Aigüestortes and Andorra

Aiguestortes and the lake of Saint Maurice

The morning is also filled with low clouds. We have breakfast and refuel at Vielha, finally in a quiet setting, without cars or noise. We pass through a series of small towns that haven't been overrun by the speculative tourism wave, and it's wonderful to admire their order and coherence with the surrounding environment: Escunhau, Arties, Salardu, and so on, towards Port de la Bonaigua passing through Baqueira-Beret, which is like a Pyrenean Sestriere. Here we are now in the thickest fog, but it's only temporary. Just after the pass, the clouds clear, revealing a sky that couldn't be any bluer. It is with this welcome that we enter the Valls d’Aneu, in Catalan territory.

We head towards Espot to enter the Aiguestortes National Park, the only national park in Catalonia. We continue for another 3.5 km to the parking lot located at the entrance of the park itself. We get some information in Espot and notice that there are about twenty Land Rover Defenders parked there. These are taxis used to transport older or simply more leisurely tourists. We then hike up to... Lake of Mauritius from emerald green, a flooded, enclosed by a dam. Although there are recent puddles, the weather forecast for today is not an opinion. With a pleasant initial path accessible even with wheelchairs and a good trail to follow, we arrive at the lake in about three-quarters of an hour. We take the Ratera waterfall and so to the same-named lake In another three-quarters of an hour, along a steep path. This natural lake reflects the surrounding high peaks and also has unforgettable colors.

From Aiguestortes towards Andorra

Returning to the base to find a suitable place for lunch, we found it in an area of the Valls de la Noguera Pallaresa. This is a valley where rafting and related sports are the main activities; the main center is Llavorsi. We turn left and after about fifty kilometers we arrive at La Seu d'Urgell. It’s interesting to note that almost all the roofs of houses in the Pyrenees are made of slate, sometimes with large overhangs or shingles. We rarely found wooden shingles, while metal roofs are very rare, a characteristic of French houses in the Alps. Stone roofs are practically non-existent due to the lack of suitable material. Both old and new houses are normally built from stone. Even when covered with brick, it is rare not to find at least one row of stones along the edges of the houses, starting from the base and reaching the roof.

Andorra la Vella, Pas de la Casa and return to Girona

We finally arrive in Andorra, the kingdom of legalized consumerism under the guise of Andorran tax benefits. Regardless of the shops, the city of The Vella It doesn't really look like a mountain resort town. The same altitude and surrounding elevations make it a green area but without any particular identity. Tall cranes dominate the expanding center. We weren't planning to buy it, but if we had been looking for an Andorran souvenir, we probably wouldn't have found it. It's all a succession of jewelry stores, perfume shops, pharmacies and technology stores, and even at prices that aren't particularly cheap. With some difficulty, we were able to identify an historic center among the commercial streets. To return to the parking lot, we follow a parallel street to the main one: dirt and chaos reign supreme. We leave The Vella between disappointment and disgust at seeing the vast valley near Port d'Envalira, at an altitude of over 2000 meters.

We pass through France and discover that there are no limits to what's possible. We are amazed by the architectural crimes we see... La Mongie, here we see the full range of options in Pas de la Casa. Apart from the apartments that are more suited to Manhattan than a typical Pyrenean village, stands out a parking lot that, by defining it as modern, rehabilitates and elevates only the most depressing and destructive construction. It's not enough that a madman conceives such an act of vandalism dominated by glass and bright colors: a true criminal organization is needed to approve the project and proceed with construction. Anyone who uses it should be considered complicit in the scheme. The only question left is what environmental organizations do in these situations, but the answer is quite obvious.

It is with these two sad notes that we close the circle and return to the point where we had spent a week before, at the Puymorens pass. To avoid retracing our steps, we pass through Mont-Louis, which deserves a visit for its castle, and descend into the valley of the Tet in a wild environment, along a road carved into the rock. And they have even managed to find space to build a small railway, with daring cogwheel trains climbing up the valley. As the sun is setting, we arrive in Perpignan and from there take the highway to Girona. By 9 pm, we treat ourselves to a proper dinner: grilled squid and octopus. A Saturday evening stroll to admire the splendor of… illuminated cathedral and the Church of Saint Feliu. It's a city that doesn't justify the trip on its own, but it is definitely worth visiting, especially considering the various bridges that divide the historic center from the more commercial area. A few hours of sleep will allow us to recover at least some of the energy we expended today.