Mountains of Madrid: Bustarviejo

Madrid, Spain

Soft Snow

If you are in Spain and looking for a place to go for skiing or just to get some fresh air away from the city, you need not go all the way to Andorra or the Alps. From Madrid you can go to the Sierra Norte mountains, just a short bus or car ride away.

When my roommate asked me to go with her and her friend to Bustarviejo, I wasn’t sure what to say. It was the dead of winter, though I knew it would be cold and covered in snow, it would be lovely. Besides, the idea of getting away from Madrid for a short while and breathing some clean mountain air was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.

View from the City

As we drove on the highway to get to the Sierra, I got to see some sights I would not have normally been able to see without a car. I was able to see Madrid’s sprawl from a distance, getting farther away from the noise and seeing the Cathedral of Almudena glowing a beautiful iridescent blue in the evening sky, seeming so peaceful though it is in the heart of the bustling city. I also saw an old broken down prison that was once filled with the laborers that built the towering bridge beside it under Franco’s regime.

Bustarviejo has about 1600 inhabitants, and its altitude is about 1,200 meters, located in the province north of Madrid. There is a Plaza Mayor and Plaza de la Constitucion, where the Ayuntamiento (government building) was built in the 18^th century. When this town has its own running of the bulls, these areas are flooded with people celebrating. The provincial and familial feeling typical of Spain is present, where everyone greets one another in the street, and there are many tapas bars. It even has its own town fool, whom the inhabitants refer to with a smile.

More Snowfall

Once we got to the cabin where we would be staying, it had already begun to snow heavily. Every part of me was cold, but it was worth it for the fireplace was burning and the restored log cabin was lovely. We went to a restaurant called “La Brana” where the music was loud, children were playing, and we were able to cook our own filet of meat at our table.

Though I slept in flannel pajamas and kept my socks on, wrapped and covered in several blankets, the next morning made it well worth the trip. The sun was shining over the mountains making the snow glisten and the streets perfectly still – something one rarely finds in the city.