The Miller's Tale in the Spanish Pyrenees
Not Chaucer's Miller, but One Living a Traditional Life in N. Spain
Oct 11, 2009
Amaiur (meaning ‘mother of water’ or ‘mother of gold’ as it lies near an old gold-mining area), is a typical village in the valley of Baztan in the ancient Kingdom of Navarre where the village houses, red and pink geraniums tumbling from their window boxes, look like Swiss or Austrian chalets, their red roofs accenting the dark green of the forested slopes behind them.
The working mill was always the centrepoint of the village and in the olden days, 45 houses came to the mill to have their corn ground. Corn has been important in the village since way back in the 15th century when It was brought back from Latin American to form the foundation of much of the prosperity in all of Navarre. There is more wheat grown in the area at present, but corn is still seen as a staple crop.
Nowadays the mill is once again the centrepoint in the village, and the miller gives demonstrations of milling, baking bread and making the local speciality ‘talos’, a sort of tortilla, or pancake, with a savoury or sweet filling – depending on taste. The Miller’s tale is told by one Rafael Echeverz, a man dedicated to preserving the mill and keeping alive the crafts and customs of the village helped by the town hall authorities. Rafael works here during summer and early winter, emigrating to Madrid for the winter where he works in the theatre.
The Mill at Amaiur, Navarre, Spanish Pyrenees
The Mill serves as a museum as well as being a fully functioning place where flour is ground. It is open for visitors to explore, it entertains school parties and invites families with children to come and have the hands-on experience of making the famous talos, a maize and water concoction cooked like a pancake, on an oiled pan.
The waterwheel never fails to astonish when the miller turns it on and the demonstration of its power is helped by the glass panel on the floor of the mill through which the waters can be seeing gushing at great speed. Outside the mill is the old corn wheel, slightly pink coloured as corn is ground using sandstone (granite for wheat).
Food and drink at the Mill at Amaiur, Spanish Pyrenees
At week-ends the mill opens as a restaurant to serve delicious food made from local ingredients, salads, meats, bread, talos stuffed with chorizo sausage and cheese, and then talos again as dessert stuffed with chocolate, all washed down with the local cider Larraldea, or the famous Navarre wine Señorio de Sarria. Seating can be inside or outside by the waterwheel. Highly recommended.
Camino de Santiago (Route of the Pilgrims to Compostelo)
The town was a strategic point on the route of the Camino de Santiago, the famous pilgrim’s road in Spain, traces of which can still be seen in the well-kept village. All pilgrims had to pay a toll to the castle on the hill (now a ruin) to enable them to pass through the village and the signs of their passing include a water pump where they could wash their feet and quench their thirst.
The Pilgrim Route to Santiago was very important to a village because of the riches that came from catering to the pilgrims, food suppliers, donkey suppliers, cobblers, drink suppliers (and so vineyards), bars, clothing suppliers, cooks, errand boys, saddlers, prostitutes – even the latter followed the pilgrims – and of course, the mill.
It is an ideal spot for walking in the surrounding countryside where the mountains are dotted with wild flowers and the very curious ponies are let out to graze by their owners, the farmers. They will approach you amiably, so don’t be afraid.
Amaiur showed hospitality towards the pilgrims who trod the route of St. John. Today’s inhabitants show just as much hospitality to visitors whether they are walking pilgrims, cycling pilrims or whether they choose to view the countryside from inside their cars. And of course, visitors need not be pilgrims at all!
The Mill at Amaiur in Baztan (Tel: 958 45 34 90) can offer accommodation at very reasonable prices for couples or families and can cater for full or half board.
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