Changeable weather conditions and a thousand people: Mari Boya on his hometown

Mari Boya is preparing for Round 5 of the Formula 3 season and his homecoming this weekend in Barcelona. So, we thought what better time to find out more about the Spaniard’s hometown than now.

The Campos Racing driver tells us all about his village, Val d’Aran, as he talks us through their language, weather, food and much more.

WHERE DO YOU GROW UP?

“I grew up in a little village in Val d'Aran, a place in Catalunya, Spain. I live 5km from France, so it's a really small village on the Pyrenees and I grew up there and still go there all the time.”

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WHAT LANGUAGES ARE SPOKEN THERE?

“It's not Spanish, it's not Catalan. We speak Aranese, it's like a dialogue that is more or less French together with Catalan, so it's a mix. We all speak it. With my family I always speak Aranese, that's the dialogue and Spanish people don't understand it. They take some words, but they don't understand it. For me it's similar but they say it's not the same.”

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE IT TO SOMEONE?

“It can be really cold, or it can be really hot in summer. I also live close to the ski station Baqueira-Beret, which in the winter all the time people go a lot because it's a nice place to ski or see snow whatever people want to do. But in summer we have days where it's 30 degrees but 30 degrees there compared to another city is much hotter, I don't know why it feels super hot. I would say it's really beautiful in the summer and winter. In the summer everything is really green, really beautiful and in the winter, everything is full of snow, it's really nice. We are only 1000 thousand people in my village so it's also really small.”

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WHAT’S THE WEATHER LIKE THERE?

“It's really random. One day it's super sunny and the next day it’s different. I remember one day I went away to do sim in Valencia, five hours from my home, and before I left it was 25 degrees, I was training in shorts and everything. I can come back three or four days later, when I entered there, it was snowing, and I said it's impossible.”

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE SOMEONE AROUND, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

“For sure there are some really good places in the mountains. I know many routes there to do running or cycling, and you can see really good landscapes. The environment is really good, we have really beautiful places to do those type of things that I enjoy and maybe I will also take you to a really good place to have lunch, property meat, it's really good.”

WHERE WOULD YOU GO FOR FOOD?

“Hundred percent we have a lot of traditional places for meat. There are a lot of farms and people work with the animals, the food that you eat is done there, so it's really good.”

WHERE CAN YOU GO KARTING?

“Not close. The closest place I would say is in France, but I never went to do karting in France. I always went when I was on summer vacation and the place I go to is in Salou, and also in Valencia I went, but the closest place is in France, but I've never gone, maybe one hour, one and half hours from my house, so it's quite far.”