One of Jeanne's favorite Yoga instructors was hosting a yoga retreat in Costa Brava - a resort-ish area on Spain's mediterranean coast just a few hours north of Barcelona. And since she was traveling, it seemed only natural to tack on a bit of trekking fun. We'd certainly enjoyed our adventure in the Pyrenees, so Andorra caught our eye as yet another area to explore with some amazing hiking. We were not disappointed.
And, as we customarily do, we coupled our outdoor time with some city time. Nearby Barcelona is a beautiful city, rumored to be the 2nd most popular in Europe (behind Paris). We spent time there, exploring some of the culture, esp. the Sagrada Familia and some other of Gaudi's work.
You can read more about this and our hiking adventures in the blog posts below.
Browse the blogs below to read about our adventures in Spain and Andorra.
We’d never been to Spain at least we’d not spent any real time in country – only passing through Madrid on some flight to somewhere – and that doesn’t count. In her on-going Yoga practice, Jeanne’s favorite instructor was hosting a Yoga retreat in Costa Brava – a few hours north of Barcelona on Spain’s Mediterranean coast. Of course, this gave us the perfect opportunity to explore an area which we hadn’t visited before. The basic plan was simple, Jeanne
Our plan had been to meet up in Barcelona – Jeanne returning there from her Yoga retreat in Costa Brava, and myself arriving from the states. We settled on a nice AirBnB just on the outskirts of the pedestrian zone – enabling us to walk to many of the attractions and explore the older parts of the city, planning on three full days in the city. Of course, we wanted to see some of the main attractions – the Sagrada
Andorra is only a short car ride from Barcelona – nothing more than a few hours. Yet, in that distance, there was a marked change in the terrain – from the nearly-flat and wide-open “plain” near the coast, to the mountainous landscape of the Pyrenees and Andorra. Seemingly not a straight road in the country! And providing endless trekking opportunities. Our first trail choice was relatively near our accommodations and somewhat modest in its stats – about 5.5 miles with
For our second day of Andorra hiking, we were again blessed with stunning weather! Cloudless skies and cool temperatures – perfect! Our choice for the day headed southward from the Grau Roig ski and outdoor adventure center. Interestingly, while often a jumping off point for hikes, when not snow covered, ski areas often have a tired, worn-out look to them without all the white stuff and throngs of people. This one was no different. Empty parking lots, a few maintenance
