Quirky Museums on the Camino

[VNwalking]

Recently, @Dave posted about his walk on the Madrid, and mentioned two little museums on the Madrid -

museum of skiing.

Museum of Imaginary Rocks

People sometimes mention quirky museums along the way in passing, and I have to say the latter is one of the most whimsical of them all.

I thought I remembered a thread about these, and found this one that @peregrina2000 posted about industrial museums. Quirky museums seem to be another thing altogether, and worth visiting, to learn something new and fun, as well as to meet characters along the way.

Does anyone have fun memories to share?

 

[Anamiri]

Its not a museum as such but in Ages, an elderly man has created a whole shed full of miniatures, that he has made from wood. He showed us through, it was quite amazing.

 

[VNwalking]

Exactly the sort of thing I was thinking of!

miniatures

What kind of miniatures?
(Any photos people have of this or other quirky museums are most welcome!)

 

[Anamiri]

I didn't take photos unfortunately, maybe someone else did.
He made little houses and villages.

 

[VNwalking]

He made little houses and villages.

Awww. Sweet.

 

[thejoker]

I don't think you could get much quirkier than Michelle's 'museum' in Rabe.

 

[C clearly]

I don't think you could get much quirkier than Michelle's 'museum' in Rabe.

This, of course, is a quirky answer, about which even Google fails me.

 

[Kirkie]

Not too sure about quirky, but there is a fine museum in the Cathedral in Pamplona. If you are good at putting yourself into the shoes of those who trod the ground before you, and can still abstract from the dominant direction of the authors of the 'journey', it is a very worthwhile experience.
At least, that was what I made of it.

 

[mspath]

Another very special place is the Museo-Tesoro at Roncesvalles monastery which contains amidst many extraordinary unique items the chessboard of Charlemagne. See more  in this link.

Visit Roncesvalles - Roncesvalles-Orreaga

A tour of its five main landmarks,from the spiritual heart of Navarre’s mountainous region,its history, art and legend to its oldest treasures:

roncesvalles.es

 

[peregrino_tom]

Well, you can't mention the Camino de Madrid without reference to the bizarre and wonderful Museo Juan Ponce de Leon in Santervas de Campos. It is situated below the Albergue Municipal, from which you go down a long set of stone steps as per a medieval dungeon (but cleaner and better lit!) to a great underground space where the deck of his sailing ship has been meticulously recreated, with the prow soaring upwards to a skylight. His cabin and a variety of other ship's parts/things/people have been recreated in different rooms/alcoves. And there also sits, displayed reverently, the manual typewriter of the local historian who researched and instigated much of this (though sadly I can't find his name on the internet).
I'm not sure how you gain access when the albergue is closed for the season, but it's worth a try if that's when you are passing through.

 

[SayaTibi2023]

I didn't take photos unfortunately, maybe someone else did.
He made little houses and villages.

Miguel in Ages -- lovely person -- wonderfully crafted miniatures

 

[nidarosa]

I still miss the odd little 'museums' at the last albergue in Boente, the one just past where everyone crosses the road - the veteran peregrino with the wild hair and beard had a collection of skis there, and another of cameras and video cameras, spanning several decades. And he really enjoyed showing them off and telling stories about them, which was always a treat even though we didn't understand everything he said. I think they have moved back to Madrid now so I got really excited to hear news about them, but apparently there is an actual ski museum in Cercedilla. Oh well.

Edit: Found a photo of the man! What a lovely memory. He also had a drawer with photocopies of the credencial grid, so when my stamp-happy husband was hunting for a new credencial, this gentleman expertly trimmed a sheet down to size and sellotaped it to the old one, and hey presto, we have an extra long credencial that lasted to Santiago!

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Its not a museum as such but in Ages, an elderly man has created a whole shed full of miniatures, that he has made from wood. He showed us through, it was quite amazing.

In Ages I found what I usually describe as garden ornaments but today I will say I discovered an eclectic outdoor art museum. Here's just a few pieces I found there.

 

[thejoker]

This, of course, is a quirky answer, about which even Google fails me.

https://www.alberguescaminosantiago...o-rabe-de-las-calzadas-burgos-camino-frances/

Second paragraph

 

[Dave]

The Beast of Gevaudan Museum in Saugues on the Via Podiensis exemplifies quirky. A series of rooms with animatronics telling the story of the mega-wolf's rampage through the countryside:

Museum of the Beast of Gevaudan

An unsettling shrine dedicated to the ravenous beast that prowled 18th-century France.

www.atlasobscura.com

It's all in French, with no English info, and once you're in you're in for the duration of the timed sequence as you move room to room. But it's mighty unusual and memorable.

 

[NualaOC]

I'm looking forward to visiting the puppet museum in Tolosa (Camino Vasco Interior) this year:

TOPIC

Centro Internacional del Títere de Tolosa

topic.eus

I'm not as keen to visit this one on the Camino Primitivo: http://museodegrandas.com

 

[Richmond Gardner]

A most unusual museum in Mazarife, on the Frances. A former employee of the telephone company put this together and he was charming, very proud of his efforts. I highly recommend a visit

 

[tjz]

On the Norte we ran across a couple last month:

• Guemes, Albergue La Cabana del Abuelo Peuto
  • Museo de Land Rover (a dorm room with pictures on the wall)
  • Ernesto's library is full of fascinating pictures and slides
• Santillana de Mar
  • Museo de la Tortura - apparently pretty gruesome, so we did not spoil our happy time by going in.

 

[Tom Conklin]

There is a museum of ham in Monesterio on the Via.

INICIO

Museo del Jamón ibérico de Monesterio, espacio para dar a conocer el producto emblemático de la localidad de Monesterio - Badajoz; El Jamón Ibérico y el jamón ibérico de bellota.

www.museodeljamondemonesterio.com

 

[Susan Mark]

Also an excellent museum in Burgos near the cathedral on the history of the book.

 

[VNwalking]

OMG, everyone - this is fabulous. Keep 'em coming, please! If nothing else it shows how wonderful the human mind can be.

Michelle's 'museum' in Rabe.

I know by now it's not this, @Joker, but has anyone been here?:
Casa Museo Isacio de la Fuente Martinez
Calle San Baudel 1, Rabe de las Calzadas
Location: geo:42.34153,-3.83423?z=17

OsmAnd - Offline Mobile Maps and Navigation

a great underground space where the deck of his sailing ship has been meticulously recreated, with the prow soaring upwards to a skylight.

I'm without words.
This is beyond quirky into another dimension altogether.

Miguel in Ages

Lovely, so heartwarming.

The Beast of Gevaudan Museum in Saugues on the Via Podiensis exemplifies quirky. A series of rooms with animatronics telling the story of the mega-wolf's rampage through the countryside:

Ummm. Sounds a bit intense.
But it wins the bizarrest prize.

puppet museum in Tolosa (Camino Vasco Interior) this year:

Darn! @SabsP and I missed it!!

unusual museum in Mazarife, on the Frances. A former employee of the telephone company put this together

Missed this one too. Definitely quirky.

Museo de la Tortura

Ummmm. Yeah, maybe pass.
Walking can be torture enough.

There is a museum of ham

Just for kicks, I asked GoogleMaps, which says there are many hammy museums in Spain.
A jamon aficionado coud take quite a bit of time, checking each of them out.
Not counting the cluster in Madrid (a restarant chain?), at least 3 are smack-dab on a camino:


Now I am thinking: there has to be at least one each of an olive museum and an orange museum. Oh, and maybe an Andalusian (horse breed, not area) museum.
.

 

[Theatregal]

Ten years ago, walking through Vilabade on the Primitivo, three little wood figures perched on a mailbox next to an open door caught my eye. We stopped to look at them and a man stepped out and gestured for us to come inside. Every possible surface in the room was covered with figures made from wood - organic forms, some carved or sawed and nailed together - many whittled with curly wood shavings giving the figures texture and character. Quirky, weird and wonderful.

The man hardly spoke - he smiled and watched us as we looked at his work, showing us things he particularly wanted us to see. His daughter came in to say hello. She said that when her father retired, he started to take long walks into the forest. He would pick up bits of wood that he liked and he started carving and making the figures. If he sees people passing he likes to invite them in to see his little museum. There were a few small figures on a table with a sign that said 1 euro. I chose one. As we were leaving, he picked up two more figures and put them into my hands as a gift. I still keep the three little figures (all about 2" high) on a shelf as a memory of that moment in time, warm visit and conversation with the man and his daughter.

 

[VNwalking]

I have no idea why, but these posts make me really happy. Muchas gracias!

 

[VNwalking]

Quirky, weird and wonderful.

Oh wonderful indeed! If anyone reads this who is planning to walk the Primitivo soon, maybe stop by to show him he's famous! (Same with everyone!)

 

[Former member 59618]

I’m not sure if this passes quirky muster, but the little museum in Fisterra is an absolute delight.

Manolo is the gentlemen/docent who runs it and is he full of information and local history about Galician fishermen, as well as the surrounding area. You can tell he loves sharing his knowledge with others. He only speaks Spanish, but even with my limited Spanish and gesticulating, we understood each other.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I’m not sure if this passes quirky muster, but the little museum in Fisterra is an absolute delight.

@truenorthpilgrim and the forum software got in each other's way with the Google Maps link. Try this:

Museo de pesca · 15155 Fisterra, A Coruña, Spain

âââââ · Museum

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[Anniesantiago]

There's a very cool excavated ancient wine cellar (bodega) museum called Calado de San Grigirio in Logroño.

 

[Richard Smith]

The small museum in the Basilica of San Isidoro in Leon is worth a look, not just for the possible/denied chalice that a book said was the Holy Grail but also for the other items and the actual rooms where it is displayed.

Chalice of Doña Urraca - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[trecile]

It's not a museum, but in the back of the restaurant at Casa Barbadelo there's a large room with antique sewing machines, cameras, and typewriters.

 

[VNwalking]

not a museum, but in the back of the restaurant at Casa Barbadelo there's a large room with antique sewing machines, cameras, and typewriters.

It counts.
Looks like a museum to me.
And also quirky.

 

[kenwilltravel]

Two that come to mind for me are the toy museum in Ponte de Lima (https://www.museuspontedelima.com/pages/1268?news_id=8010) and the collection of matchbooks in Tomar (https://portugalconfidential.com/matches-museum-museu-dos-fosforos-tomar/). The toy museum includes a huge model train set, if you want to indulge your inner kid. The toys are arranged to give you a history of toy manufacturing in Portugal.

 

[alansykes]

I very much liked the muséo del Orinal in Ciudad Rodrigo, on the Camino Torres. A collection of 2000 urinals, pisspots, commodes and bedpans from 27 countries dating back over 1000 years. 2€ very well spent.



Sadly the giant squid museum in Luarca, on the Norte, was closed when I walked that way. As was Olot's muséo de los volcanes, just off the Camí Català. Luckily Casar de Cáceres' cheese museum, on the Vía de la Plata, celebrating the delicious local Torta de Casar, was open.

 

[VNwalking]

OMG, @alansykes wins the prize, I think, with all those pisspots.
(I can't help but wonder what gets someone start collecting such things, unless it started out as a joke that gained momentum amongst one's friends. Or did someone get up one morning with the thought, 'The world needs a urinal museum. Today I'm going to start making that happen.' )

Sadly the giant squid museum in Luarca

Oh. That definoely sounds fun. The volcano one too.

 

[Peregrinopaul]

This thread reminded me of a visit I made to the Museo del Romanticismo in Madrid in 2012. A sort of “see-how-the-other-half-lived” in the late 18th, early 19th century. It is obviously not on the top 10, because I recall that I was quite alone. I was especially interested in the early keyboard instruments. The lids were closed. I leaned over the rope barrier and opened one, curious to see the name of the maker. Well, with the keyboard exposed I had to try a note or two to hear the tone. Needless to say, an attendant heard me and called the police, who turned up before I left. I had to attempt to justify my actions without any Spanish. The guy wasn’t impressed and dismissed me eventually wuth a brush-off reminiscent of the policeman dismissing Tom in “The Way”.

 

[VNwalking]

Just so you don't push the limits like that in the first museo that @alansykes mentioned.

 

[peregrino_tom]

I'm not as keen to visit this one on the Camino Primitivo: http://museodegrandas.com

I'm sure you say this with humour, but I still feel the need to defend it! I wasn't able to go inside, just see the various outdoor items kept in the courtyard, but I think the website shows some amazing rooms and a unique repository of early ways of surviving and living in rural Asturias.
2011 we walked into Grandas, coming up from the Embalse and then through the woods, on a sunny September morning. Just at the entrance to the town, we found a large door open and my curious fellow pilgrims (a Catalan and a Basque) poked their head in. It turned out to be the forge of Pepe el Ferreiro and he was there, working away, shaping an indeterminate piece of iron. He gave us an enthusiastic tour of the forge and the traditional tools of the blacksmith. He was upset. He explained that he had set up the ethnographic museum in the town and now, because of its success, the state authorities had kicked him out and brought in a new director. We then walked on into the town where we discovered that many of the buildings held great big protest banners in support of Pepe, like the one attached.
Anyway, as you can see from the website, the protest was unsuccessful and they brought in a new director. But for better or worse (respect or tokenism?), they have kept his name in the title of the museum.

 

[NualaOC]

I'm sure you say this with humour, but I still feel the need to defend it!

I'm glad you did - I think I may have posted in haste and perhaps with the wrong link.

The one I chose not to visit on the Primitivo was about dentistry. I cringed when other pilgrims told me about the old style dentist chair and instruments. It brought back way too many painful childhood memories
I don't remember where it was - somewhere between Berducedo and Lugo. I suppose it might have been part of a bigger collection, but all the conversation that day was about the dentist's chair.

 

[VNwalking]

Well if these aren't two ends of a quirky spectrum I don't know what would be.

The toy museum includes a huge model train set, if you want to indulge your inner kid

The one I chose not to visit on the Primitivo was about dentistry

A huge model train? Oh, yeah...It'd be fun.
But jeepers creepers a dentistry museum?!

Maybe a dentist would enjoy it...

 

[Ernie Fraser]

A most unusual museum in Mazarife, on the Frances. A former employee of the telephone company put this together and he was charming, very proud of his efforts. I highly recommend a visit

Totally! Quirky and fun with the tour guide and one of local friends.

 

[thejoker]

Museo La Casa de la Troya in SdC.
A museum of late 19th century student life.
https://lacasadelatroya.gal/o-museo/

 

[klimmo]

The hospital ship in Viano do Castelo on the Portugues Coastal. Never even imagined such a thing existed. Very interesting

 

[SusanWW]

A most unusual museum in Mazarife, on the Frances. A former employee of the telephone company put this together and he was charming, very proud of his efforts. I highly recommend a visit


View attachment 144387View attachment 144388View attachment 144389View attachment 144390View attachment 144391View attachment 144392

Yes, by all means, visit the telephone museum in Villar de Mazarife. The owner is charming and knowledgable. His museum offers an excellent history of telecommunications in Spain.

 

[Jesnat]

A post above has already mentioned the Museo Jamon in the town of Monesterio on the VDLP. It´s worth a visit explaining the background to the famous Iberico pig. Perhaps more importantly the cafes in the town served the best Toastada de Jamon I have ever had.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Does anyone have fun memories to share?

I have no personal unique or quirky museum stories to share from my Caminos, but I enjoy "quirky" things and sometimes quirky people, too.
Thanks for starting this interesting and different thread beyond the usual; it's been a fun read.