Day One London to Andorra

Stayed overnight at Barb's and after crashing at 9pm I slept like a log until 2am. Got up and logged on to the internet to say a quick hello to Alex before having to quickly shower and change to leave for the airport at 4am.

The drive to Gatwick was uneventful; traffic was light due to the early hour and we arrived at the drop off point at 5.05 am. After checking in our bags we took a break at Starbucks for a coffee before heading for the departure lounge.

Surprise, surprise our flight was not showing a boarding gate but the rather ominous “Please wait”. Having no choice, we did, hovering around the information screens. As the departure time of 6.55 fast approached with no change to flight status Barb checked at the information desk to be told that the flight was slightly delayed. So we waited.

Half an hour later the gate number flashed up – Gate 11 – and we rushed to board. Again the flight sat on the tarmac for some time and we were finally told that the delay had been due to the original pilot being delayed and a substitute pilot having to be called in.

Finally we got underway and again the pilot was able to make up some time and we landed half an hour late in Barcelona.

The view flying into Andorra was spectacular. We flew over the Pyrenees although I'm not sure at which point we crossed. The rugged mountainous regions then give way to the plains of Catalunya. It looked very dry although this is agricultural land in the north. Barcelona seems to sprawl for miles and is not a pretty city, at least not what we could see from the flight path. The plane then flew out over the coast and to sea before turning for the final approach. It was sunny and warm; the sea looked beautiful and we landed without incident with the outside temperature at 27 degrees C.

The airport was busy and a confusing place to be. After using the toilets, which were not exactly sparkling clean, we set out to explore and kill the 90 minutes before our Novatel bus to Andorra was due to leave.

We knew we had to find the bus departure station and my instructions said “between Terminals A & B” and I had read somewhere that it was in front of the mural. We found the mural but could only guess that the bus would be somewhere in that area and hoped it would be visible come 1pm.

We then went back into the terminal to find something to eat. Not many shops in the Terminal B but we did find a market and were able to buy lunch. I bought a bag of corn chips, a litre of vanilla flavoured milk and a bar of chocolate. I looked at the sandwiches but couldn't decipher what they were made of so gave them a miss! Barb got some Pringles chips, a coke and a bottle of water. As it turned out I made the wiser choice, and if we had the gift of foresight we would have stocked up on some basic provisions.

At 12.30pm we went outside again – I think everyone in Spain smokes! - ran the gauntlet of smokers and finally saw the Novatel bus on the other side of the road so we crossed and waited for the driver.

At 12.50 we saw the driver arrive and open the back to put in some luggage so we made our way over, handed in our ticket and stowed our bags. The driver spoke only Spanish and a few rehearsed words of English for his spiel before we set off. There were only 4 other people on the bus besides us and two were a painful English couple, the female half of which kept putting on her coat and putting the hood up whenever the air conditioning was on! It was 34 degrees C. and when the driver turned the a/c down the rest of us cooked nicely.

The trip to Andorra is 3 hours. The drive through Barcelona's outer suburbs was interesting but it was incredibly ugly. Lots of industry, lots of mass multi-storey housing. This was definitely not tourist Spain. Lots of traffic but the roads are good and obviously a lot of recent upgrade work has been completed; new roads, new tunnels and the drive was very smooth.

In some parts it looks very much like Australia; dry, sandy soil, scrubby vegetation, oleanders, scattered olive trees, yet it's different enough to know it's foreign soil.

We climbed continually through Northern Spain towards the foothills of the Pyrenees. Fantastic scenery; lots of old stone buildings although many were in disrepair with lots of new building going on around. It was fascinating to see little clustered villages clinging to hilltops. Wherever there was a hill, there was a hamlet. Usually dominated by a church on top the hill and houses clustered around, then nothing but empty land. Very strange. Either the inhabitants were warlike and always selected a location that could be fortified, or they just had a liking for the views!

The mountains are spectacular – very harsh, rugged and steep. The trees cling to granite rock faces defying gravity, and the peaks have an unmistakable air of aggression. It sends the message that this is a harsh land.

We drove beside a river for quite some time and it was fast flowing and rocky, heading down towards a large dam we passed at the start of the ascent. We drove beside steep gorges and the fast flowing river as the road wound its way up through the mountain passes.

The arrival in Andorra was almost an anticlimax. Suddenly we were at a roadblock which was the frontier and we passed straight through into a bustling duty-free shopping haven of Sant Julia Loria. Traffic, clustered shops, narrow streets – very busy and a driving nightmare.

From there one town basically melds seamlessly into another. We couldn't tell where Sant Julia Loria ended and Andorra La Vella started.

The bus stopped at the bus terminal and we had a moment of panic wondering if we were going to be left there but we finally understood that we were to change buses. We moved to a smaller bus with another driver who couldn't speak any English and set off through the narrow and winding streets of Andorra La Vella. Then suddenly I saw the Caldea spa and we were into the next town of Escaldes-Engordany; again one just blending into the next.

We drove to Ordino then and finally onto Arans.

First hiccup with language; he didn't understand what hotel we wanted when I said Arans. Finally he mulled it over, hummed and ahhhed, then said Arans! But with a different pronunciation. He made it sound like Aransh and with the emphasis on the last syllable. Not that different that it should have caused major issues however. But, that seems to be Andorra, and there was more to come.

Finally deposited outside the Hotel Arans and having reclaimed our bags that he complained were heavy, we walked into reception.

The receptionist did not speak a word of English but finally we established who I was and we were given the key to a room in the first floor – Prima I understood at least.

Problem 1: we looked at the room – number 14. Very nice but only one bedroom and a sofa bed. After spending weeks finding somewhere with a 2 bedroom apartment and confirming that we wanted the bigger unit months ago, even agreeing to pay additional cost for the larger apartment, I was not happy. Problem one: to make someone understand that I wanted a two bedroom apartment.

It took some time but in a sometimes heated conversation conducted in English and Spanish neither understanding a word the other was saying, I managed to impress upon her that I indeed wanted the “grande” apartment. So we moved to the third floor and into the “grande” apartment with 2 separate bedrooms. I believe it caused some argument among the staff but I really don't care.

We decided that Barb would have the main bedroom and I would have the second. The main bedroom has a balcony and two single beds pushed together to look like a double; my room has two bunks beds. But at least we have separate rooms and one of us doesn't have to sleep on the sofa.

Problem 2: We then discovered we had an issue with food. There are no shops in Arans. Neither are there in shops in the three other villages we walked through during our evening reconnaissance mission. So we found ourselves in an apartment with nothing to eat but half a bag of corn chips, 200 mls of vanilla flavoured milk, a bar of chocolate and a bottle of water! We trudged back from our walk having noted a few sights of interest and potential walks but without food.

The restaurant seemed to be closed – doors shut and in darkness – so we came up to the apartment and decided on our plan of action: share the last of the corn chips and watch Magnificent Seven on DVD!

Barb ventured down to reception and the bar in the hope of finding at least some drinks and snacks. There were indeed chips, cake and drinks but no one in attendance. I drank the last of the vanilla milk at 9pm and left the bar of chocolate for breakfast.

Problem 3: No mobile phone coverage. No internet access in the room. Barb at least is able to find a network and SMS out, she can also receive calls. My phone won't even establish a network. So I'm incommunicado.

Problem 4: Transport. Or lack thereof. The buses seem to run infrequently through here and the bus timetables are almost impossible to decipher. We've seen the bus stops. We've seen the buses – maybe one day we'll be able to co-ordinate the two. So it's Shanks's Pony tomorrow.

Anyway, we watched the pilot of Magnificent Seven on the laptop and then, as I was falling asleep on the sofa, decided to have a shower and an early night. The shutters were drawn in the living room so I just burst out laughing when I went into the bedroom as at 9pm it was still full daylight! Very hard for me to get my head around. Fortunately it had no impact on my sleeping and by 9.30 pm I was away.