To Vega del Valcarce and O Cebreiro 2009

2009

While in Villafranca, we stopped by the church 

and found this phallic shaped statue of the Virgin quite interesting. 

Both Joe and I are students of symbolism 

and there is a lot that can be read into a statue like this.

Leaving Villafranca, 

we walked along path with the highway on our right 

and the river on our left.

Here is some of the scenery we saw on the way to Vega del Valcarce:

House with rough slate shingles 

Albergue at Vega de Valcarce is quite nice

This is for storing grain

One of Joe's ancestors?

These are wooden shoes for wearing in the fields. I've seen people still wearing them.

While staying at the municipal albergue in Vega de Valcarce,

we noticed a steep trail going up a hill.

At the top of the hill was a shack,

facing the sunset.

We saw several elderly people climbing the hill

in the late afternoon.

We learned the elders go up here to socialize,

have a drink together,

and watch the sunset each night.

The locals say "They're holding Parliament!"

We enjoyed the municipal here very much.

Friendly and clean.

I heard Led Zepplin and walked over the wall, and looked down.

These fellows were making thatch for the roofs.

When they saw me watching them, 

they switched to Spanish folk music. 

But it was fun watching them!

I love the rainbow colors of the sheets

Inside one of the thatched stone houses.

This is what the thatch looks like from the inside.

Kitchen in thatched house

This serves as a bench seat, and then the table portion folds down in front of you.

Bed and cradle. I slept on a straw mattress in Villafranca one year.

I imagine this grinding wheel came from the nearby water mill.

I love the thatched rooftops.