Although we were in Catalunya mainly for the skiing and snowboarding, there was plenty in the way of culture to experience.

Our first stop on our itinary was the Vall de Boi (Boi Valley) high up in the Pyrenees, a narrow, steep valley that’s home to the ruins of many Romanesque religious buildings and also a UNESCO World Heritage site. The buildings, churches, ruins and homes seem to blend into the hillside and mountains here with their grey consistent stonework.

The Churches of Vall de Boi

You can spot the different church bell towers from various points in the valley because they are so distinct, each village containing a Romanesque church. It’s a beautiful landscape sitting in the shadows of the Pyrenees.

Within the Church of St. Clement of Tahull (a Roman Catholic church) we watched a superb projection animation that showed just how the artwork within the church used to look. The wall projection was so impressive that we were all fixated on the wall in front right till the end. It’s an impressive feature that really adds to the understanding and experience in the church. The original art work from the church’s are conserved at the National Museum of Art of Catalonia in Barcelona.

The church has a rustic old bell tower with great views of the village, I would have spent longer at the top if it wasn’t for the icy chill from the wind sweeping. Beware of the steep stairs up to the top of the bell tower, they are quite steep.

Over night we stayed at the nearby Augusta Spa and actually experienced the Spa facilities after a hard day of snowboarding, falling and sometimes rolling down the slopes. The spa was the perfect way to unwind ensure all those muscles that I’d worked snowboarding (that don’t usually get much of a work) out got some much needed attention. The next day I really did feel like the spa had helped, aching muscles were definitely at a minimum.

Cheese Factory Tour – Tros De Sort

After spending the previous day snowboarding and snowshoeing we stopped off at Tros De Sort an artisan cheese factory.

The factory proudly produces a wide range of local Pyrenees cheeses and works with unpasteurized whole milk from cows that graze high on the near by mountain meadows. We were shown around the factory by Josep, one of the owners of Tros De Sort who clearly is passionate about the process of making cheese. You could see his passion for his work both in his eyes and in the way enthusiastically moved his arms around demonstrating the cheese creating process.

After touring the factory and getting the low down on local cheese making we got the chance to sit, relax, sip a glass local Catalonia wine and sample the cheeses the factory has on offer. We tried a range of cheeses including a brie type cheese and a harder Parmesan type before ending on Tupi, Tupi has been made traditionally in the local area for hundreds of years and is created fermenting leftover cheese.

Josep seemed quite surprised (and pleased) that I actually quite liked the Tupi, tasted like a strong blue Stilton to me.

The cheese factory tour was insightful and tasting the cheese was informative and helpful. I actually bought some on the way out, although you may find Tros De Sort’s cheeses around Europe and the UK too.

There’s plenty to do in the area if you’re not throwing yourself down the ski slopes, including snow shoeing as well as seeing some of the local cultural sites.

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