I’ve just come across Pueblos abandonados, an interesting blog detailing abandoned villages in Spain with hundreds of photos and lots of detailed information. The photo above is from La Vereda, an abandoned village in Guadalajara, with classic examples of the black architecture (arquitectura negra) style. (more…)
The iberianatureforum image gallery just gets better and better. Check out here the array of huts everybody has collected from around Spain. And it’s only been going three weeks. Here below a corrala from the Sierra de la Culebra.
A corrala (not corral!) is a traditional construction unique to the the Sierra de la Culebra. The heather thatch edging with an open centre protected sheep against both the rain and the wolf, and should the latter have managed to jump in, it would never have got out.
Most corralas are falling into disuse. A few have been restored as folk monuments. These days, shepherds lock up their flocks in warehouses.
02/12/2006 Galician bears and honey
Following on from news of possible return of bear to Galicia, here’s a photo of an alveriza (known as cortines in Asturias). These old constructions were built to protect beehives from bears. Note, the hives were positioned together to capture the maximum amount of sunlight. Photo from here. More on bears and bees. Christmas present idea. Fapas in Asturias will install your very own sponsered unprotected beehive so bears can gorge on it. 413 sponsered so far. 57 euros here.
