World Andorra Andorra la Vella

Gina's European Adventure

A Trip For Dave Feb 24, 2006

My family has a very dear and longtime friend, Dave King, who is practically a second father. In fact his wife, Martha, is my Godmother. Dave is an avid traveler. When he is not in the classroom teaching, or building something, or making someone laugh with his jokes, he is dreaming up the next adventure for he and Martha!

I believe Dave has been on every continent and has visited many, many countries. But one place he hasn't seen yet is the tiny country of Andorra. I have to admit my ignorance. I have been to Spain many times and have also visited France, but didn't know until Dave pointed it out that there is a small country in the Pyrenees between the Spanish and French borders. When Dave heard I was planning this trip, he said, "You should go check out Andorra." So this week I jumped on a bus for the 4 hour ride up to the Pyrenees for a quick overnight trip to see what Andorra is like.

It is believed that Andorra was founded by Charlemagne in 805 but for roughly 700 years it was protected by the Bishops of Urgell and the Counts of Foix under the Principality of Andorra. And it wasn't until 1993, that the first written Constitution was approved. The territory is 468 square kilometers that is divided into seven parishes: Canillo, Encamp, Ordino, La Massana, Andorra la Vella (the capital), Sant Julia de Loria and Escaldes-Engordany. There are roughly 77,000 inhabitants and the official language is Catalonian (the only country in the world to have Catalonian as the official language). The main activities to do in Andorra is SKI (in the winter), nature hikes (in the summer), SHOP, visit museums and relax (in their many spas).

To be honest when I first arrived in Andorra I was a bit leary. The day before, I went to the Andorra tourism office in Barcelona and loaded up on information so I could plan an itinerary for my quick trip. The brochures spoke of a country rich in "history, tradition, and culture." I was imagining quaint, picturesque little villages nestled in the snowy mountains. This isn't (really) the case. When you arrive into the capital city of Andorra la Vella you feel that you have arrived in the European version of Las Vegas without the casinos, as my taxi driver boasted that, "there are no casinos, prostitutes, nightclubs, sex shows", etc. and is thus a very safe country without crime (okay maybe not Las Vegas). La Vella is extremely commercialized (in fact I saw "Quicksilver" and "Roxy" stores...totally unexpected), as tourism information boasts of having the most shops in a concentrated amount of space (over 2,000 shops in the tiny town). When you are there, you don't feel any Spanish or French influence. It just feels like a European ski town without a lot of shops. The only Spanish resemblance, though, is that the stores do close in the middle of the day between 1pm and 3pm. As for being "rich in tradition and culture" I didn't find this to be true. At one point when I did a little shopping, I asked 4 or 5 different people (2 from tourism offices) what gift would be "typical" of Andorra. All responses were that there isn't anything. A majority of their products come from Catalonia and there isn't anything that is produced in Andorra that they would consider representing their country. The country must be doing well, though. Everywhere I looked there was new construction being done. A lot of the sights were distracted by all the cranes and roads would be blocked to allow dump trucks to pass by.

As soon as I checked into the hotel, I quickly jumped on a bus to the city of Encamp that was just a few kilometers away. Coming here I was a little bit at ease. As the case with most countries, once you get out of the capital city, you get a different feel for the place. Encamp was a little more quaint, but still felt a little run down. Unfortunately, I arrived just as things were shutting down for the afternoon. Time for lunch! I asked around for a recommendation and was directed to a small restaurant off the main strip. This place was amazing!! I had one of the best meals in my life here. The chef is originally from France and cooks with only natural, fresh items. I learned that throughout the year (except for winter) the chef hikes the mountains in the morning to get wild berries, mushrooms, nuts, etc. and comes back to figure out a menu for the day using what he has picked. Everything was delicious and was quite a surprise to find in Encamp! Afterward, I visited a couple of museums, returned to la Vella for a little shopping and then back to my hotel, which is actually in the city of Escaldes that is only 2 km away. Escaldes means "hot waters" in Catalonian (according to the taxi driver) which is appropriate as there is a very large thermal water spa that claims to be Europe's largest spa resort. As soon as I learned that this spa existed I figured that I better check it out so that I could give Dave a FULL report on Andorra. Research!! The spa has timeslots that you can go for general admission for 3 hour time periods. My timeslot was in the evening so I could just go to sleep after relaxing in the waters. It was quite an experience. There is a large pool area with heated water for you to just walk or swim around. Jets and waterfalls are placed around the area for you to walk up and get a water massage. There are also about five different raised Jacuzzis with stairs leading up to them. They look like giant bowls sitting on top of the water. Off to the side there are Roman Baths with warmer and colder water and there are also dry saunas if you really want to heat up. The last option, and my favorite, is the outdoor area pool. From the indoor pool you can swim to the outdoor part that has a circular maze with a current that just pulls you around. In the evening there was a little bit of snow falling down, so it was pretty nice to be in warm waters with the steam rising up and the snow falling down. Dave, I think I can give my stamp of approval on this Andorran activity!

The next day I went to Ordino. Up until this point, I would have told people not to bother visiting Andorra, but Ordino changed my mind. This is the quaint little Andorran village that I imagined Andorra to be like. All the buildings here are in stone and look very much like it has been untouched by modern influences. There is a home here that you can tour known as Casa Areny-Plandolit. This house was built in the 1613 and was owned by a prominent Andorran family that were landowners and proprietors of one of the most important forges in Andorra. I was lucky to get a private (English) tour of this house. As soon as you step in you feel like you step back in time. You see the carriage room with saddles hanging on the walls where the family would get off the horses before entering the house. The meat room (I'm forgetting the proper name) with preserved meat hanging from the ceiling so that rats can get to it. The kitchen with multiple places for open fires for cooking, with many of the original instruments that were used in that time. One piece of furniture in the kitchen (specific only to Andorra) is a large ornate wooden wall that is placed in front of the fire to block the smoke, but also has an attached table that can be unhinged and brought down for extra preparation space when a fire is not lit. In the library was a collection of law, medical, engineering books that dated from the periods between 1600-1800. And in one of the bedrooms I learned of an apparatus that was used to warm the bed before a person went to sleep. It is an arched, wooden structure that has a metal plate in the middle for hot coals. This contraption was placed between the mattress and the sheets with the coals to heat the bed. In the main room, the guide pointed out a window seat that was specifically used for courting. There are small concrete seats (big enough for only one person) that face each other next to the window. When you are courting, you can only sit in these seats facing each other with the girl's mother observing the entire time. Boy, have things come a long way in this area! It was a real treat to visit this home. I wish I could share pictures of this home with you, but since it is a museum I wasn't allowed to take any photographs...it killed me! I spent the rest of the time wandering around Ordino, taking pictures and then heading back into town catch the bus back to Barcelona.

Overall the trip was nice and I did enjoy my time in Andorra. My advice is that I wouldn't advise people to make a specific trip to Europe to visit Andorra (unless you are a big skier). But if you happen to travel between France and Spain it may be worth stopping in Andorra along the way. And if you do...stay in Ordino!!

That's my report, Dave! ;)

I hope everyone is doing well!

Gina