Rest day in Tolox

It would be more accurate to call it a business day because we had some paperwork we needed to complete for my wrist accident. Ned found a helpful papelería where we could print up the necessary forms.

We had enough time left over to visit the local museum. It has a personalized collection of items donated by local families. The trillo (thresher) was particularly interesting because, unlike the one that formed our table base in Marbella, it did not use embedded sharp stones for the cutting edges. Instead, it had iron bars that were notched into the toboggan-like wooden sled. Old photos show local farmers sitting on these while a mule pulled the sled around and around on a stone threshing floor (an era) to separate the wheat from the chaff.

The lady in charge of the museum explained everything, particularly emphasizing how hard life was all through the 1900s in villages like this. All the water used in a house had to be hauled up from the river in jugs that were stored in specially designed holders, los cantareras, in the kitchen.

She pointed out a photo of the central plaza taken in 1900 (125 years ago!) showing a water channel that ran through town. It was opened from time to time and in the summertime, children delighted in splashing in it.Read more