Top Down over the Mountains

I found it really difficult to choose between photos today as with such beautiful scenery throughout our journey, there was just too much to choose from. Still not sure I chose the best one and there were plenty more technically better shots but for me the snow was the highlight of the day.

As we got to the hotel in the dark last night, we hadn't fully appreciated the beauty of our surroundings. The 10th century castle we were staying in was situated on top of a hill and as we looked over the bordering wall, we were greeted by this stunning view. I love the beautiful Spanish architecture and the intricate design of the church below. Hard to believe the contrast of the blue skies in this picture and the sheer amount of snow we saw during the rest of the day.

We left Tortosa and headed in the direction of Montserrat mountain and the Pyrenees, catching the first glimpse of the snow capped tops. As we reached Ripoll, the winding roads of the N162 (apparently one of Jeremy Clarkson’s favourite roads) started on the route towards Puigcerda, just east of Andorra. As we climbed higher, the temperature dropped and the scenery quickly changed from small trails of white by the side of the road to snow banks higher than the car. Starting on the A320, we were sure we were going to stopped after seeing signs for access with snow chains only, but decided to continue as far as we could. Amazingly the road remained open the entire way, snow piled high either side of us. We drove with the roof down most of the way, only reluctantly putting it up when the temperature reached -1 and it started to snow, with a near whiteout at the top of the mountains.