So, we are finally back from the
Pyrenees. As part of our time in southern France/northern Spain, I poked around villages and countryside to see how irrigation infrastructure and social institutions are surviving. The news is mixed, even for a region that has decent water supplies, and there's real differentiation between FR and ESP in this case. On the French side, the infrastructure of canals looks OK, but the social institutions are facing new pressures as new immigrants to the region show up, without much understanding of the norms for access to water rights (sound familiar?).
On the Spanish side, it's infrastructure that needs help, while the social side seems to be in better shape by way of basic functioning and understanding of rules and customs. The other interesting aspect is the accepted
mix of function (canal) with recreation (hiking trail) that epitomizes the region. The banks of irrigation canals frequently serve the purpose of trail, as on the
GR10 trail that goes from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic (Banyuls to Hendaye, respectively). It's just another reminder that "following the water," as New Mexicans put it poetically, is a long-time custom and part of daily life in this part of the world. There's simply too much to write about, but I'll post an other update soon on older (modernizing) mechanisms for timing irrigation and cooperation in some of the villages of the
Conflent (in the Pyrenees-Orientales, FR side). Until next time, enjoy the photos, and keep watering. Colorado Springs has had decent rain for this time of year, and everythign is green. May your gardens and fields bloom and prosper.
On the Spanish side, it's infrastructure that needs help, while the social side seems to be in better shape by way of basic functioning and understanding of rules and customs. The other interesting aspect is the accepted mix of function (canal) with recreation (hiking trail) that epitomizes the region. The banks of irrigation canals frequently serve the purpose of trail, as on the GR10 trail that goes from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic (Banyuls to Hendaye, respectively). It's just another reminder that "following the water," as New Mexicans put it poetically, is a long-time custom and part of daily life in this part of the world. There's simply too much to write about, but I'll post an other update soon on older (modernizing) mechanisms for timing irrigation and cooperation in some of the villages of the Conflent (in the Pyrenees-Orientales, FR side). Until next time, enjoy the photos, and keep watering. Colorado Springs has had decent rain for this time of year, and everythign is green. May your gardens and fields bloom and prosper.
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