Les Escaldes (Andorra) | Rest and Relaxation - Day 131-132

This was my first exposure to the central shopping district in Andorra de Vella when I arrived on Monday night. My hotel was 2 km (1.2 mi) from the bus stop. Since I had been sitting all day in either a bus, plane, or airport, I decided to walk up to the hotel with my rucksack.

So where in the hell is Andorra anyways? And why did I choose it as my destination after the Camino? I first learned of Andorra's existence in the early 1990s from my high school baseball coach. He had previously visited the tiny country. I never gave it much thought and never considered I would actually see it someday. There wasn't much appeal at the time for a 17-year-old kid. But that all changed when I was in southern France in July. While in Toulouse, I was looking for places to go to escape the heat, and the high Pyrenees appealed to me. That is when I rediscovered Andorra. Unfortunately, it was difficult to access and expensive to get there at that time because of the tourist season.

Andorra de Vella is the capital of Andorra, the 6th smallest country in Europe, about half the size of the state of Rhode Island in the United States, with 1/14th of its population. Adjacent to Andorra de Vella is the resort town of Les Escaldes, where all the spas are located and where I will be staying. Andorra is located in the high Pyrenees Mountains on the French and Spanish border. The tiny nation is accessible from four major cities. From France, it is accessible from Toulouse and Perpignan via bus. From Spain, it is accessible from Madrid via a train and bus combo route and from Barcelona via bus. I chose Barcelona because it was the most accessible and cheapest ticket from Santiago de Compostela. DirectBus travels multiple times a day from Barcelona to Andorra and back. Each leg is a three-hour trip.

Andorra de Vella is a famous ski town, a duty-free retail mecca, and home to Europe's largest spa resort. This tiny country of 79,000 people is frequently overlooked by people that visit Europe. Additionally, although Andorra uses the euro as its currency, it does not belong to the Schengen Visa Agreement. So I chose Andorra after the Camino as my place to rest and let my body recover for three reasons, 1) world-class spas, saunas, massages, hot tubs, and Turkish baths, 2) I can stay in Europe without using the few days I have left on my Schengen Visa (i.e., estimated to be around 10 out of 90 days), and 3) it's an opportunity to visit one of Europe's smallest and overlooked countries. This will be a great place to regroup and plan my next adventure.

Andorra is located in a valley surrounded by the beautiful Pyrenees mountains. This is the view outside of my hotel.

My purpose here is simple: take care of my body and BE. I plan to do very little while I am here. When I decide to rest, I must do as little related to my travels as possible. If I am to continue traveling, I can't do it if I'm worn out. So although Andorra is quite scenic, on my first day here, I didn't leave the hotel. 

My first day started with a fantastic breakfast buffet. Fresh fruit, eggs benedict, pastries, fruit juice, bacon, fresh cheese, and Serrano ham, among other things to choose from. All this selection for only 12 euros. I am overwhelmed and grateful for the vast selection. My breakfast for the past two months on the Camino consisted of toast and jam provided by the Albergues or bananas and cereal bars that I would buy from the grocery store. The full gauge on my stomach appears to be broken this morning. I make several trips to the buffet, sampling nearly everything present. I can feel my body rejoicing from all the nutrition and vitamins I am feeding it.

The town's steep mountains are beginning to turn from green to gold as the silver birch trees lose their leaves.

When I'm done, I schedule a sports massage and make a second appointment for the spa in the afternoon. I chose a sports massage to start because I need to break down the knots in my body. This will speed up the healing and recovery process. Unfortunately, I soon realized that I had more knots and in places I was not expecting. Consequently, it's challenging to enjoy the massage today. As the therapist works on my calves, quads, back, and shoulders, I am near tears. A thing that frequently happens to me during massages. As she applies pressure, I can feel the muscle rolling under pressure. A tell-tale sign that it is knotted up. As if the pain wasn't an obvious enough sign for me. 

My therapist speaks Spanish and little to no English. I tell her I walked the Camino Del Norte. As she works on a big knot in my back, I hear her say, "Mochila [backpack]." I laugh as I struggle to utter a simple "Si [yes]" under the pressure of her elbows.

The mountains are my other happy place, and it feels good to be back in the Pyrenees. A fantastic mountain range.

I spend the afternoon at the spa, enjoying the Hamman (i.e., Turkish bath). A Hamman is a sweltering steam sauna. The environment is so humid that occasionally condensation drips off the ceiling. Then I proceed to the hot springs jacuzzi. By the time I head back to my room, I feel physically worn out.

On my second day, I venture out to work on my physical appearance and find a local barbershop that speaks English. Spanish is the primary language spoken in Andorra de Vella, but French and English are also typical. After getting a haircut and beard trim, I look much less like a Peregrino that has been walking across Spain for 40+ days and more like a decent human being. 😂 The barbershop is warm and charming. The dark brown walls, wood, and leather combination go well with the steampunk lights next to each mirror. I like the feel of this room and could not have picked a better place.

I am feeling a bit sore from yesterday's message and am grateful that for 2 euros, I can get access to the spa, which includes the Hamman, sauna, and jacuzzi, among other facilities. So when I return from the barbershop, I spend the afternoon at the spa again. This time I take advantage of the sauna and jacuzzi. Being in the sauna reminds me how much I enjoy and miss having a sauna. When I lived in Lander, Wyoming, I had a built-in convection sauna, which I loved so much that when I moved to Fort Collins, I bought an infrared portable 2-person sauna. Having owned both saunas, I enjoy the infrared saunas slightly more. I find the heat is more direct and consistent. It also tends to be drier. This sauna is a convection type, which feels really good today. This view is southwest along Avenue Carlemany near the hotel in Los Escaldes. The official boundary between Los Escaldes and Andorra de Vella, which lies southwest of here, is only about 0.5 km (0.2 mi) from here. Near as I can tell, the two towns function as one.