Today we had
a whole day to hike but in the evening we had to drive to Andorra and be at the
hotel by 8. Again, we started early.
The same way
as in Ordesa you cannot go to the park using your own vehicle but instead of a
bus you have to go by ´taxi´, a 4x4 car that can take up 8 people at one time.
We drove to Boí then waited for our turn in the taxi. No need to go early as
they generally start to leave with the first guests from 9 onwards. The drive
was 20 minutes long on a windy road and saved us 2 hours of walking. At the
time of writing a return journey cost 10.20 euros for one person. All day long
the drivers take and bring back tourists from the park and the last one leaves
at 19.00.
As soon as
we started walking my jaw dropped. It was everything a mountain scenery needs
to be. Rivers with crystal clear water running along the path, forest around
you, cows, high, snow covered mountain tops, what more do you need? The whole
walk was gorgeous.
We have
heard a lot about the refugies, these
houses where you can stay over night for a small fee, have a shower, and some
places even give you breakfast. We always thought that these places must be
very dodgy but when we saw this one right next to the lake with its solar
panels we changed our mind. They looked decent, clean and well maintained. They
basically allow you to cover more ground, to do longer trips and explore more
of the mountains. Some people do week long trips here, sleeping in these
places.
Estany
Llong. Estany actually means ´pond´
and it´s a Catalan word. I finally learn how to say ´lake´ in Catalan and they
call all their lakes ´estany´!
Many people
stopped here for a picnic as the whole walk was flat so far. We moved on to
higher grounds.
Alpine cows.
Almost on
the top and Estany Negra.
The map said
there´s a mirador 15 min walk away from this lake so we pushed a little bit
more and went to check it out.
It was quite
a surreal experience when we made our first contact with other hikers. There
was a couple up there already and when we got there we said ´hello´ in Catalan,
after all we were in Catalonia. Later I asked them in Spanish if they want me
to take a photo of them and they asked back in English if we want a photo of us
(we said yes, for the benefit of Paul´s mum). It turned out they´re from
Belgium. When we got ready to leave a German couple just got there to see the
view. I represented Hungary and Paul represented the UK. What an international
experience in the middle of Spain (well, a bit further to the North)!
We started
going back a bit faster as those pesky clouds were again gathering over the
hills but this time we didn´t get wet.
Cows, cows, cows! You could hear them from miles as there were bells around their necks. Paul called them ´the musical cows´ and even took a video.
The viewpoint at the end of the walk.
We celebrated
our great hiking with a cup of coffee in Boí then got back in our little red
car and drove to Andorra.
No comments:
Post a Comment