The Fox!

We saved the most exciting part of our trip for almost the end: we are stuck! In La Seu d'Urgell, most people won't know what that means right away. We googled it too, but Wikipedia doesn't offer much information in this case. But in the last few days, I've had to do a lot of research, which I didn't initially plan.

But step by step, let's keep it exciting.

On Wednesday, we wake up in the French Pyrenees at Pas de L'Ours at an altitude of about 1300m and look forward to breakfast with a view of Château Montségur, one of the most important Cathar castles in southern France. But oh well: fog surrounds us, takes away all our visibility, and is also very wet and very cold.

A look at the weather radar tells us that the situation is not much better throughout the country. On a day like this, you can also spend your time sitting in the car, driving around, and leaving the lousy weather outside. So, let's go, to nearby Andorra.

The small country is somehow strange. More than a third of the largest European microstate lies above the treeline, and more than 65 mountain peaks are above 2000m, according to Wikipedia. And until 1950, only 6000 people lived here, today there are almost 80,000! We suspect that this is the reason why we can't find any old towns or picturesque historic villages. Until 70 years ago, people apparently lived isolated on their alpine pastures. According to the latest standards, the towns are built on slopes and mainly serve (ski) tourism, which the country primarily relies on. Although care was taken to integrate the resort towns into the landscape, everything seems somehow artificial and not very appealing. However, the sky clears up right behind the border with France and offers a breathtaking view of the peaks around us.

We need bread again and head to the nearest supermarket. We are greeted by a wildly colorful selection of duty-free booze and cigarettes that will knock you off your feet! The corresponding explanations combine the European languages of all countries, even Russian in Cyrillic letters. We pay for our bread and leave.

Andorra does not prove to be a paradise for wild camping. We could stay at one of the many ski resorts, where motorhomes are already beautifully distributed on at least 1800 parking spaces, but it can get very cold at 2000m altitude at night. So, we refuel without tax again, leave Andorra below, and enter Spain.

The sun is shining from a blue sky, and layer by layer of the layered look falls off, soon a dip in the Rio Segre is due.

We find a romantic spot for the night on a green mountain meadow with a view of the Pyrenees. During dinner, a fox comes to visit, searching for a mouse or something. He roams the meadow and seems to have no fear of us. Just behind me, not even a meter away, is our "fridge box," where we store the food that should stay cold, and after four weeks, it emits an unmistakable scent of something delicious. I soon hear a crunching sound and just manage to prevent Senor Zorro from going after our cheese. Forget the fox, it's more like a cheeky one!

On Thursday morning, I want to crawl out of the robber's cave to greet the new sunny day and am immediately puzzled. Something's not right here! I search for my new, beautiful blue Crocs with a Crocband and only find one. Didn't I put the other one next to it last night? But I did, as always, so that I don't have to feel around in the dark for too long. I put my bare left foot on the still wet grass and look under the car: nothing! I get on my knees and almost crawl under the car: still nothing. Zappa is making fun of me by now, but I'm slowly losing my laughter. I suspect what has happened here. Once before, a little animal chewed up a brand new shoe of mine while I was sleeping.

And Zappa confirms my suspicion: when he climbed out of the robber's cave just before me, the fox was just a hop away and immediately made off. In the morning coolness, we search for my left Croc, I'm desperate, these shoes are indispensable on the journey, with socks, without socks, over sticks and stones and through masses of water, now I only have one! I lament, but we can't find it. The beast has kidnapped it and is now enjoying a cozy winter inside! Unhappy, the coffee doesn't taste good to me, and Zappa promises to get a replacement as soon as possible. If necessary, I can temporarily use his...

We pack up, and my hero goes back across the meadow, and unbelievable! He finds my left Croc, chewed up, riddled with holes, nibbled on, perforated by sharp teeth, and still usable, hooray! And now I have the one-of-a-kind model Crocband Zorro.

What does all this have to do with La Seu d'Urgell? You'll find out in the next episode...