Kilometres walked: 28km / Total distance: 705km / Elevation gain: 886m / Elevation loss: 1644m / Time walked: 7h01min In the morning I set out from the hotel on my own, after having a long breakfast with Paul and Maria. It’s Maria’s birthday today, and they’re taking a rest day in town. Yesterday was the last day of the high mountains. We joked that from here on it’ll be all downhill, but the first climb…
Kilometres walked: 20km / Total distance: 677km / Elevation gain: 1033m / Elevation loss: 1695m / Time walked: 5h45min Today is the last high mountain section of the entire route. Not only that, its the highest point of the trail! There has been a pass of 2805m before but today is not really a pass, we just walk along a ridge and some small peaks that form the mountain between Spain and France. But before…
Kilometres walked: 19km / Total distance: 657km / Elevation gain: 1398m / Elevation loss: 768m / Time walked: 5h43min Paul, Maria and I leave the camping together. It’s nice to hike with other people again! Mushrooms On the first climb we see lots of middle-aged and older men (only men, weirdly enough) with little woven baskets. They’re looking for mushrooms, and there’s loads in these woods! Too bad I don’t know my mushrooms very well,…
Kilometres walked: 28km / Total distance: 638km / Elevation gain: 1109m / Elevation loss: 961m / Time walked: 6h41min Some days just aren’t it, and this is one of them. The day starts with a roadwalk out of town. My feet still hurt from yesterday’s tarmac and what’s worse is that my pack is heavy from the 3 liter of water I’m carrying: there is little water on this stage. And of course I went…
Kilometres walked: 30km / Total distance: 614km / Elevation gain: 931m / Elevation loss: 2225m / Time walked: 8h8min I didn’t sleep very well last night. It was hot in the room and I had restless dreams where I kept losing things; my earplugs, my passport, my toothpaste (?). In the end I read my book for an hour until I fell asleep again. Double coffee for breakfast, along a bit of toast, a small…
Kilometres walked: 22km / Total distance: 584km / Elevation gain: 1380m / Elevation loss: 876m / Time walked: 6h18min Okay, Andorra has redeemed itself on the way out. The last section before leaving the country, from Lac de Engolasters to Refugio d’Illa is absolutely stunning. But first the descent into town (Encamp) from our campsite on the col. We’re there in a bit over an hour and head straight for the café/bakery where I order…
Kilometres walked: 23km / Total distance: 562km / Elevation gain: 1583m / Elevation loss: 1639m / Time walked: 7h12min There, I said it. I was curious about Andorra, but so far I’m not loving it. I left the hut this morning together with a Spanish girl who is also hiking the GR11. We walk down to the town, Arinsal, where I order a coffee, she makes fun of my caffeine addiction, we charge our electronics…
Kilometres walked: 21km / Total distance: 539km / Elevation gain: 1588m / Elevation loss: 806m / Time walked: 6h58min I’m in Andorra! I walked all the way here, can you believe it? I’ve never been in Andorra before. But let’s back up a little. I wasn’t supposed to be in Andorra yet (according to my own arbitrary planning, at least). This morning I left the camping in Areu early after a rainy night. I was…
Kilometres walked: 14km / Total distance: 518km / Elevation gain: 810m / Elevation loss: 1045m / Time walked: 4h10min If I’ve been thinking much?, a friend asks me via text. Implying, probably with a hint of sarcasm, that I’m on a journey of self discovery, or out here to answer some bigger question. “Not really”, I write back. And it’s true, I haven’t been thinking much. The trail is a bad place to think. Most…
Kilometres walked: 18km / Total distance: 504km / Elevation gain: 1126m/ Elevation loss: 1090m / Time walked: 5h45min Just before midnight I wake up with a jolt. Snorting near my feet. Loud, heavy snorting. A pig? It must be a wild boar. Shit. These are not friendly animals. Instinctively, I lay still. It snorts again. I can hear it stomping around, moving towards the other side of the tent. I slowly exhale. The foil inside…