A Spanish Folk Museum

I told you I would ramble on about our Spanish holiday! Well, one day as we were walking round the delightful village of Mijas on the Costa del Sol we came upon a door opening near the centre of the village where we discovered a Spanish folk museum. First of all we gingerly entered looking for the ticket seller but entry was absolutely free and so we started on our exploration of a typical old Spanish home and how village inhabitants lived in some of these remote areas.

Each room that you came into had been laid out with original, authentic pieces of furniture to show how families would live. Here you can see the corner of the room which has been set aside for sewing - well I had to include that didn't I?

One of the bedrooms had the main bed made up whilst a wooden crib lay alongside.

Although the main family room had a dining table and chairs there was still space for another sewing machine! Note the family pictures that adorned the white washed walls of the house.

Walking round the house we were stepping upstairs to find this bedroom. Very cleverly presented since the viewer is actually looking through a pane of glass mounted in the back of a wardrobe. So, you can't really enter the room but feel part of it!

Summers are incredibly hot in this part of Spain but as you climb the external steps to another part of the house you look down into the internal courtyard onto which all the rooms open. Note the wonderful plants which give you a sense of coolness.

In another area of the house there was a display showing how bees were kept. You can see in the picture below the tools and equipment used to protect from and manage the bees. Pictures hung around showing all the different crafts that the women and men were involved in such as this lady who was basket weaving. As we entered another area of the building we came upon the part of the museum which held a display of 3D pictures made of clay depicting life in and around the village such as the blindfolded donkey walking round and round as the flour was being milled.

See the olive gatherers in this 3D image. The area had a profusion of olive trees with looked wonderful with their old, dark knarled tree trunks which were a sure indication of their age.

In this picture someone is depicted doing the mending which in past days would have been an ongoing job, every day!

In a way it was a shame that everything had Spanish labels making it difficult for the visitor (there were many from different countries) to fully understand the descriptions. However, it did make the museum feel that more authentic and less commercialised.

You'll be pleased to know I am nearly, not quite, done with my Spanish ramblings so watch this space!!!!