The Fair of Fairs in Monterroso

The other day I declared San Froilán Galicia's favorite fall festival. (Truth!) Now as far as fairs go, the top pick is once again in the province of Lugo, this time in the town of Monterroso. On November 1st-- a public holiday in Spain for All Saints' Day-- the hordes descend upon this town of 3,000, in search of a plethora of wares. The fair has been a staple for centuries. Its origins date back to over 800 years ago. Not to mention it's been recognized as a Tourist Interest within Galicia for over a decade. That's why they call it A Feira das Feiras, the Fair of Fairs. 

This year I was finally able to check it out. And although I had never been (pre-Covid, that is), it seemed to me that it had made a real comeback. The place was packed! There were cars starting about a mile away from the action in the center of town. They even had cops directing traffic. We ended up parking in a little ¨parish¨ on the outskirts, a 10 minute walk. 

¨3-story¨ stall

Once we got close to the center, the place was buzzing. Everywhere you looked: stands, stalls, people. Throughout the town, the stands were mostly selling clothes, socks, and shoes. One such stand blew my mind: whereas most had one to two rows of tops/pajamas/what-have-you hanging, this place had three rows. It was comparable to a 3-story shopping center amongst 2-story shops (complete with high prices for a fair, in my opinion). And apparently, in these situations with so much competition, haggling is perfectly acceptable. Not for me, though. I asked how much a pair of pants was, since the seller was so eager to see me ¨interested.¨ In the end, I wasn't actually interested. So as I was walking away, he called after me, ¨Chica! Wait! We can make a deal!¨ I honestly wasn't interested, but I'll have to save that technique for next time I actually am, hehe. I did buy a pair of fuzzy socks, but after the other incident, wondered, ´Did I pay too much?´

You may be wondering: And what about food? Inside a circular building made expressly for fair exchanges were the food stands. T'is the season for chestnuts, walnuts, and honey. In Galicia, meat is always in season. Therefore, there were tons of vendors to choose from with their chourizos, salted pork, and even pig faces. A handful of bakeries were there, as well as some stands selling fruits and vegetables. And dried beans. So many options! Clearly we couldn't leave empty-handed. We bought some chourizos, honey, an empanada for lunch, along with corn bread, raisin nut bread, and regular bread. Phew! If I were the octopus-eating kind, we would have sat down at one of several tents selling Galician-style octopus. (Fun fact: the typical style of octopus served in Galicia is actually called á feira, fair-style. Makes sense!)

In a traditional sense, a fair wouldn't be a fair without the animals. We actually just happened upon it, as it was kind of apart from the rest of the hullabaloo. According to someone who has recently studied many laws related to animals and food safety, the sale of live animals in this type of setting is no longer legal. And it was kind of sad to see some chickens cooped up in cages little bigger than themselves. I'm not sure how much dealing was actually going on. It seemed more like people were just there to gawk at the variety of fowls. Ducks, geese, and all sorts of chickens. A few decades ago (or less!) this was the spot for Galicians to come sell their cows. Now, it's just a type of zoo, in addition to all the food and clothes available for sale. 

Nutty November

Now that October has come and gone, our current chestnut count is over 55 kg. That's almost my weight in chestnuts! And while the harvest season is coming to a close, this isn't even the final tally. There are still plenty more to be picked up. For example, we haven't had our annual Magosto with friends yet. Usually we have people over in the afternoon so they can collect some of their own chestnuts to take home before we get down to roasting them over the fire and feasting on them in good company. Our chestnut-collecting goal is 70 kg. I think we're on target.

Jackpot 3-for-one

I guess like many foods I've started eating in Galicia, chestnuts have grown on me. They're quite sweet, and when boiled can be eaten like cereal in warm milk. Or when made into a cream similar to apple butter, they're to die for! But what I most enjoy is the satisfaction of collecting my own food. Buying them from the grocery store just wouldn't be as appealing. By now we've staked out which tree gives the big ones (whoppers, as I call them), and which aren't really worth our time. Within each spiky bur grow 3 chestnuts. Usually the two on the ends are a decent size, but the one in the middle is so slim it's worthless. Other times, there's just a huge one in the middle, in between two useless flakes of chestnut. But every once in a while you hit the jackpot. That is, you find three good-sized chestnuts all in one burr. Now that's efficient!

This year aside from the usual bounty of chestnuts we've been collecting from the half-dozen trees in the yard, we've also collected tons of walnuts since mid-September. And they still keep coming! I don't think we've ever had so many in this yard. In the past, we got dirty unnecessarily, but now we've learned that it's possible to get walnuts without staining your hands black. The walnut shells grow in a green, leathery skin. Sometimes they fall with said green (or black, rotting) flesh. Other times they break loose and can be found on the ground in just the light brown shells we all recognize. In the past we would try to pick off the green skin, thereby dying our hands for days. No need, apparently. As they ripen, they loosen themselves from the green and are easy to collect that way. We've got a few dozen kilos drying, all from just two walnut trees.

Usually I go foraging with my canine companion. I've renamed him the Nutcracker. When there were only walnuts on the ground, he'd be by my side, crunching on the shells. At first I was concerned that he was eating them whole. But as it turns out, he knows what's up-- he cracks the walnuts open and spits them out to only get the meat inside. Wonder who he learned that from. Now that it's mostly just chestnuts, he's taken to doing the same. Except, I don't think chestnuts are good for him. He mostly spits them out whole. What a waste of a chestnut!