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| TRAIN SPOTTING AGAIN - ARRIVING AT L'HOSPITALET |
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| FOLLOW THE FLAGS! |
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| ESTANYS DEL SISCARO |
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| CAMPING NEAR REFUGI DE JUCLAR |
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| COL DE L'ALBE WHERE I LEAVE ANDORRA FOR FRANCE |
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| LOOKING BACK TOWARDS THE COL |
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| GITE IN L'HOSPITALET |
My jump from Luchon to l'Hospitalet-pres-l'Andorre (which is commonly referred to as just l'Hospitalet) is actually quite a large one, but there are good reasons for this.
Firstly, given the time I have available before coming home, I would like to be able to walk the rest of the way to the Mediterranean.
Secondly, there should be no impassable mountain terrain. I will still encounter altititudes exceeding 2,500m, but on the warmer eastern end of the Pyrenees there is a good chance that the snow will have largely melted. If not, there are alternative routes available.
My rail journey from sunny Carcassonne via Toulouse was uneventful. Unfortunately, though, as I went south so did the weather. The fact that the temperature is significantly lower in l'Hospitalet is perhaps not surprising given that it is roughly 1,400m above sea level.
The train deposited me in l'Hospitalet at about 5.20pm - not enough time to set off anywhere now, so I booked into the only gite d'etape in town. It's a quirky little place, but the owners are pleasant and helpful. If the weather had been better I'm sure it would have been full and I would have been relegated to the campsite a short distance away. As it happens, I'm their only guest for the evening. This means that I eat alone, but there's no argument about who gets second helpings.
At 8.45am next morning (Sunday 13th) I left the gite and headed west. Yes, west! You see, l'Hospitalet-pres-l'Andorre is not in actually in Andorra but in France and I want to visit the real Andorra before moving on. I have therefore devised a two-day circular walk into the principality, where I camp overnight, then head back to the gite by a different route in the morning.
The path I initially took is called the 'GR Transfrontalier'. It is pretty rough and hard to follow in places. However, my luck was in. After a mile or so I noticed little red flags had been placed along the route at intervals, and I could see that the grass had been crushed by footfall. It was obvious that the path had been used for a hill race recently. I had also, imperceptably, entered Andorra along this path. No signs, no border guards, no difference in the scenery. It was only later when I bumped into a few other walkers that I realised the most obvious difference is the change of language to Catalan.
After a steep climb, I reached Port Dret where the path became much clearer. I was now at 2,565m, and what snow I had encountered could easily be walked around. From there it was downhill again until it was time for lunch. For that I found a suitable rock to sit upon giving me superb views across two picturesque lakes, the Estanys del Siscaro. Whilst a little breezy, the sun was out and it was fairly warm.
I continued descending until I came to a path on my right that crossed a bridge then climbed up to the Estanys de Juclar. There is a refuge by the first lake which my map told me was unmanned. The map was clearly out to date, because the refuge was quite modern and looked after by two guardians. They were quite happy for me to pitch my tent nearby and use the facilities. I was identified as a Brit the moment I asked them for a large cup of tea, with milk.
I had another cup of tea as soon as I emerged from my tent in the morning. I needed it as it had rained overnight and was cool.
It continued to rain for much of the morning, so I sat in the refuge reading as I waited for the weather to improve, as the forecast had predicted it would. At about 10.45am the sun came out, giving my tent a chance to dry before I packed it away.
I left the refuge at about 11.30pm and continued climbing up to the Collada de Juclar, where I linked up with the HRP route I should have been on had I not changed my plans. This took me up to Col de l'Albe, at 2,539m, where I crossed the border from Andorra back into France again. It was mainly downhill to l'Hospitalet from there on, passing four lakes, the two Etangs de l'Albe, the Etang de Couart and the Etang de Pedourres. I thought I would be down in a couple more hours, but I hadn't reckoned on the huge boulder fields that surrounded the first three lakes. I had to walk/climb/scramble across rocks ranging in size from a football to a Range Rover, with the average size of a domestic washing machine. It would have been very easy to slip down between the rocks and break a leg, so I took great care. However, it ended up taking me a couple of hours just to cross these rock fields alone.
It was after 6.00pm by the time I arrived back to the gite in l'Hospitalet, but with still enough time for a much needed shower before supper. A family of five from Belgium had arrived the same day after a 12 hour drive, so I was pleased to share a table with them.
I noted that I had exceeded 2,500m on two occasions over my two-day excursion, which at last justified my expediture on insurance to cover walking at higher altitudes.
In the morning I will continue my journey towards the Mediterranean.