Andorra

Alright so getting over to Andorra is not as simple as it seems ... There is no airport here and the closest international is in Barcelona . I have to be on the ice at 8:30 pm and basically the sooner I get there the better right ? My flight left Lisbon at 7 am :( so we got a ride from Mauricio and arrived at the airport without a second to spare ... Had to wake up at 5 am to leave at 5:30 and get to airport for 6 ! We did it . At the airport we boogeyed to get to our gate and s we were approaching we were already boarding ... I'm a star alliance silver member so I get on before the other suckas in coach ! Again I'm thankful to have Kathleen tag along as my sticks ended jul being her checked luggage and we don't pay extra fees ;) once we boarded I crashed , out cold back to lullabye land ...

We land in Barcelona at 10 am get my gear from oversize and head to the bus terminal at airport to catch the 11 am bus to Andorra . It was a bit confusing but it all worked out and next thing we are on our 4 hour bus ride to Andorra ... Kathleen was moody as we haven't even had a coffee yet , and honestly I don't blame her ... Again I passed out LOL ! She can't sleep in transit :( oh well ... 

It was about 3 pm when we arrived and immediately we jumped into a taxi to get us to our hotel , The Tulip Inn /Hotel Delfi ... Not sure why it has two names but whatever . Room is nice and big with basics , nothing above the norm . We headed out to eat and found an American style burger joint called Forest Cafe (I think ) and we ate then went for a coffee ... Kathleen is happier ! Andorra la Vella is basically a ski town . Same shot like Ushuaia or Whistler with a lot of rich assholes roaming around ... They are all the same ! The view is beautiful and nobody really speaks English ? People speak Catalan here and for some reason don't try to speak English even if they can ... Not sure what the deal is with that but it's no bother as I'm used to finding ways to communicate ;) after eating and doing a quick surveillance we head to our room to crash . 

When I woke up I packed my gear and jumped in a taxi to Canilo where the rink is which is further up the mountains . My ears were popping and I'm now getting the flu :( yeah symptoms popped up and reared their ugly head :( shit ... When I reached the Palau de Gel Andorra (the ice rink) I had to go to reception and they were expecting me thanks to Andorra's national team coach David Vallecillo Peiro' who I have been in contact with through my Moroccan friends ... Particularly Adil El Farj , thanks buddy ! David is on ice teaching children when I arrive and there is another guest skater tonight from Russia named Mikhail (Misha ) we had spaces reserved for us in the dressing room . And beside Mikhail was the fellow seen in the above photo wearing a Humberview Huskies jersey !!! I played against that team when I was a kid so it was cool to see one of those jerseys all the way out here :) 

Mikhail spoke English so we chatted a bit ande didn't bring his own gear :( the guys hooked him up but the skates well ... They were those blue ones you see at public skating with no laces :( yeah pretty crap but he gave it a go ! The ice time was 45 minutes and it was a mixed group of guys. Unfortunately I was the only goalie as 2 of the local goalies also play out as skaters ... They were both ther but both opted to skate . My opponent was a piece of wood with a goalie painted on it , his mask looked like a luchador wrestling mask lol ! The skate went well and I robbed a few guys who were quite impressed by my skills ;) and after as usual guys started asking questions about me . Do you live her ? How long will you stay ? Why do you do this ? Etc ... Oh and Mikhail didn't score on me. Sorry buddy , but he came close and I'm sure if he had his own gear he probably would have sniped me a few times . In fact during the scrimmage I only had 1 goal against as someone scored at the last second . 

David invited me to the restaurant next door as the Andorran Federation were having a meeting that I was invited to sit in on ... I was sick as a dog :( had a couple beers and a spaghetti bolognese as everyone else are this yucky fish stuff , no clue what it was but yuck ! I hate fish . David and myself were the last ones there and he gave nd a ride back to my hotel ... All in all it was a great adventure getting to Andorra to play in my 33rd country . I have another ice time on Wednesday then I head back to Barcrlona on Thursday ... My trip is starting to whined down :(