Andorran Mountains

When I think about mountains, I am reminded of my childhood trips to Andorra.

Andorra is a small country in the eastern Pyrenees, in between France and Spain, about five hours from my hometown.

Since my parents never earned much money, they had to be careful about where they bought things. Andorra having a duty-free status, the price of most goods is significantly lower than in France, especially since we were often visiting during the winter holidays when goods are discounted.  

That’s when my parents would buy food imported from Spain, tobacco, and Christmas presents for my brother and I.

Andorra is also a beautiful country, so we would spend a lot of time strolling around Andorra la Vella and El Pas de la Casa, and playing in small river streams during Summer.

The culture in Andorra is mainly Catalan, but French is also spoken. My parents speaking a few words of Spanish but no English, it was a comfortable place to do some tourism while still being immersed in a different environment.   

I wonder how 15 years affected the country. I don’t think I have been there since Star Wars 3 came out, because I remember buying the PS2 video game in a shop in Andorra la Vella.