Feeling at home back in France, L’hospitalet-pres-l’Andorre
Zagan the motorhome feels right at home, back in France where he is more than welcomed. He is staying in a free aire in the village of L’hospitalet-pres-l’Andorre (N42.58907, E1.79989). The village is just a few kilometres from the border and kindly provided a free place for eight motorhomes with services to prepare for heading into or leaving Andorra.
High in the mountains we were woken on Monday morning with the feeling that Zagan was inside a washing machine. A huge storm had bubbled up in the night and he was now being lashed with rain and rocked by strong gusts of wind that we could hear approaching up the valley. The verge we were parked on was slowly turning into a river so I faced the icy rain and removed our levelling ramps so we could drive over onto the car park area where we were still rocked, but at least we wouldn’t sink.
The up side of rain – rainbows
A look at the weather forecast told us we would be dodging showers for the rest of the day, so when the rain eased a little we headed off down the valley to the pretty stone town of Ordino. Here we found dedicated motorhome parking, sheltered by a high wall (N42.55562, E1153275) and our joy at the pay machine being boxed up so we could have a free night, was dampened when we realised the service point was also boxed up and out of action.
Ordino aire with boxed up service point
In break in the rain we managed a walk around to see the place, a trip to the tourist office to pick up some booklets on what there is to see and do in Andorra and to grab some fresh bread before retreating back into Zagan.
Picturesque Ordino
We read the tourist info booklets, but with the weather not looking great we couldn’t bring ourselves to go and visit anything. Instead we decided to head for a free parking place with stunning views on the other side of the country (which was only about half an hour away). Managing to avoid the capital this time, we were faced with race track style driving and roads to match as lanes appeared from all sides, above and below and were lined with low red metal bars in front of the crash barriers as if to save the barriers from being crashed into – which felt like it might be a frequent event.
Thumbs up if you stick to the speed limit in Andorra
We made our way up through several small towns all of which were geared up for skiing and selling cheap alcohol and cigarettes. The dark skies and rain made every little bar and restaurant look extra inviting with the warm glow of fires, but we knew we’d get soaked getting into and out of them, so we carried on. Several hill-climbing squiggle roads later we reached the free parking area to find it was very exposed. As we didn’t fancy another rocking night, Andorra has gone onto the ‘next time’ list. Feeling a little like Goldilocks (the weather is too hot or it is raining too much) our next time list is ever growing, but as we’ve missed quite a few things in Spain due to the heat, a trip back through Andorra won’t be too hard to plan.
The stunning views were hidden by rain filled clouds
Topping up on diesel (€0.88 – 78p a litre!) we drove out through the ski resort of Pas de la Casa, its road lined with French motorhomes making me think the Tour de France was due any minute. After hearing reports of long queues and searches at the border I was ready with my bundle of receipts to prove we had bought only our allowance of goods in tax free Andorra, but the border customs kiosks were empty. As we drove straight through, part of me considered turning around and buying more booze, but we were now in a convoy of cars descending to the French Pyrenean foothills.
Quiet day at the customs booth
The sun greeted us as we reached France
L’hospitalet-pres-l’Andorre (which literally translates as The Hospital near Andorra) was the first place we came to on the road out of Andorra. The quiet little village, which in 2008 had only 89 inhabitants, was surprisingly well equipped with a post office (shut for a week for a holiday), a small shop (also closed), a hostel, a hotel with a bar and restaurant, primary school, church and the obligatory mairie (mayors office). The aire was next to the train station, which is probably the closest one to Andorra (there is no airport or train station there) as passengers armed with trolley cases disembarked and were then whisked away by car up to the border. Luckily for us the trains stopped at the station, so they rolled past so slowly we hardly heard them. To celebrate returning to France, which to us always feels like coming home, we went to the hotel bar for a pastis and a kir.
Opening the door we were faced with a typical French bar of rounded glossy wood and a highly polished brass rail around it. The walls dripped with French ambience and posters of by-gone events. In opposite corners of the room, as if ready for a boxing match, sat an ancient woman transfixed by a huge plasma TV on which several people discussed if France could reform its work force without revolt.
And with that, we were back in France, land of free and cheap aires, service points everywhere, delicacy-laden boulangeries and launderettes. No wonder we feel like we are home, or at least almost home.
Ju x
Hi Ju and Jay,
Question if I may – we are planning to go into France in October (our first foray abroad). We have the Aires North & South books – what seems a little confusing though are all the different types of service points. What do you carry around with you for accessing these (tokens, money, etc.)? Advice on how to use them would also be a help :-) Thank you in advance.
Ian,Janette (and of course Hilma)
Hi guys. I wouldn’t worry about the service points too much. You’re right, they are all a little different, but the principles are the same. In terms of equipment, we have a credit card (some only take card payment), some euro coins, a hosepipe with a few different diameter hose lock screw fittings, a water carrier for when we can’t get the hose connected with a water bottle cut in half to use as a funnel, and a large diameter hose for our grey water, for when the drain is small or poorly placed and we can’t get the van over it. You may want gloves for the loo emptying, but I opt just to wash my arms and hands afterwards. Some Aires have electricity, for these bring a 2 pin adapter (or a weird 3 pin thing in Switzerland). Tokens are being phased out, it seems, but if we need one we just buy it locally, as different bornes use different tokens. They’re usually self-explanatory, although sometimes the black waste goes down the grey waste point (more often in Italy than France, look for specific instructions as pouring black waste onto a grey waste grill with no dedicated gap for it will make you red faced for sure!). For some you only pay for fresh water and electricity, for others you also have to pay for black waste. Many are free, prompting a celebratory trip to the nearest purveyor of cakes or wine! Have fun, cheers, Jay
Thanks Jay – already use the gloves, as I’m a bit of a nonce with dirt (read poo).
Haha! Aren’t we all? I’m just not talented enough to restrict the dirt to my hands. Oh yes, the stuff’s made it up both arms, down my shirt and even sur mon visage on a particularly loathsome occasion. Getting the hang of it these days…
Don’t forget that the French customs are mobile and operate inside all of France too. There can be random road blocks in particular near to Andorra and Luxembourg.
After the Tour are you heading vaguely in our direction? so we know whether to be here… ha ha ha
Good advice Jamie! We saw customs officials at the aire inside France, but they weren’t interested in us, so no need to dig out all those Spanish receipts just yet. You’re safe this time around, we’ll head north from the Alps to get the ferry home, so won’t be harassing you for lasagne and wine this time around. Cheers, Jay
Jason,
Another question for you. Headlamp adjustment. We imported Hilma so she is LHD an we had all the necessary light conversion done for the Uk. What have you done with the headlights for the continent – stickers?
Ian
Hi Ian
Arggghhhh!!!! These headlights are a nightmare! I’d read somewhere you **should** be able to reach in, unclip them somehow and rotate them to use on the continent. I couldn’t work out how so asked our local garage to have a look. They couldn’t work out how so I looked up where to tape the glass to prevent glare and just used some electrical tape. After travelling in a few countries where the law requires the lights to be on all the time, both bulbs went (overheated?) some months apart but both equally awkward to fix. I vividly recall the balancing act while trying to blindly use one finger to fit a bulb at the Wolf’s Lair in Poland, then at Fes in Morocco. Grim. After that I ripped off the tape and don’t bother any more. The headlights are so pathetically weak and I very rarely drive at night, and not a single soul’s flashed me to say they’re being blinded by the single candle power things, I’m keeping with my devil may care approach for the time being.
Cheers, Jat