Hobbit houses? along the Camino de Santiago

[Damien Park]

Hey fellow pilgrims.

I'm currently writing about Camino on my personal blog and I came across a few photos that might help clarify the burning questions I had about these earthen houses.

They seem to be more frequent along the Burgos-Leon route and are extremely peculiar looking.

Some do look like they had been used as some sort of wine cellar or a fermentation hole for cheese.

But some of them actually have a proper chimney piping out on top of the mound, windows that are always blocked (so I couldn't peep inside) and doors that have knockers.

so assuming Alice didn't live in Spain,

could someone elaborate on what these fascinating looking places were used for?
The obvious answer is "a house" but I would like to know their name, history and perhaps tales and legends.

many thanks prior,

Damien

 

[SYates]

The ones I saw and visited were typically 'man caves', bodegas. Wine storage rooms with a small kitchen and common area where (mostly) men would hang out with friends. The ones I saw on the CF were not adapted to permanent living, but I know that there are some in Southern Spain that are. SY

 

[Damien Park]

The ones I saw and visited were typically 'man caves', bodegas. Wine storage rooms with a small kitchen and common area where (mostly) men would hang out with friends. The ones I saw on the CF were not adapted to permanent living, but I know that there are some in Southern Spain that are. SY

Hi, thanks for the prompt answer. Any Idea what those man caves were called in Spanish?

 

[Anniesantiago]

They are bodegas.

 

[Damien Park]

They are bodegas.

Ah! haha I see, many thanks!

 

[SYates]

Hi, thanks for the prompt answer. Any Idea what those man caves were called in Spanish?

Bodegas - giving a subtle hint regarding their main use ;-) SY

 

[Felipe]

I noticed similar structures in the way from Lepoeder to Ibañeta, closer to the latter (see photo and also here, in Google Maps). They are in the middle of nowhere, so in this case I don't think they could be "bodegas".
There was a van parked in the road, marked "Navarra University", and some people inspecting them, so they may have some historical interest.

 

[SYates]

I noticed similar structures in the way from Lepoeder to Ibañeta, closer to the latter (see photo and also here, in Google Maps). They are in the middle of nowhere, so in this case I don't think they could be "bodegas".
There was a van parked in the road, marked "Navarra University", and some people inspecting them, so they may have some historical interest.

Hazarding a wild guess here - they look like underground shepherds huts/caves/stables to me.
Buen Camino, SY

 

[Damien Park]

I noticed similar structures in the way from Lepoeder to Ibañeta, closer to the latter (see photo and also here, in Google Maps). They are in the middle of nowhere, so in this case I don't think they could be "bodegas".
There was a van parked in the road, marked "Navarra University", and some people inspecting them, so they may have some historical interest.

I guess I will be contacting the University to see if they can provide me with a better answer. In the meantime, I agree with you on the historical value of the structures, because some of them seemed ancient!

 

[HeidiL]

The first time we walked, our son had just finished reading "The Hobbit". As we were walking down the hill into Moratinos, there they were - hobbit houses!

Several years later, when we stayed with Rebekah and Paddy, we got to see the inside of one of the "houses". Alas, Bilbo Baggins wasn't at home that day, just a lot of dusty wine bottles...

 

[mspath]

This is a border area. Aren't these bunkers, either from the Linea P or earlier?

For more on this defense barrier constructed between 1939/1948 see the Wikipedia site
https://es.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Línea_P

See also in this reference for the Pyrenees.
http://www.academia.edu/202192/Pyre...Border_in_Modern_Times_17th_to_20th_Centuries

 

[Felipe]

Thanks, @mspath and @Kathar1na. The idea of this being a bunker crossed my mind -they were similar to others I had seen in "Casa de Campo", behind the royal palace of Madrid, but I was not sure. Fortunately, these monuments to the fear (others, more grandiose and architectonic can be seen in Saint Jean Pied de Port and Pamplona) are just curiosities of the past. Hope they will never come back.

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

Bodegas - giving a subtle hint regarding their main use ;-) SY

WHAT?!? Somewhere to generate "body gas"??!!
Anyway ... remember that in Spain, shepherds are still used all the time to look after the flocks of sheep [unlike in the UK]. I've occasionally seen these being used for shelter by shepherds.

 

[naplesdon]

Reb Scott installed a sign along the Camino in Moratinos to explain the bodegas. There is a wonderful restaurant in Moratinos that is a large bodega.

 

[Terrri]

I noticed similar structures in the way from Lepoeder to Ibañeta, closer to the latter (see photo and also here, in Google Maps). They are in the middle of nowhere, so in this case I don't think they could be "bodegas".
There was a van parked in the road, marked "Navarra University", and some people inspecting them, so they may have some historical interest.

This reminds me of the tumulus we saw in France near Carnac. A very interesting area with lots stone structures as well.

 

[Felipe]

Anyway ... remember that in Spain, shepherds are still used all the time to look after the flocks of sheep [unlike in the UK]. I've occasionally seen these being used for shelter by shepherds.

I think I saw some shepherd huts between Torres del Río and Viana, near the Ermita del Poyo. They were no more than 1,5 meter high.
I can't remember exactly the place.

 

[SYates]

Just remembered this BBC article http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160811-the-cave-dwellers-of-southern-spain
More cave dwellers ;-) Buen Camino, SY

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

I noticed similar structures in the way from Lepoeder to Ibañeta, closer to the latter (see photo and also here, in Google Maps). They are in the middle of nowhere, so in this case I don't think they could be "bodegas".
There was a van parked in the road, marked "Navarra University", and some people inspecting them, so they may have some historical interest.

Some of these are used for wine storage.
Wish you well, Peter.

 

[Felipe]

Just remembered this BBC article http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20160811-the-cave-dwellers-of-southern-spain
More cave dwellers ;-) Buen Camino, SY

Interesting, but no need to go so far from the Camino. Just over Nájera, in this reddish cliff that can be seen so well from the frontyard ot the Municipal albergue.

As I read more and more about interesting cultural and historic places along the Camino, I am starting to feel that I went as a horse with blinders. I was so intent of "doing it" that I did not pay attention to anything except albergues, roads, supermarkets and restaurants. It was walk, eat, sleep (and some talking) and repeat. Well....maybe it is that I am looking for more excuses to come back.

 

[SYates]

Actually Guadix is on a camino - the camino Mozarabe from Almeria ;-) Lovely video from Nájera! SY

 

[Icacos]

Interesting, but no need to go so far from the Camino. Just over Nájera, in this reddish cliff that can be seen so well from the frontyard ot the Municipal albergue.

As I read more and more about interesting cultural and historic places along the Camino, I am starting to feel that I went as a horse with blinders. I was so intent of "doing it" that I did not pay attention to anything except albergues, roads, supermarkets and restaurants. It was walk, eat, sleep (and some talking). Well....maybe it is that I am looking for more excuses to come back.

Thank you for posting this, @Felipe. I remember walking into a town on the Francés where we could see caves on the steep cliff nearby. There was an adjacent museum which I wanted to visit, but it was closed the entire time we were in the village.

 

[Castilian]

could someone elaborate on what these fascinating looking places were used for?

If you read Spanish, you can find a good abstract at: http://elrincondelatradicion.blogspot.com/2015/10/vino-bodega-y-canciones.html

I noticed similar structures in the way from Lepoeder to Ibañeta, closer to the latter (see photo and also here, in Google Maps). They are in the middle of nowhere, so in this case I don't think they could be "bodegas".

Aren't these bunkers, either from the Linea P or earlier?

Right. The one of the picture is a bunker from the Línea P.

Interesting, but no need to go so far from the Camino. Just over Nájera, in this reddish cliff that can be seen so well from the frontyard ot the Municipal albergue.

AFAIK, the ones in Nájera aren't inhabitated nowadays while the ones in Guadix are still inhabited. In fact, Guadix is in the province of Granada being Granada the province of Spain with most people living in caves.

Anyway ... remember that in Spain, shepherds are still used all the time to look after the flocks of sheep [unlike in the UK]. I've occasionally seen these being used for shelter by shepherds.

Shepherds usually use other sort of buildings like, for example, chozos: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chozo

 

[Damien Park]

Hey fellow pilgrims.

I'm currently writing about Camino on my personal blog and I came across a few photos that might help clarify the burning questions I had about these earthen houses.

They seem to be more frequent along the Burgos-Leon route and are extremely peculiar looking.

Some do look like they had been used as some sort of wine cellar or a fermentation hole for cheese.

But some of them actually have a proper chimney piping out on top of the mound, windows that are always blocked (so I couldn't peep inside) and doors that have knockers.

so assuming Alice didn't live in Spain,

could someone elaborate on what these fascinating looking places were used for?
The obvious answer is "a house" but I would like to know their name, history and perhaps tales and legends.

many thanks prior,

Damien

Thanks for all your insightful telltales, I finally excavated knowledge about these "hobbit houses."

[SYates] was correct about the structures being called the "bodegas."

Here is what I found:

"En la misma entrada de reliegos hay unas bodegas de vino tradicionales en ladrillo y adobe. sirven para conservar el apreciado liquido pero sobre todo como lugar de encuentro para comer, beber y charlar"

Which reads as following,

At the entrance of reliegos there are traditional wine cellars in brick and adobe. They serve as a storage for drinks but mostly as a meeting place to eat, drink and chat.

So, they literally are "man caves," a hide out for thirsty lads who wanted to avoid their wives' henpecking

Cheers!

-Damien

 

[Anniesantiago]

Rebecca might know for sure.

 

[Boyd D. Sharp]

Hey fellow pilgrims.

I'm currently writing about Camino on my personal blog and I came across a few photos that might help clarify the burning questions I had about these earthen houses.

They seem to be more frequent along the Burgos-Leon route and are extremely peculiar looking.

Some do look like they had been used as some sort of wine cellar or a fermentation hole for cheese.

But some of them actually have a proper chimney piping out on top of the mound, windows that are always blocked (so I couldn't peep inside) and doors that have knockers.

so assuming Alice didn't live in Spain,

could someone elaborate on what these fascinating looking places were used for?
The obvious answer is "a house" but I would like to know their name, history and perhaps tales and legends.

many thanks prior,

Damien

My daughter and I walked the Oporto to Santiago in 2014 and I posted many pictures that I called hobbit hole and hobbit communities. Now my grandson and I just finished the Santiago to Finisterre to Muxia and I swear I saw several more hobbit hole.

 

[Shalaw]

We were told by a local that they were wine cellars....

 

[Juspassinthru]

This may help, I'm glad i took the picture.


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[SYates]

@Rebekah Scott will love that photo! BC SY