Bubión: tinaos and terraos

We are certainly familiar with tinaos after seeing so many in villages like Soportújar, Capileira, and Bubión, but today was the first time we figured out what a terrao is.

We had walked down to Pampaneira on a mostly cobblestone trail that leaves directly from in front of our house. The cobblestones are an effort to control erosion on the steep trail, and they generally do their job. The only tricky parts were walking along the stone walls with a several meter drop off to one side. We saw fig trees heavy with fruit and heard a symphony of Eurasian golden orioles, Eurasian blackbirds, Eurasian blackcaps, and probably the great tit also because it’s so common around here. Three horses and a foal appeared as we drew close to Pampaneira.

Once in Pampaneira, we tried to identify elements listed in the ADR fichas. One of the first ones was the Terrao de las Cámaras, described as “the place where proclamations were read. The crossroads of Calles Real, Cerrillo and Paloma, located under it, served for the population of the Barrio Alto to congregate to listen to them.” We could clearly see the junction of the three streets, but we weren’t sure where the terrao was. Eventually, it dawned on us from having read about terraos before, that the terrao in question was the launa roof right in front of us, now decorated with ceramic flower pots and the Spanish flag.

The difference between a tinao and a terrao lies in what is above them. A tinao has another building above it, usually a storage room or a work room (although these don’t always show up in our photos). The underside of the tinao is exposed and serves as a walkway, as well as protection from rain and snow. On the other hand, it is the top side of a terrao that is exposed. It is basically a flat roof that can be used as an open air workroom or a gathering spot. The underside of a terrao is not visible; it’s enclosed in the building under it.

The construction of both tinaos and terraos is similar: chestnut beams, joists, slate slabs, a “mud” mixture called malhecho, and then to finish off the terraos, launa. This is the grey clay that was so clearly present in the hillsides around Walhalla. Launa is both highly impermeable and highly reflective. It keeps the rain out and reflects the sun in the summer. Finally, at the edges of the roof, there are slate slabs that serve as eaves and are called beriles. Rounded stones called castigaderas function as counterweights for the slate slabs. Tinaos don’t need this final layer because they have a room above them that has its own roof.

The most interesting tinao we saw today was named Tinao del Pescao, because fish were sold here by vendors who came up from the coast, arriving at dawn to sell their wares in Pampaneira. That’s a 62 km trip, so I’m guessing they started the day before. Must have been hard to keep the fish fresh!

As I was writing this up for FindPenguins, I realized that our house here in Bubion has a terrao! The flat roof over the part that used to be the stable has been reformed such that part of it is now a terrace with a slate floor, but beyond that you can clearly see the original launa terrao with castigaderas and beriles.Read more