Alfredo once lived in Bárcena

Finally, it's vacation time again. We're going to Briviesca for a week, a village about half an hour's drive from Bárcena. Our first appointment for renting a house in Lences is rescheduled, but the second appointment with former resident Alfredo is still on.

Just before eleven o'clock, we drive to our village, followed by a small car behind us all the way to Bárcena. Five people get out of the car: an elderly couple, two middle-aged individuals, and one younger person. The man turns out to be Alfredo, the 85-year-old former resident who wants to sell his property. Together with his wife and two daughters and his grandson.

He has four ruins and a piece of land, the latter of which nicely connects to our village. We all walk through the village together as he points out and explains things. He indicates where the school used to be, but his wife interrupts him, saying no, it was over there. He's also still upset that money once collected to connect the village to the electricity network, suddenly was gone. He was 25 years old when he married his wife and left due to the lack of electricity.

He also shows us his fruit trees bearing sweet plums and almonds. One of his houses has a beehive that yields 20 kilos of honey per year. As we were walking around, some tourists also passed by. Thanks to the nice weather, everyone started conversations, making the village lively and cheerful for a while.

Afterward, we went in search of the water well. According to Alfredo, it should be somewhere in the bushes. After searching for a while, we couldn't find it, so that will be a project for the future.

After this enjoyable walk, we went to Lences where they are currently staying. There, we finalized the deal and were given cookies and a jar of Bárcena honey. Before we left, they showed us a shorter route to Briviesca. This shows how important local contacts can be. We had a really nice day.

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