October:Turning over a new leaf.

[Bierzo Baggie]

Sunday morning run around the river. Passed a couple of gypsy basket weavers fiddling with reeds on the river bank. It looked like a husband and wife team.

Did a bit of research. Basket weaving is an ancient craft maintained by a handful of artisans in the area. Apparently the master basket weaver is a gypsy named Araceli from the nearby town of Cacabelos. She has followed a family tradition that goes back generations and has been weaving baskets since she was 8 years old. Every day she makes up to 6 wicker baskets of different sizes, each one taking around two and a half hours to make and with prices range from 5 to 25 euros. Suitable reeds (“mimbre”) are collected at the riverside, peeled, left to dry and then wetted again before being woven into basket shapes always working from bottom to top. No web page sales outlet, so if you want one you’ll have to go to Cacabelos and ask for Araceli. I’m told the smaller baskets are ideal for collecting eggs or mushrooms. So there you go….

Total running time: 37 minutes.