and have our snack: 

Eston consulted the map and figured out there was a trail that led back to the car, so we took that instead of the road. Aurelia walked and it was roughly 4km back to the car. She hiked about 8km on Sunday and Eston and I did close to 15km, so it was a solid day of hiking.

We went back to the hotel and the kids wanted to go swimming. The pool area of our hotel was  lovely and there was a great cafe attached. The kids jumped right in the pool and realized it was not heated at all (AKA freezing!). They came out shivering and we sat in the sun before deciding to get lunch at the cafe. Aurelia loves gazpacho and this particular version came with gambas (shrimp) which is her favorite, so she was in heaven. Eston had the largest burger I have ever seen, but he deserved it after that hike. Rory finished his training and came out to join us in the sun. 

After lunch we decided to take a drive to one of the highest mountains in Andorra. Isn't the view just spectacular?  

 Yes, Aurelia is in a bathing suit. It is a long story---her pants got wet and the bathing suit was the only thing in the car.

We all slept very soundly on Sunday evening! The kids and I packed up on Monday morning and drove back to Girona, but Rory rode home. We all left the hotel at 10:30am and the kids and I were home by 1:30pm, but Rory rolled in at 5pm. Yep, a very long training day.

We love Andorra and hope to return soon!