Semana Blanca

In Spain, some children in grades 4-7 have a ski week called Semana Blanca (White Week) during the winter depending on their school's schedule. Many Euros and a couple of suitcases later, Colin and Kelsey joined their school and classmates during the last week of January/first week of February for JDL's Semana Blanca.

Photos: Skiing at beautiful Cerler with the Pyrenees in the background. We were surrounded by breathtaking views. Cerler is a stone's throw from France and is also one of the highest points in the Spanish Pyrenees. I wasn't able to get any pictures of Colin and Kelsey as they were busy with their school.



They stayed in the town of Benasque and skied in Cerler which is a short but extremely steep climb up a curvy road to the ski 'pista' as they say. Bright, sunny days filled most of the week although it became increasingly windy and part of the mountain had to close one day due to high gusts.



Celia tagged a long separately, not necessarily with Juan de Lanuza's blessing, to ensure the junior Chases (especially Kelsey) were in good order. JDL was gracious with their extra guest and had Tracey, Kelsey's chaperone ride in my rented Audi. Our 3.5 hour drive to Benasque gave Tracey and I a chance to download all the scoop regarding Kelsey's processors, FM system, batteries, etc. I knew Kelsey was in good hands once Tracey was up to speed.



Colin had a room of 4 buddies although one boy went home after the first day so Colin wound up sharing a room with his two good friends, Joaquin and Alex. Carmen, Alex's mom, told Celia after the kids returned home that Colin was 'muy divertido' (very funny). Needless to say, Colin had a great time with his pals and enjoyed the 5 days of skiing.




Kelsey roomed with Sofia, her good friend whose Dad is British and Mom is Spanish. Sofia has been a wonderful buddy for Kelsey, often interpreting for her. Unfortunately, Sofia got sick midweek and returned home with Celia on the Wednesday. Kelsey's other friend and would-be roommate, Alba never made it to Semana Blanca as she got quite ill the week prior to the trip. Despite losing her two roommates, Kelsey wanted to stay the week, and she had a very good time. We were very proud of her independent spirit and stick-to-it-ness. The kids enjoyed full days of skiing and busy evenings swimming, shopping, playing and more. True to the Spanish schedule, they didn't eat dinner until about 9:00 p.m. which meant late bedtimes and short nights.