Pyrenees : Part 26 - Day 12 Afternoon : Fort Liberia and Andorra

Day 12 Afternoon of Pyrenees Drive

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 12.

Route: Chateau de Peyrepertuse -- Fort Liberia -- Andorra -- Perpignan

Must-Incur Costs :

(1) Petrol at Prades -- EUR32.70 (last filled at Luz St Sauvour on Day 10)

The Story

120915 : Chateau de Peyrepertuse marks the end of our Pyrenees drive. It means our road trip is now headed back to Sweden. It is sad to have 12 days flown so fast. Now, we continue from Chateau de Peyrepertuse to Perpignan. Along the route, Prof. Sweet Tooth decided to enter Andorra just for fun and to allow me to see more countries. Haha! We stopped at Fort Liberia to see what was inside. This was not part of the itinerary. We stopped because the building was huge and we were curious to see what was inside. The place has been commercialised with lots of shops and we rested to have a panini.

The fort was constructed by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, a military engineer to Louis XIV, after the division of Catalonia between France and Spain by the Treaty of the Pyrenees. Construction began in 1681. The fort is connected to the city of Villefranche by an underground staircase composed of 734 steps. The fort dominates the village at a height of about 150 meters. The fort had at one time served as a prison for Louis XIV's poisoners. It was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (July 7, 2008) as part of the Network of Major Sites by Vauban (mostly fortifications). (Source from Wikipedia)

 

Fort Liberia is a small place, and in less than an hour, we were back on the roads. We passed by Catalan Pyrenees Regional Nature Park. The Catalan Pyrenees share a border and common culture with Spanish Catalonia. The mountain range was less magnificent compared to the ones we saw along French Pyrenees. 

We reached Andorra at 8pm. It was exciting to cross another country's border. Since it was late evening, there were nowhere we could visit except for the shopping mall. According to Prof. Sweet Tooth, Andorra is famous for its cheap products. I am not sure what is the definition of cheap because when I convert the currency, nothing is cheap for me. We went to River Shopping Mall which was the closest to the border. The place closes at 9pm, and we did a quick walk in the mall. You can see the photos and decide if it is truly cheap in Andorra.

I agree. Photos in shopping mall are boring. Haha! We left Andorra at 9pm, and drove towards Perpignan where we saw a continuous display of lightning. It went on for hours which left Prof. Sweet Tooth dumbfounded. Tonight, we sleep by the roadside again but we face the beach!