Europe

Andorra: The Small Country

Don’t Stop Until you Hike to the Top

Having successfully traveled through Portugal and Spain, I looked forward to visiting France. However, before I made that happen, I did a volunteer program in the small country of Andorra. Never heard of it?  You’re not the only one. Before seeing this trip online, I realized I hadn’t either. So much for 8th grade social studies coming to the rescue. Nestled in the mountains between Spain and France, is the beautiful country of Andorra. Even though it is the 16th smallest country in the world, it’s definitely not a country to overlook!

There were no hostels or Airbnb stays for this girl. I went straight from sweating underneath my backpack and staying at hostels with 11 other bunkmates in a room to a 4 star hotel in the mountains. The meals that were provided were nothing short of fantastic. I’m not entirely sure I’ve ever had a four-course meal until Andorra, but I did try veal (sorry if this offends) and sampled creme bruele on several nights. This paired with a glass of wine made for a comfortable week-long stay.

Undoubtably, my stay in Andorra will most likely be unlike many other backpackers. For starters, 4-star hotels are a bit pricey. Second, the volunteer program I participated in was for scientists, and mainly made up of teachers of science. Man was I the odd woman out. Being the only English teacher, I wasn’t in this Earth Watch program for the science, rather the breathe-taking hikes in the Pyrenees Mountains.

At this point, you may be wondering what could make this literature loving bun head dive into the confusing world of science. The answer is easy: fresh air, physical activity, and my traveling companion’s decision to pursue his love for science. I was simply along for the ride on this part of the trip. The mission was to track the migration of animals in the mountains. This meant I had the chance to tag small animals and set up traps (no animals were ever harmed). We would search the site for traps and the most exciting part was when the trap actually had something in it! You wouldn’t believe what a bummer it is to find 20 empty traps…

We hiked up steep rock sides to change camera batteries and swap SD cards, empty bug nettings, dug up tea bags to test soil health, and checked bird houses for nests. On the day of the hardest hike, which left me practically crawling to the top, I was rewarded with a view that was mind-blowing. So, I was dripping sweat, covered in pesky flies, and convinced and asthma attack was around the corner; but I couldn’t erase the idiotic grin that took over my face. What a view.

The trek down was far easier than the climb up. What was truly exciting was that the Tour de France was happening at the bottom of the hill and we had arrived in time to witness them bike through. While it wasn’t as adrenaline pumping as attending a rugby game, I can say I actually attended this in person. Check!

On our day off, we first went to the museum to see how iron was formed. Not incredibly exciting, but the science teachers I was with thought it was pretty neat. We also toured a middle class casa and toured the four floors. The real highlight of my day was showing our Catalan guides a Buzzfeed video of German words and their translations. They absolutely cracked up.

On one of our last hikes in the beautiful Pyrenees Mountains, we went up high enough to trek through snow. Packing for backpacking and this trip was difficult. My heaviest layer was an Adidas sports jacket. I  FROZE. However, having a snowball fight and making the mini snowman Pierre was definitely a trip highlight. We encountered dozens of wild horses on our climb down as well as warmer temperatures.

Overall, when going to Andorra do it for the mountains and hiking opportunities. The views are beyond beautiful and there are plenty of animals you can meet on the way. It’s a friendly place, just be prepared for a lot of uphill walking!

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