Christmas in Catalonia
The first trip Diane and I made to Catalonia outside of Barcelona occurred in December 1973. As Christmas approached, our friend Javier invited us to celebrate the holiday at his condominium in the Pyrenees mountains, at Puigcerda. We would be part of a diverse group of eleven adults from five nations.
On December 21, Javier took a morning train. We followed in the afternoon with Javier’s girlfriend (now wife) Nilsa. On the train, Nilsa explained that Javier’s condominium consisted of one large room, a small bathroom, and a small kitchen. Cozy accommodations for eleven adults.
After a three-hour train ride, we arrived at Puigcerda’s elaborate train station. More than two hundred feet above us a medieval bell tower shared the village skyline with modern, multi-story buildings. At an elevation of almost 4,000 feet, Puigcerda is a gateway to La Cerdanya, a beautiful and historic part of Catalonia, astride both French and Spanish portions of the Pyrenees.
Javier was at the station to help with our baggage. We climbed through the streets to the level of the village and then like Sherpas ascended seven stories to his top-floor condo. When Javier opened the door, we immediately crossed the room to the large windows. A beautiful valley surrounded by dramatic mountains spread before us.
We had a pleasant evening. In the Spanish tradition, we ate late, and we ate well. By candlelight, Javier served a handsome besugo (sea bream) roasted with sliced potatoes, onions, and lemon. Red and white wine flowed. We shared songs in three languages. After dinner, we extinguished the candles and slept soundly.
We had dined by candlelight on my account. In trying to replace the plug on a lamp, I had blown the one fuse that served the apartment’s electricity. We planned to buy a new fuse in the morning and embraced candlelight.
Puigcerda Gallery
In the morning, we woke to a blanket of snow covering all around us. The valley had joined the mountaintops in virginal white. A picturesque view had been converted to breathtaking beauty. The station wore a white hat and the railway tracks had not yet been revealed by the morning train. Winter had quietly installed its first white coverlet.
Winter also had a surprise for us. Not only our apartment, was without electricity – the entire village had no electricity. Initially the thought occurred to me that this was my fault. We soon learned, however, that due to a dry summer, the snow had taken advantage of unstable roots and caused multiple trees to break power lines in multiple places. We soon were deprived of running water as well, as there was no electricity to pump water up to water towers and rooftop storage tanks. Eleven people in a studio apartment with no electricity and no running water made for an interesting situation.
Fortunately, we had a gas stove for cooking. For light, we went to the police station to get long candles that were being rationed at two per person. We purchased drinking water. For toilet flushing and for washing we carried water from the town well. Carrying buckets of water through the streets amid cold rain and wet snow, and then up seven stories of stairs granted me a limited amount of self-pity, but in the days leading up to Christmas we explored the town, savored the dramatic scenery, enjoyed new friends and old – and carried water up to the apartment.
Nilsa planned beef stroganoff for Christmas Eve dinner but needed crème fraiche for her recipe. With no refrigeration in Puigcerda, a mile-and-a-half walk to the French town of Bourg-Madame was needed. The adventure was highlighted by an overzealous Spanish border guard, holding a sub-machine gun, who berated us in Catalan for walking on the wrong side of the road. I was frightened when Nora, one of our Spanish companions, loudly berated the guard for accosting guests from the United States in that manner. Finally, the guard apologized in Castilian Spanish and sent us on our way. In town, Nilsa bought crème fraiche while I slipped into a nearby store and bought Miss Dior perfume as a Christmas present for Diane. The beef stroganoff was delicious and the perfume was a hit.
Diane and I returned to Barcelona on Christmas Day. Three days later we were on our way back to the U.S. We had increased our appreciation for Catalonia and we had made new friends in a beautiful place.
Travel Tips: Now is the time to dream, to research, to plan.
- Puigcerda’s permanent population is a little more than 8,000. Nearby ski resorts are available in winter and hiking trails beckon in summer. Rock climbing and bicycle rental are also available.
- For a few euros, visitors can climb the 12th century bell tower for a splendid view.
- The train to Puigcerda is a regional known as “Rodalies de Catalunya”” Check the “R3.” Some trains to/from France stop at Bourg-Madam and not at Puigcerda.
- The old Puigcerda train station was converted to the 3-star Hotel Parada in 2015. (https://www.hotelparadapuigcerda.com) At last report, Puigcerda’s water and electric services were both working well.
Thanks to Turisme Puigcerda for the header photo above and to Turisme Cerdanya for the last two photos in the gallery. Links to their websites at: https://www.cerdanya.org and http://www.puigcerda.cat/gaudeix. Versions in English are offered. Other photos from 1973 by Joel Strangis.
c. Joel Strangis 2023 All text and images are copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any form without written permission. If no owner is indicated, I am the owner.
