Hiking in Andorra

Our plan was to visit Andorra, a tiny European country between Spainand France. The capital city is Andorra la Vella located 1020m above the sea. We noticed some things as soon as we arrived there, the taxes here are lower, so tobacco and alcohol shops and also gas stations are everywhere in the city. The data transfer charges are very high, so we switched to offline maps and spent a few days disconnected, which is nowadays quite an experience. 😉

In the city we walked to the bridge Pont de Margineda and stopped at the famous Salvador Dali melting clock. We weren't hesitating in the capital for long, rather than wasting time in the shops, we moved to the country, where tobacco fields caught our attention. First stop was at the viewpoint Mirador Roc del Quer and the next one at the Tibetan bridge.

Najprej sva želela obiskati Andoro, žepno državico med Francijo in Španijo. Glavno mesto Andorra la Vella leži na nadmorski višini 1.020 m. Takoj, ko sva prispela sva opazila nekaj zanimivosti. Ker so davki nekoliko nižji, so povsod v mestu trgovine z alkoholom in tobakom ter bencinske črpalke. Prenos podatkov v Andori je zelo drag, taro sva pač uporabljala offline zemljevide in bila nekaj dni brez interneta, kar je danes že kar malo čudno.😉

V mestu sva se najprej sprehodila do mostu Pont de Margineda in se ustavila pri znani uri umetnika Salvadirja Dali. V mestu se nisva dolgo zadrževala, rajši kot da bi čas zapravljala v trgovinah, sva šla v naravo, kjer sva najprej opazila polja tobaka. Najprej sva se ustavila pri razgledni točki Miradoe Roc del Quer, nato pa pri tibetanskem mostu.

Finally, Mount Pessons and its lakes. If you love flowers, animals and lakes, this is a mountain heaven! The starting point for a hike is the parking lot Grau Roig near the ski resort. Just after the start we were greeted by a marmot. Pessons are six alpine lakes located in granitic glacial cirque and surrounded by mountains more than 2.800 m high. It's an easy path, so it's quite crowded at the beginning. Most hikers decide to return to the valley at some point near the first or following lakes. But the further we went, the lonelier we were. Not only fields of flowers, but a herd of horses also attracted our attention. They liked to be photographed. Our plan was to reach the final lake, as we discovered Mt. Pessons is exactly the same height as our Mt. Triglav. So, straight to the peak! We didn't regret the decision for a second. From there we had the views of all six lakes and other alpine lakes nearby. A view I will never forget.

Končno Gora Pessons in njena jezera. Če obožujete gorsko cvetje, živali in jezera, je to pravi gorski raj! Pohod sva začela na parkirišču Grau Roig, ki leži zraven smučišča. Že takoj na začetku naju je pozdravil svizec. Proti gori Pessons si sledi šest gorskih jezerc, obdajajo jih gore višje od 2.800 m. Pot je lahka, predvsem na začetku pa je veliko planincev. Večina pohodnikov se nekje pri jezerih odloči, da se vrne v dolino. Dlje kot sva šla, bolj sama sva bila. Ne samo polja gorskih rožic, tudi čredo konj sva videla. Prav uživali so, ko sem jih slikala. Najin načrt je bil doseči zadnje jezero, takrat pa sva ugotovila, ga je gora Pessons točno toliko visoka kot naš Triglav. Se pravi, greva do vrha! Odločitve nisva obžalovala niti za sekundo. Z vrha je čudovit razgled na šest jezerc in še na druga jezera v bližini. Razgled, ki ga ne pozabiš.

The next morning, we were observing marmots near the ski resort. They are so cute and charming, so I googled some facts about them. An average marmot weighs around 5 or 6 kilos. The marmot is vegetarian, feeding on grasses, roots, flowers, fruits, and bulbs. It particularly enjoys aromatic herbs. The marmot goes into hibernation, depending on the severity of the climate, usually from eight to ten months during winter. When the snow melts and the temperature rises to 25 °C, it emerges from hibernation and enjoys the summer for two to four months. I like its lifestyle, waking up just for the summer vacation.

Naslednje jutro sva opazovala svizce, ki so se igrali poleg smučišča. Tako luštni so! Malo sem jih poguglala. Povprečni svizec tehta 5 do 6 kilogramov. Je vegetarijanec, prehranjuje se z travo, koreninicami, rožicami, sadjem, najraje pa ima kakšna dišeča zelišča. Svizec zimo prespi. Odvisno od podnebnih razmer, spi osem do deset mesecev. Ko se sneg stopi in temperatura dvigne do 25 °C, se prebudi in dva do štiri mesece uživa v poletju. To mi je pa res všeč, da se prebudiš ravno za poletne počitnice!

After spending the morning observing marmots, we hiked to another lake Estanys de Junclar. We parked in a village and took a tourist train to the starting point in Vall d’Incles. The trail to the Junclar lakes winds over stone bridges, near waterfalls and along the river. Next to the first lake is also a mountain hut. Here, we spent some minutes near the lakes, watching deep green water.

Potem, ko sva celo dopoldne uživala v družbi svizcev, sva se odpravila do jezera Estanys de Junclar. Parkirala sva v vasi, in se z turističnim vlakcem odpeljala do izhodišča in dolini Vall d’Incles. Pot do jezera vodi čez kamniti most, mimo slapa in ob manjši reki. Pri prvem jezeru je planinska koča. Tu sva nekaj časa porabila za opazovanje globoke zelene vode v jezeru.