TIERRA DE AFILADORES

This is holy land. Solid convents and modest chapels dot the local riverbank. The Monastery of Santo Estevo is the most attractive in Nogueira de Ramuín, but we mustn't overlook the Romanesque church of San Martín de Nogueira. Its construction dates back to the 12th century. Two portals and corbels from that period are still preserved. On the main doorway, the capitals are decorated with motifs of flora and fauna. The hamlet of Espartedo seems frozen in time. This cluster of houses still stands despite having been abandoned for decades. The cobblestones and sturdy stone balconies transport us to the years when early settlers eked out a living here. The village schoolteacher lived in this house. Nogueira is a land of emigrants, the birthplace of knife sharpeners and umbrella makers. This forge has had a long and varied history, traversing hundreds of muddy and stony paths through numerous countries. He would blow the whistle and they would shout (the full shout of "the knife sharpener") so they knew the knife sharpener was coming.