Skiing Baqueira-Beret Spain: Day 3

Few Americans think of Spain as a ski destination, but Baqueira-Beret proves them wrong.

Dec 8, 2006

Baqueira-Beret, Spain's largest ski resort, offers plenty of terrain, and a singular cross-cultural experience not found elsewhere in Europe's ski country.

A storm snuck in during the night. Low clouds, heavy snow, high winds, minimal visibility. Bad skiing at Baqueira-Beret. We declared a sightseeing day.

Joined by Ana Diaz of the local tourism office, Charlie, Claire and I drove to Vilamos, site of the Museo de Vilanos-Casa Joanhiquete, an aged home that serves as a history museum.

A tiny town sited high on the valley’s steep sidewalls, Vilamos is reached by a narrow, six-kilometer, sharply-ascending, serpentine, switchback-rich road that can inspire the European road-rally racer in anyone.

In winter, the Museo is open only by appointment and, even though Ana had called ahead, we had to comb the town to find the young woman with the key. The museum’s yard lay hip-deep in untracked snow, The large wrought-iron entry gate was blocked. Answering this challenge, we climbed the gate, and let our hostess break trail to the front door.

Ten generations of the Aunos family, ranging from the sixteenth to the early twentieth centuries, are represented in the Museo’s collection, the eras mixed and somewhat jumbled.

The main room presented heating/cooking from two epochs, one by fireplace, the other by wood stove. Clothes washing paraphernalia from various periods occupied one corner. An adjacent dirt-floor room displayed huge storage barrels and wall-mounted work and farm implements. Upstairs were six bedrooms, a few were no larger than closets.

This family was affluent and influential, but because feudalism had never taken hold in Val d’Aran, commonality prevailed and they were duty-bound to share. Indeed, that influence remains today. The buildings of Val d’Aran’s villages nearly universally display engaging stone construction and it’s the communal tradition that requires that even new buildings preserve the age-old look.

At the valley’s northern extreme, we strolled the streets of Bausen, the last town before France. We met several elderly women. They all wore costumes of checkered blue-and-white shirts, gray sweaters and dark head scarves as if it were the town uniform.

We stopped in Bossost, a bustling village on the valley floor thick with cars bearing French license plates. The French, Ana explained, come to Bossbst for gas and household basics. Those items are cheaper in Spain than in France.

Bossbst bewitched us with antique buildings, cobbled lanes, shops, and a church that displayed a classic Aranesa octagonal steeple. And, oh yes, another marvelous lunch at a spot called Restaurante Zurbartan.

Our sightseeing continued through several more valley villages, each fascinating and radiating a charm that can’t be over-emphasized. Indeed, a rich charm punctuated every little trip—to the ski hill, to the store, to the restaurant. The timelessness, tradition, heritage and distinctive regional identity added a rich cultural dynamic to a simple ski trip.

Back in Vielha, Charlie organized a Tapas bar-hopping escapade. After a stop at Era Canuala, where local crafts were displayed and sold, we advanced to Eth Paer, a place that doubled as a liquor store and butcher shop, each crowded with skiers.

We then ventured soon into Vielha’s back streets, following a dark footpath among labyrinthine buildings to Petit Basteret. Set in a cellar-like room and populated primarily with townsfolk, here was a rich atmosphere peppered by complex and tasty food. We drank and ate heartily at barrel-like, circular tables immersed in music, smoke and loud chatter, a robust warm-up for that night’s dinner and disco-hopping at eleven.

You won’t find here the enormity of France’s Les Trois Vallees, the glamour of Switzerland’s St. Moritz, or English quite so commonly spoken. You will discover plentiful terrain for the average to advanced skier or snowboarder. But, best, you’ll uncover an uncommon ambience, remarkable fusion cuisine and a holiday that expands into a fertile and vigorous cultural exploration.

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