Galicia's Bean Town

Back when the leaves hadn't yet fallen, nor were we on a semi-lockdown, a group of less than 10 of us (the limits for congregating at the time) took a weekend getaway to Lourenzá. Although Lourenzá is in the A Mariña region, it's not on the coast. But that also means it's even closer to Lugo than A Mariña's coastal locales. When we arrived, Lourenzá's valley was brimming with bean plants. Because they're strung up similarly to grapes, for a second I assumed they were grapes. Although, realistically, a Mariña is one of the few regions of Galicia not known for its wine. 

The fabas of Lourenzá are famous throughout Spain. While other faba beans might cost 4€ per kilo when buying at the bulk food store, faba beans from Lourenzá will set you back 12€ a kilo. They've been a hit since the 18th century at least! Growing beans in a tranquil setting... not a bad way to make a living. And I imagine it's not as labor intensive as say, raising cattle. We did have a debate though about how they harvest those beans. Someone insisted that there must be machines for that. The next morning, we noticed some very intricate machines in action: two people picking beans by hand. That answers that.

The refurbished house we rented had a manicured lawn facing the rest of the green valley. Rows of corn and beans made up the view. Hey, sounds not unlike my home state! And the host reminded me of that good old Galician hospitality. Like they say in their anthem, Galicians are bos e xenerosos (good and generous). Upon arriving, the house was stocked with every imaginable commodity, including some fresh fruits and veggies in the fridge. They also came by to bring us firewood and ask if we needed anything. The next door neighbors had a sheep and two little lambs: black and white. Adorable! This brush with farm life might have been more exciting a few years ago, but now that I'm chummy with a pair of goats, a sheep, and some chickens, I wasn't as starstruck.

The weekend weather mostly held out for us, raining only after dark. At times it was clear that with global warming September is now becoming more like summer than autumn. The place had a wood-burning grill, so we were able to cook out and enjoy the great outdoors. Especially pleasant for the apartment dwellers in the group who don't have a yard to run around daily. And because there were two asturianas in the bunch, of course their was plenty of sidra to go around. Homemade and store-bought. 

Saturday morning just the two of us got up early to walk around. After passing some cows and perhaps a million beans, we came to Pazo de Tovar. This pazo is the only non-religious site to be seen in Lourenzá. The rest are churches.Before it was a pazo, it was first built as a tower in the 12th century. Then more was added on as it became a sort of fortress and eventually now can be considered a manor. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions it wasn't open for visiting. But we did walk around the place. Another reason to go back again to relax in Galicia's bean town.