A quiet Monday morning in with Karen and  preparing for my return trip home.

New chapters await all of us in some way. As Seneca the Younger said 2000 years ago, “Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.”

I got a chance to explore old Rubi village during my erands today and it’s a really sweet multicultural hub with a lively vibe and lots of trees in the village squares and alleyways.

Safe travels back to Dubai today Karen, let’s adventure again soon!

My first swim in the Mediterranean sea since 2015- nice an fresh!

Thank you Oscar, Candice, Karen and boys for a recovery beach day out and an amazing beach party lunch after visiting those big mountains- the ocean is always such good medicine!

Wow, this has been a truly spectacular experiencing!

I was able to get up easily this morning to start exploring the Montserrat mountain range.

By the time I was having breakfast most of the rock climbers were already on their first pitch. By 11am the mountain was getting pretty full with Saturday morning trail runners, families, tourists and plenty of climbers. It’s a fun place to explore with many many caves and church ruins around every corner. There must have been at least 12 or more little chapels scattered around the mountain top a few hundred years ago.

By 2pm I was exhausted and opted to catch the venicular down the mountain to the train station as it was 30degC by that point.

I am so happy to have experienced this incredible place, to camp up there and to feel into the history that the mountain and the monastary hold there.

A highlight indeed.

Another perfect morning in Andorra- 3 in a row! This morning was warm making it easy to get out of my bivy and enjoy the morning sunshine on my camp. By 10am my boots had dried and the 3 of us (me and my 2 boots) strolled into town to meet Karen and Simon.

Simon’s hire car was a Polestar2 Electric Vehicle and we depart Andorra silently in total luxury after midday.

Not quite knowing what to expect their I asked if they could drop me off at the bottom of Montserrat, and what a surprise that was- the mountains are huge!

It took 2 hours to get to the monastary from the roadside and Wow, it is breathtaking up there!

After exploring the empty grounds of the monastary complex I decided to try and get to the Apex of the range to watch the sunset on the other side but had to abandon that mission after the sun set and I used the last light to find a suitable camping spot for the night. The mountain range is the region’s most popular rock climbing destination and I could hear other climbers camping in the surrounding area, their voices echoing in and between the rocks and valleys.

I found a nicely protected spot and passed out quickly after having climbed the 500+ steps out from the monastary.

‘The day dawns to which we Awaken’, Henry Theroux.

And today I arose alone, on a mountain top in Andorra, to the most beautiful Earthly Splendour one can only dream of!

The night in the refugio was not warm, but many layers and good gear got me through the night.

The previous day’s experience of the mid afternoon storm got me on the trail pronto at 9am and to my surprise, it was easy going on the iced over snow compared to yesterday’s trudging in knee deep snow for 2 hours.

Within an hour, I was off the snow line and in the forest again. Breakfast and a dry out rest in the sun got me back into ‘un’civilisation by 2pm hoping to catch up with Karen and Simon who had driven up for the day and overnight.

Afternoon showers delayed my search for gorilla accommodation for the night and so I set off after 6pm to find the caves I’d seen on Maps.Me . The caves turned out unsuitable but the access track to the caves proved perfect for the night. Here’s hoping the sun gets here first thing in the morning!

I woke to a spectacular morning at 9am. Blue skies and snow capped peaks calling me.

Pasted some Be Kind stickers around the refugio and set off for what I expected to be an easy 5.6km stroll through the forest to the next hut.

It very quickly turned into a steep ascent in shin deep snow and didn’t let up for 2 hours.

But the views were spectacular and I’ve got the whole hut to myself again, this time with the fire going for ‘atmosfire’.

These last two days here in the mountains of Andorra have given me time to reflect on the adventure we’ve all been on together these last 77 days- what a special treat it has been! My spirit and soul is so content and I am ready to return to South Africa and the next chapter with Nicky in the forest.

What was going to be a 2 year 4400km walk from Lisbon to Helsinki, became 2000km from Lisbon to Barcelona, and ended up being 700km from Lisbon- Fatima- Nazaré- Sterre de Estrela- Seia and then Santiago- Muxia- Listeria triangle…… and it has been just perfect!

What a spectacular place this is!

Thank you Oscar for the ride to the bus station this morning!

The 3 hour bus trip from Barcelona was equally mesmerising through the window.

First stop was the tourist information where I realised that these mountains are huge! Many well laid out hiking routes will take you right around, through and into all of Andorra. There are free basic hiking huts on every route too.

It took me 3 hours to cover the 7.2km from town with a total climb of around 600m.

The mountains are spectacular! For me, a good mix of the Canadian Rockies and NZ South Island.

Tomorrow I plan to explore the basin of the UNESCO World Heritage Park and spend one more night in the next refugio along.

Endless rain today which is well needed throughout the region as summer approaches.

An easy morning flowed into a fun afternoon collecting Karen my Mom’s sister at the airport and the boys from school.

Getting ready for my trip to Andorra tomorrow, and will decide what to do when I get there.

Pancakes for breakfast power and icecream for the high life!

We all enjoyed a slow indoor day today eating, sleeping and playing games until 3.30pm when the boys had a birthday party to attend in St Cugat.

So Candice and I had 2 hours to explore the back streets and enjoy the delicious gelato icecream that is famous in this region. The Monastary, now a museum, is beautiful and the centre point for events and festivals.

Thank you for a fun, and resty weekend Cadice, Oscar, Thomas and Joel!

No 15 hour sleep-ins like in the mountains here- the boys are up pronto and ready to party and embrace the day, every day!!! After a solid breakfast we stepped out to the Saturday Farmer markets and then arrived just in time for the start of a ‘Bryan Adams’ concert at the retro markets in St Cugat, Mercantile Retro Markets. A fun Saturday out- thanks guys!