Not that we did anything out of the ordinary, just hanging out together was pretty good - walking about, going through the Loyola Cathedral, eating, chatting and on Sunday we walked up a hill for a bit to get a view of the town. Didn't go very far up because the road was blocked by a locked gate but we were high enough to look down on the town. It was really nice leaning over the fence, chatting and watching the sheep, in the warm sun. The weather was warm and it felt like spring but on Monday it was freezing so I haven't retired my thick coat yet. However, blossoms and magnolias are out and I've seen some daffodils so there are signs that spring is creeping into Azpeitia.
the fungus looking stuff on the outside is like a salty sponge and it covers a lot of the wooden structures and beams.
The stream along the left of this photo is just a normal stream, not saline.
This tool is used to move the salt in the pans
Late on Saturday afternoon we stopped off for a coffee in a bar where Barry and I had dinner most Sunday nights, and the time passed as we catted away so we decided to stay and eat there. We were, however, a bit puzzled by the fact that the restaurant seemed closed, Alysha suggested that perhaps it was a bit early although it was after 7.30pm. We waited a while longer and then a waitress appeared followed by a group of people - yes - happily for us it was opening so we stayed and had dinner and what's more, in no time at all it was full of people. - Alysha was right, we were too early according to Spanish dinner time!
All too soon it was time to catch the bus to San Sebastian, say goodbye and off she went on her long journey and off I went on my short trip back to Axpetia.
On the Friday just gone, I went on my fortnightly jaunt with Miren and Nerea and we first went to Salinas de Añana and then tiki-toured all over the place. Miren loves to drive and, as she had Friday night off, was in no hurry to get home.
Salinas de Añana is in the valley of Añana in the Álava region of The Basque Country. Basically, it is an area of the valley where salt has been continuously 'produced' for just over 6000 years. The salt comes from solid salt deposits, set down when the area was under the sea over 2,000,000 years ago, through which water passes and comes to the surface in 2 natural springs. The very first spring is still in action and at some point the 2nd one was discovered.
The method of collecting salt has remained much the same since the beginning and all the materials used are natural, mostly wood from what I saw although the collection baskets are cane, I think.
From what I could glean from the English information booklet I was given, everyone in the village of Añana, population 166, has a 'salt pan' which is theirs to look after, harvest the salt and benefit from the sale of the salt. I'm not sure if this is still in place because it is now a World Heritage Site which will ensure that the valley will continue the production of salt as it has always done but whether this has changed the ownership as well I have no idea.
We were on a guided tour with another 4 people and everything was in Spanish and, while I could understand a lot of the words, it was too fast for me to make a lot of sense from those words. Because it's winter the production of the salt is really not a happening thing because hot sun is necessary therefore the best time to visit is, of course, in the summer, June - August although they are producing some salt in May and September so we are hoping to get back there in May before Barry and I leave Azpeitia. Neither Miren nor Nerea had been before and they're keen to see the place in action.
I guess we walked around the place for a couple of hours and I took a lot of photos, none of which really show the place as we saw it but I hope you enjoy them.
looking from the village up the valley
looking across the valley and salt pans to the village
These buckets are used to pick up water from the pools underneath and tip it into the salt pans
wooden guttering like structures carry the saline to the salt pans from the springs.
the fungus looking stuff on the outside is like a salty sponge and it covers a lot of the wooden structures and beams. a pile of salt under salt pans
a pile of salt under some salt pans. The white stuff on the poles and rock walls is the salty spongy stuff.
and here I am, not so old after all
another view
taken from the valley floor looking down the valley and the end of the village
the village of Añana
here we are at the end of the tour. Miren on the left and Merea on the right of the photo. Behind us is some of where we had been wandering.
It's surely an amazing place and I felt very lucky to be there. Also, amazing to me, is that there isn't any 'over the top' tourist place there. The village seems just like any other little village and there is a small information place where we paid and met the guide, and a where we bought some salt and were given t-shirts, because "they're now 'out of style'" - ha! who cares, we're happy with our shirts.
We had lunch in the village at the only place open and where, we were told, the food is a bit fancy. We were happy to have some fancy food and very nice it was.
I'm going to leave it here and will write about lunch, well, not so much write but I have photos, and our tiki-tour that Miren took us on after lunch.
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