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Tues/Weds April17th/18th
We left Andorra following the signposts to France, but at Encamp spotted a cable car and decided to do a detour via the snow. We were told that the ski runs usually close around 7 April, but that this year, there had been unusual late snowfalls, enabling them to stay open for an extra couple of weeks. The cable car took us 2000m up to the top of a mountain - literally, the café was built on a flat platform overhanging the summit. It was amazingly beautiful, warm sunshine but with cold air, and the glare from the snow made it hard to see. Neither of us has ever seen so much snow.
Reluctantly, we left the mountain top at about 11.30 and continued our drive to France through tunnels and mountain passes. The mountains here seemed more rugged than those in Andorra. In some places there was still 2m of snow at the sides of the road, melting fast to create waterfalls. At the French border the police didn't even look at our passports. We gradually wound our way down out of the Pyrenees into a lush meadow landscape where we ate lunch with a backdrop of snowy peaks and the tinkling of cowbells from the pasture across the valley.
We continued on to Perpignan, where we were able to walk by the seaside in warm sunshine. We decided to try out the tent so found a campsite near the beach with an indoor pool. Today (Weds) we've had a non-driving day, done our washing and lazed by the pool with our Kindles. Tonight we will wear more layers as last night was a little chilly, and tomorrow we'll move on, keeping the Med on our right.
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