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September 11, 1992

93 km through Borg-Madame, France and Seo de Urgel, Spain to Canillo, Andorra.

Cycled through three countries today, something I'd never done before. I passed through two border crossings without having the guards even look up. The entire ride, in sunny and cool weather, was through the Pyrenees, either fir forests or barren rock with many jagged peaks and cliffs in view. The portion in Spain was a gradual 800 meter descent to Seo de Urgel. It was on a ridge line overlooking a pretty agricultural valley. The traffic was heavy but no problem as there was a one meter shoulder all the way.

At Seo de Urgel I discovered the reason for the heavy traffic. This was the Friday of a bank holiday weekend, and the whole town was shut down. I had not exchanged money at the border and there was nowhere I could do so in this town, so I was in a quandry. I was told that Andorra uses both French Francs and Spanish Pesetas as currency, so I decided to go straight into that country (Andorra is only 7 km from Seo de Urgel).

The wide smooth road disappeared as soon as I made the turn north toward the border. Instead I encountered a narrow, pot-hole filled road that had bumper to bumper traffic moving at less than 5 mph. This horrendous traffic continued for the next 31 kilometers into Andorra la Ville. The ride was made much more difficult because it was all uphill (an 831 meter climb), and I spent a great deal of time cycling at a slow walking pace on the gravel shoulder. However, I was managing to move as fast as the car traffic--I probably passed the same group of cars a dozen times on my ascent.

Almost the entire country of Andorra is located on a single road that goes from the Spanish to the French borders. It is a mountainous country with great natural beauty. Cliffs rise steeply on both sides of the road. The only major city, Andorra la Vella is perhaps 1 kilometer across, and the east-west boundaries of the town are perhaps a hundred meters above the central district. Andorra is obviously a duty free shopping mecca for the French and Spaniards, as the main road is lined with an endless stretch of supermarkets and modern shops. There is a real incongruity between these bustling market places and the spectacular mountain backdrop. The urban area of Andorra la Vella was so filled with frantic shoppers that I felt as though I was in India. I just passed through this mess as quickly as possible.

Once on the north side of the city the traffic lightened somewhat, although it was still steady. I climbed a few kilometers to the less hectic village of Canillo where I found a quiet, riverside campground. No English speakers here tonight (the language of Andorra is Catalonian).