Day 29: an easy morning and then up to Andorra!

Mark went our for an early morning ride and returned at lunch time (see Daddy's bike riding entry for details).  Sal and the kids had an easy morning.  After breakfast they wandered down to town to get bread and supplies.  The walk takes about 10 minutes and as you walk down you walk along a mountain stream with a difference. 

The kids love putting their feet in the cold streams but every now and again steaming hot water from under ground streams into the cool water. 

 The smell of Sulfur from the steam is a bit much for the kids, but the thermal springs is what has made Ax Les Thermes famous.  Apparently it can cure leprosy and many other ailments!! 

In the afternoon we drove about 20km up to Andorra.  It is one of the strangest places we have ever been.  Ax Les Thermes where we are staying is about 750m above sea level.  The border to Andorra is up over 2000m.  As you drive up this mountain road you turn a corner and this enormous complex of ski chalets and shopping centres rises up out of nowhere.  The town is about 2100 metres above sea level, the same hie height as Col Du Tourmalet!!  

Andorra is famous for cheap shopping  so we shopped.  Ed is becoming an expert in shopping and got a fake pair of Raybans and bright yellow pants.  Everyone got something.  Sal and Kate got new shores, holly headphones and daddy a watch.

It was really bizarre to find the large shopping town in the middle of a ski field in the middle of nowhere.  The cows were doing there summer mountain grazing less than 50 metres away.  It was quite an experience.