Day 4 - A fabulous run
Up at 6.30 and the weather was... Lovely! Thank goodness. So after a decent breakfast I packed up the car and made my way on practically deserted roads to a place near Sort. The roads were magnificent. Like alpine roads, only with no traffic to speak of.
One in particular was just amazing. The A1604 is possibly the best road I have ever driven. 48k of twisties, constant bends, elevation changes, blind crests and virtually no one else on the road. I think it's now just about my favourite road. I could have spent all day doing it. There's a link to a video here. (Be warned, it's 12 minutes long and will make you feel queasy, but it is spectacular.)
More equally lovely roads followed, and at about 12.30 I finally met up with the other two Atoms and we set off for lunch together, after which followed a series of lovely passes and good advice from bikers when we stopped. It turned out that they had had pretty much the same weather as I'd been experiencing, so they hadn't actually got out into the roads of Andorra either. They'd been stuck in the hotel watching the weather, and hadn't even managed to get into Andorra Town. So much for Atoms Over Andorra... Turns out that none of us have had that experience on this trip...
Ah well... So, onwards to Lourdes...
...Which was a complete eye opener. We got lost several times in the narrow, twisting streets
looking for the hotel in town, and every time we stopped to consult maps and/or locals, all three cars were swamped with people wanting to take pictures - including Nuns and Priests all yelling enthusiastically. It was Father Ted meets Top Gear. It got embarrassing frankly, and having been on the road for about 11 hours I started to suffer from a bit of a sense of humour failure, but we eventually found the hotel and checked in.
My bed was too small, so, as usual, I changed rooms and the one I have now is very nice indeed.
In the evening we all headed out for a couple of drinks and discovered that we were in time for the nighly torch procession at the cathedral. It was so weird watching people in wheelchairs being hauled around, and hundreds of others holding candles in what looked like those chip cartons
It was sad but enraging to see what the church had turned a small girl seeing a vision in a cave into. But that was nothing compared to the weirdness of the town. It is packed with souvenir shops selling madonnas, crosses, empty water bittles (to collect holy water from the grotto in) and all kinds of religious artefacts which must have been made by vast factories in China or some third world country. The ghastliness and intensity of it has to be seen to be believed. Imagine Blackpool, or better yet, Vegas with a religious twist. This industry is a sad reflection of the perversion that religion throws on anything that might be deemed spiritual.
Never mind. Tomorrow we're off to a race circuit!
More equally lovely roads followed, and at about 12.30 I finally met up with the other two Atoms and we set off for lunch together, after which followed a series of lovely passes and good advice from bikers when we stopped. It turned out that they had had pretty much the same weather as I'd been experiencing, so they hadn't actually got out into the roads of Andorra either. They'd been stuck in the hotel watching the weather, and hadn't even managed to get into Andorra Town. So much for Atoms Over Andorra... Turns out that none of us have had that experience on this trip...
Ah well... So, onwards to Lourdes...
...Which was a complete eye opener. We got lost several times in the narrow, twisting streets
looking for the hotel in town, and every time we stopped to consult maps and/or locals, all three cars were swamped with people wanting to take pictures - including Nuns and Priests all yelling enthusiastically. It was Father Ted meets Top Gear. It got embarrassing frankly, and having been on the road for about 11 hours I started to suffer from a bit of a sense of humour failure, but we eventually found the hotel and checked in.
My bed was too small, so, as usual, I changed rooms and the one I have now is very nice indeed.
It was sad but enraging to see what the church had turned a small girl seeing a vision in a cave into. But that was nothing compared to the weirdness of the town. It is packed with souvenir shops selling madonnas, crosses, empty water bittles (to collect holy water from the grotto in) and all kinds of religious artefacts which must have been made by vast factories in China or some third world country. The ghastliness and intensity of it has to be seen to be believed. Imagine Blackpool, or better yet, Vegas with a religious twist. This industry is a sad reflection of the perversion that religion throws on anything that might be deemed spiritual.
Never mind. Tomorrow we're off to a race circuit!
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