Andorra la Vella

Situated in the Pyrenees mountains between Spain and France, the Principality of Andorra is only a 3-hour bus ride from Barcelona-Sants. The last time we took a bus up mountains we were in the Andes in South America, and that wasn't a great experience for our stomachs. This time, we were prepared with motion sickness tablets. While there were some windy roads along the way, we got to our destination with full tummies intact.

Similar to Barcelona, the official language spoken in Andorra is Catalan, which, to me, sounds like a mix between Spanish, French, and a pinch of Portuguese. Bon Dia! Due to its proximity to Spain and France, there are many ex-pats living in Andorra, making up a population of about 78,000 (40,000 residing in Andorra la Vella and surrounding areas).

When we checked in, we spoke a little Spanish with the receptionist (there’s no way that we could speak in Catalan). She responded in English, which tended to be common along our adventures. At one point, she paused and said “do you understand Spanish more than English?”. We explained that we speak English in Australia, and assured her that we were native speakers 🤣.

With little time to spare, we set out to explore the streets of Andorra la Vella. The city is small and can easily be traversed by foot. We quickly realised that Andorra was the duty-free capital of the region. It could also be the casting location for the next instalment of Cocoon. Spanish and French grey nomads wandered the streets ready to snag a souvenir or stock up on duty-free cigarettes and alcohol.

We also soon realised that the temperature in Andorra can change drastically throughout the day. When we arrived in the late afternoon, with the sun beating down on us, we roasted like chooks on a rotisserie. But by evening, we were grabbing cardies to keep us warm. The temperature dropped to five degrees #5degreesinthepyrenees. Needless to say that Princess Goldilocks was only satisfied for a brief moment when it was just right.

While Jason seems to have escaped the Lost World (for now), it was my turn to enter. I was convinced that my sunglasses were stolen from reception when we checked in. It turns out they were buried under all of my crap in the hotel. But it was a great excuse to go in search for a duty-free pair.

The following day, we continued our shopping pursuits, wandering the central shopping district. We stumbled upon a clothing store, next to our hotel, with lots of sales. We couldn’t help ourselves, and walked away with half the store. The next challenge is getting it home. Where is DHL when you need them!

Next stop: back to BarcelonaRead more