Andorra: Micro-nation That I Love

The Little Brother of Spain and France

Only about two hundred square miles in area, Andorra is one of the smallest countries in Europe sandwiched between Spain and France in the Flatiron Mountains.  I heard a lot about Andorra before we visited, most of it negative, as in there was not much to do in Andorra.  Well everyone may have their opinions, and mine this Andorra is awesome, one of my favorite countries in Europe.  I can't wait to go back and explore even more of what Andorra has to offer.

Pausing for a photo on our hike in the mountains surrounding the capitol of Andorra, Andorra La Vella.

We got to Andorra the only way possible, by bus, although I guess technically we could have driven a car.  Andorra does not have a port, an airport, or a train station.  There is pretty much one road going in from Spain and one going in from France.  We entered from the Spanish side, taking a bus from Barcelona.  The bus was mostly empty, and I occupied my time by listening to podcasts and reading the local newspaper, which was in Spanish.  Between high school and college I took four years of Spanish, but I am always surprised at how well I can still get along sometimes.

The four hour bus ride from Barcelona to Andorra was mostly empty.

This brings me to one of the things I love most about Andorra.  Barcelona and Madrid, like so many other cities in Europe are completely are overrun with tourists, many of which are American.  Pretty much everyone in these cities speaks English, which while useful at times lacks an exotic flare.  This is not the case in Andorra where most people speak a variety of languages including Catalan (the official language), Spanish, and French.  Almost no one speaks English.  David poked fun a few times at my slow Spanish speaking the first few times I used it on this trip, but with time he accepted it as essential.  David did note my Spanish comprehension and speech sped up dramatically once I started drinking.  

David stands next to a sculpture by Dali in Andorra's capital Andorra La Vela.

Another characteristic I love about Andorra is how clean its streets are.  Andorra is a a tax haven, like small countries everywhere, inviting visitors to shop tax free amongst its many malls and shops.  To make Andorra a popular shopping destination the country keeps the streets clean of debris and street peddlers.  Walking down the street without having a selfie stick shoved in my face every fifteen feet by a migrant hoping to make a sale was just plane pleasant.  

Andorra is clean, clean, clean.

Speaking of shopping, that's what occupied most of our first day in Andorra.  While we didn't visit Andorra explicitly to shop, when in Rome... Wanting to make the most of our time in this shopping heaven, I'm not really a big shopper to begin with, we honed in on a few items that are more difficult to find or expensive at home.  We decided to find a nice bottle of scotch for a fraction of the price at home to drink in our hotel room and a rock climbing harness for myself.  I was planning on buying a rock climbing harness once I got home and had been watching prices online for awhile.  However, rock climbing is one of the activities in Andorra and there were outdoors stores selling rock climbing equipment everywhere.  I was ecstatic at the prospect of actually being able to try a few clearance harnesses on before purchasing.  It was fall, the end of the rock climbing season after all.    

This famous spa is the reason many travelers visit Andorra, not for us though.

The first store we walked into had a waterfall wall with a rock climbing route hewn into the fake rock.  I knew I was in the right place.  So I stepped on an escalator, an escalator that only moves when there is actually a person on it to save energy, and headed up to the rock climbing section.  Where my barely Spanish and the employee's barely English, resulted in enough communication for them to dig out all the clearance women's harnesses they had stored in the back.  Once I found one I liked, they strung up on carbinger and rope to a hook on the ceiling, and I hung out for five minutes to ensure the harness met my comfort standards.  I bought it at a forty percent discount. 

Walking through a supermarket looking for snacks I found this jamon display.  Jamon is prime aged pig leg famous to this region and costing an arm and a leg.

We spent most the rest of that firs day in Andorra wandering around dipping in and out of shops selling scotch (wishing we had more room in our suitcase) and exploring a local grocery store in search of snacks.  We went out to dinner at one of the many trendy restaurants before setting off on a mini pub crawl, desiring to see what kind of nightlife Andorra offers in its off season.  What we found were some bars and restaurants so immersed in their chosen theme it was mesmerizing. 

A tax free country, Andorra is a good place to stock up on giant liquor bottles.

Our stops included an ultra modern lounge with astro turf for the flooring and fake tree stumps for chairs, an alpine ski lodge style bar reminiscent of what I think the inside of a decorated gingerbread house would look like, and a wine bar where all drinks are doled out by the glass by automated systems located strategically over the bar's two stories.  The system required borrowing a debt-like card that we added funds to at the counter.  

David relaxes in this ultra modern lounge with astro turf flooring and fake tree log chairs.

A wine bar we found with only automated dispensers, very chic.

For our second day in Andorra, I decided we should try at least one of the out doors activities the country is known for.  Being too late in the season for rock climbing and too early for snowboarding, we settled for hiking.  The country boasts an intricate trail system seamlessly connecting its cities and towns to the longer more intensive trails.  The entire country is encircled by a two hundred mile trail. Not equipped for such an excursion, we settled for a one of the canal trails outlying the city Andorra La Vella, the city we were staying in.  Andorra La Vella is situated in a valley between two monstrous  ridges rampant with bare rock faces, and the canal trails run along the valley walls on either side of the city up above the city skyline, offering views of Andorra La Vella below.  

I test out a climbing harness by hanging in it for a while before buying it at a deep discount.

There are several access points to the canal trails from the cities, a series of staircases really that allow visitors to ascend the steep terrain.  We chose an access point just outside of town, wanting to walk its full length.  Even the hike to the access point gave us plenty of exercise, needing to ascend a few hundred feet before even reaching the staircase.  Once we summited the canal trail, our hike levels off and we were treated to a lovely stroll along the length of the valley.  This is a popular trail with the locals to get across town quickly, and we saw a few heading the other direction as our journey progressed.  It was fall and the colors matched the crisp cool air, perfect for a little physical exertion.  

David starts the ascent of the one of the access trails to the canal trail.  We had already been hiking uphill for third minutes at this point.

On the way back to our hotel from where we exited the trail on the far side of the valley we wandered through the northern part of the city, and feeling peckish decided to indulge in one of the the Mediterranean's autumn delicacies, roasted chestnuts.  Growing up, I as often as anyone in the US was used to hearing "chestnuts roasting on an open fire" in Christmas carols during the holiday season, and like most Americans had never actually seen or tasted chestnuts roasted on an open fire. I always wondered how does one roast chestnuts on an open fire?  Do you just throw them on there or is there some other form of preparation required?  What do they taste like, smokey or nutty?  Never having had the opportunity to answer these questions in the US, I was super excited to learn street vendors all through out the European Mediterranean openly roast chestnuts on the street selling them for a few Euros.  In Spain there is even a traditional start date to selling chestnuts, the holiday on November 1st, Todos Los Santos, known as All Saints' Day in English.  

The canal trail of Andorra La Vella is kept in meticulous shape like the rest of the country.

So understandably, I was thrilled to see a street vendor selling paper cones of chestnuts on our way back to the hotel.  I asked in Spanish (again loving Andorra's lack of English) how much they cost and quickly forked over the money.  As it turns out roasted chestnuts are delicious.  Roasted black on the outside, eaters peel back the shell from hash marks cut into it before the nuts are thrown on the fire.  The quarter-sized meat on the inside is chewy and smokey, and sometimes a pain to get to if the hashmark in the shell was not cut deep enough.  Roasted chestnuts are eaten while still warm, a perfect contrast to the cold air of the season.  It was the perfect end to a perfect trip to Andorra.  The next morning we climbed on a bus back to Barcelona.

Although not much to look at these roasted chestnuts were delicious.

I loved Andorra and I can't wait to go back when I will undoubtedly go snowboarding or rock climbing.  I'm not worried about Andorra disappearing either, the country is over one thousand years old, formed in 988 A.D, making it one of the oldest countries in Europe.  It will undoubtedly go on protected by Spain and France, (a bishop in northern Spain and the president of France are Andorra's princes although they hold no political power) as it has been for hundreds of years.