Photo: Village of Sornas, Andorra
June 11, 2001 I took an afternoon bus to Andorra. The mostly empty bus arrived at 8 PM. I soon found a hotel room with bath for only $13. Andorra, known mostly for tax free electronics, perfume, chocolates, etc, was a pleasant town in the midst of the Pyrenees and situated between Spain and France.
June 12, 2001 In Andorra, there were two post offices, a Spanish one and a French one. I mailed my package at the Spanish post office. I then bought food for the next few days at a large supermarket.
Photo: Near Refugi de Coma Pedrosa, Andorra
The bus to Carillo took me just a few miles up the road from Andorra. From Carillo I started my Pyrenees walk. I was following the description in my Lonely Planet Walking in Spain guide book and also had several Alpina maps. The path to the Coll d'Ordino was difficult to follow initially. Eventually the path became clear and I found the trail markers painted on rocks.
Upon reaching the pass, the trail led steeply down and then steeply back up again before leveling out for awhile. The trail was mostly forested. In late afternoon rain clouds started to form. By the time I reached Coll de les Cases after another steep ascent, it was about 6 PM. At night it rained and I heard dogs barking on occasion nearby.
Photo: Port de Balau pass is at upper right
June 13, 2001 I walked downhill to the ski village of Arinsal. From there the trail led steadily up to the pass at Port de Belau at 9000 feet altitude. Along the way I saw several helicopters delivering supplies to a nearby refugio. The snow at the pass was soft and deep. Luckily none of it was very steep. Though the first few hundred yards down from the pass looked impossibly steep at first, it turned out not to be difficult. I lost the path a few times and eventually reached Pla de Boet, which had campsites.
Photo: View of route from Port de Belau
Map: Start of Pyrenees trek from Andorra
