From the Ariège to Andorra: Finding Our Rhythm on the Road
An overdue update.
It’s been a while, all I can say is that I’m still getting used to this new life and the lack of routine that comes with it.
We’re staying with our friends, who have very generously let us use their apartment next to their main house in the Ariège area in the south of France. It’s been a perfect opportunity to wind down after our hectic time in the UK before we left.
We spent the first few weeks enjoying the sun, working on our French and exploring the local area, with not much to report, and not much French learnt by me. In the last couple of weeks, we’ve gone on a few more adventures, and I’ll do my best to summarise them below.
Horse Riding
One of my daughters had a birthday and wanted to go horse riding, so we found a local riding school and booked an hour-long trek. I’ve ridden a few times before, including a week on a farm stay in Australia when I was 24, but that was probably the last time. I thought it would feel like starting from scratch, but it’s surprising how quickly it comes back. After being shown how to brush the horse down and saddle up, we set off and had a really nice ride through the French countryside.
Climbing Pic de Saint-Barthélemy
My friend James, who we’re staying with, fancied a hike up a mountain. He’s a fit guy and suggested Saint-Barthélemy, which we can see in the distance from the house. He’s climbed it a few times before and guessed it would take about five hours in total.
Two of my daughters, the eldest’s boyfriend, and I had climbed the Diamond in Ireland about a month earlier. We figured this one would be about 25% tougher. We were wrong, it was a lot harder, it took us about 7.5 hours and we didn’t make it to the top! I looked it up afterwards (something I should have done before starting), and here are some stats.
It’s 7 km from the starting point to the peak, which doesn’t sound far, but it’s steep in places and gets even steeper on the final stretch. Saint-Barthélemy is roughly equivalent to climbing Ben Nevis in Scotland in total ascent and effort needed, although Saint-Barthélemy is 1000 m higher in total.
It’s the second-highest peak in the Tabe Massif in the Ariège Pyrenees at 2,348 m (behind the Pic de Soularac at 2,368 m). It’s the best known for historical, mystical, and religious reasons, and it’s named after the apostle Saint Barthélemy.
The climb is 1,130 m from the car park, which is already halfway up after a long, winding drive. To cut a long story short, James made it to the peak, but the rest of us didn’t. We ran out of time and had to turn back before dark. These teenagers need to work on their fitness!
We enjoyed it, though, and I’m definitely going to look for more hikes on our travels now that I’ve discovered the AllTrails app. With that and a bit more preparation, we’ll do better next time.
Trip to Andorra
A new country to add to our list, and the first that was new to all of us. We drove down to Andorra for a two-day trip. It didn’t exactly fit our theme of visiting warm countries, as it was noticeably cooler than France because of its altitude in the Pyrenees.
We stayed in a place called El Pas de la Casa, which is part ski resort and part duty-free shopping town. Andorra is outside the EU, so it sets its own tax policies, including low or no duties on products like alcohol, tobacco, and electronics. Walking the streets, we saw shop windows stacked with cartons of cigarettes and giant bottles of spirits. It’s a great place for bargains, and we picked up a few ourselves.
There was no snow on the slopes, and the town was empty of tourists. I think the locals were wondering what this foreign family was doing there in the off-season with their kids not in school!
We then drove to Soldeu, another ski resort without the duty-free shops, and had a look around. It was lovely but completely quiet. It felt odd walking through a place clearly built for crowds, yet the streets and shops were empty. It didn’t take away from the beauty of the mountains, though, and overall it was a really nice few days.
That’s it for now. We’ve done a few more things, but I’ll save that for the next post.
Stay free.
Simon
Sounds and looks wonderful Simon. Hope all the family are adjusting well and enjoying the new life.