Opening Andorra's Box

A view in the French Pyrenees, flipping from Spain to Andorra to France and back to Spain happens quickly with a twist of the wrist.

The record breaking summer heat of 35-40 degrees C has curtailed our riding somewhat and kept up the afternoon siestas. After Vic we picked the most wriggly road we could find on our map, up to Andorra and the Pas de la Casa where we squirmed and leaned our way to 2400m with spectacular mountain views.

Inside view of the road down from the Pas de la Casa in Andorra, pure joy on a motorbike.

At times I have to pinch myself, is this just a scalectrix game or are we on a real road?

When we opened Andorra's box we found beautiful peaks and great curves but not much personality. Tax havens and duty free shopping doesn’t provide much cultural enrichment. Shopping for the sake of it or buying something just because it is cheap is never satisfying past the purchase point, I guess much of the capitalist world runs on this. One of the things I Iike about motorcycle touring is that you can't buy stuff anyway, there just isn't any space to carry it!

After Andorra we had a real treat, my oldest friend from back home in Australia flew to Barcelona to join us for a ride in Aragon. In some ways it was trying times due to the extreme heat, but riding together in this landscape is something we will both treasure.

Chris leading the way on the A138 between Ainsa in Spain and St Lary Soulan in France, a fabulous morning's ride up and back before a retreat out of the simmering sun.

The scenery in the Pyrenees and indeed in all the mountain ranges of Aragon is nothing if not spectacular.

As soil scientists we can't help but stare in wonder at the range of landscapes to be found in Spain. It's hard to keep my eyes on the road at times, luckily I have a second pair behind me to keep me between the white lines.

Well that's it for us for the moment, but we're not finished with Spain just yet. Be sure to visit again in a couple of days.