Go Andorra

I guess my friends and I were just fed up. Fed up with meetings that last hours but do not really get anywhere. Fed up with having to sacrfice Saturdays and Sundays to have discussions and work almost constantly day and night. Of course we all know that the project we are involved in is extremely important, and may even have an impact on the future of space activities, but we all needed a break!

So we silently sneaked out of our dorms on Sunday morning, and headed quickly towards the bus station. We booked a place, and the bus to get there, within an hour or so of deciding that we should take a short trip to get away from it all. Andorra awaited.

The bus journey to the mini-state lodged between France and Spain was uneventful, mostly because we were all dead-exhausted from lack of sleep and overload of work in the past few days. The day earlier, we had spent almost ten hours of non-stop meetings, and tensions between certain people in the group were running high. It was somewhat unpleasant to be there, and I could feel people getting really stressed and demotivated. So I slept almost the complete three hour journey from Barcelona to Andorra, only waking up at times to catch a glimpse of the scenery outside.

Mountains, blue water reflecting the sky, majestic rock formations, wooded landscapes... Catalunya is really such a diverse and magical land, with such much to explore and discover. It seemed like every turn of the bus revealed a new lands waiting to be discovered, towering tops of mountains, blended with gorgeous valleys and plains. Eventually, we arrived in Andorra, crossing the border with ease, and we were in another country.

The main city is located between soaring mountains in a way that it sometimes felt claustrophobic. There are only a few streets, and the main avenue was a shoppers paradise, filled with designer clothes, cheap electronics and ridiculously cheap cigarettes and liquer, because Andorra is a low-tax heaven. Most of the cars were Spanish or French, which shows how popular the country is. I felt a bit trapped, and wanted to get away into nature, but I didn't have much of a chance.

But it was nice to be with two people I could get to know better, and I think a shared experience like a road-trip, especially when sharing a room when the snore of another is so very close, really brings people together. We walked around the shops somewhat, and even had a chance to climb up half the mountain. Most relaxing of all was enjoying a long, long soak in the local thermal spa, which softened our bones and muscles after the past eight weeks of intense work and stress. I slept so surprisingly well, and did not get up until half an hour or so before we had to check out of the room!

I felt refreshed and rejuvenated returning to my little room in the middle of the heat of Barcelona. And I felt a little guilty too, especially since most of the group of people I'm doing this project with were here, slaving away... But sometimes you just need to get away to get some perspective. And get away to be free.