Day 5 was a bit of a break in the program. We had been speaking constantly for 4 days, from about 8:30, when mostly anglos gather in the bar area to connect to the internet, through to 11, midnight, sometimes later. Of course it is much harder for the Spaniards - all their talking has to be in English! Some of them have said that they have found it hard to sleep because their brain won't switch off, it wants to keep learning. Some of the Anglos, though, have found it just as challenging keeping a conversation going for 50 minutes. I had one comment how amazed he was that I could talk to anyone on any subject.
So after breakfast we went on a walk into the town. It takes about 15 minutes along a little path. As we walked, a local came past the other way, leading a donkey. Very traditional rural Spain still here. The people live in a bit of a time warp, which is lovely for them. In the summer it is much busier, with many Spanish tourists coming up to the mountains to escape the heat. The family who own the hotel also own several businesses in the town.
As we entered the village there was a stone cross on the side, and I saw another 4 of them in the village. There are also 2 little chapels, which had been erected at some stage to mark where a miracle took place. And in the town square carved into a stone is a very old scallop shell. Yes, another Camino, this time the Silver way which runs up through the centre of Spain. On the outside of the church, which unfortunately was closed, was a small section closed off with a very high wall, where apparently they threw the bodies of those who could not be buried in consecrated ground. It must have been a bit smelly!
They have a tradition that every night a woman from the village goes around the village, ringing a bell at every corner, presumably to keep the evil spirits away. Legend says that one night, it was cold and wet and the woman didn't want to go, so she stayed home. In the morning the others commented on how wet she must have got while she was ringing it. She confessed that she had not gone out, but the others had all heard the bell, and heard weeping as it was being rung. Apparently from that day one, no- one has missed their duty.
In the summer on their festival day, they close off the town square, gather in the balconies of the houses around it, and watch a bullfight. And the central cross in the square was the place where they would have the public executions.
As always the expulsion of the Jews comes up. L'Alberca was on the route many took to flee from the south through into France. Some chose to stay in the town. I guess they thought an isolated village would be less threatening. To show that they had 'converted' they would donate a piglet to the village each year in August. It still happens, but not donated by a Jewish family. The pig runs free in the village. If it stopped at your door at meal time, you had to feed it, and if it was there when the animals were being brought inside ( the bottom storey, built from stone was the stable ), then you had to house it for the night. On January 15 the pig was slaughtered and the meat went to the poorest villagers. These days it is raffled off and the money given to charity. I'm not sure where it sleeps the night! There is also a statue of a pig right outside the church, and apparently if you touch the testicles you will have a baby 9 months later. There are 2 couples who have done the program where it happened!
So after breakfast we went on a walk into the town. It takes about 15 minutes along a little path. As we walked, a local came past the other way, leading a donkey. Very traditional rural Spain still here. The people live in a bit of a time warp, which is lovely for them. In the summer it is much busier, with many Spanish tourists coming up to the mountains to escape the heat. The family who own the hotel also own several businesses in the town.
As we entered the village there was a stone cross on the side, and I saw another 4 of them in the village. There are also 2 little chapels, which had been erected at some stage to mark where a miracle took place. And in the town square carved into a stone is a very old scallop shell. Yes, another Camino, this time the Silver way which runs up through the centre of Spain. On the outside of the church, which unfortunately was closed, was a small section closed off with a very high wall, where apparently they threw the bodies of those who could not be buried in consecrated ground. It must have been a bit smelly!
They have a tradition that every night a woman from the village goes around the village, ringing a bell at every corner, presumably to keep the evil spirits away. Legend says that one night, it was cold and wet and the woman didn't want to go, so she stayed home. In the morning the others commented on how wet she must have got while she was ringing it. She confessed that she had not gone out, but the others had all heard the bell, and heard weeping as it was being rung. Apparently from that day one, no- one has missed their duty.
In the summer on their festival day, they close off the town square, gather in the balconies of the houses around it, and watch a bullfight. And the central cross in the square was the place where they would have the public executions.
As always the expulsion of the Jews comes up. L'Alberca was on the route many took to flee from the south through into France. Some chose to stay in the town. I guess they thought an isolated village would be less threatening. To show that they had 'converted' they would donate a piglet to the village each year in August. It still happens, but not donated by a Jewish family. The pig runs free in the village. If it stopped at your door at meal time, you had to feed it, and if it was there when the animals were being brought inside ( the bottom storey, built from stone was the stable ), then you had to house it for the night. On January 15 the pig was slaughtered and the meat went to the poorest villagers. These days it is raffled off and the money given to charity. I'm not sure where it sleeps the night! There is also a statue of a pig right outside the church, and apparently if you touch the testicles you will have a baby 9 months later. There are 2 couples who have done the program where it happened!
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