We went to Viviero yesterday and took a look at the Belen – Nativity scene there. It is the one we have been to before, in fact probably the only one we’ve been to since living in Spain. It is a large set up which covers the whole of a square outside a church in the old town. I like Viviero, although it is a town with a few challenges – not least it is on the coast so has the sea on oneside, and then an estuary and river on the other with one bridge for traffic going along the coast in either direction. And the bridge I believe is ancient, certainly from days of horses and carts and centuries before cars and lorries. So traffic is very often slow going through the centre.
There’s also the challenge of the old town, with lots of tiny houses in extremely narrow streets which can’t be accessed by cars or anything bigger really than a moped. Many of these are now derelict or abandoned, in ruins as they are difficult to maintain and really by today’s standards, difficult to live in. I guess at some stage the decision will be to ‘sacrifice’ some of these streets or even just a few of the derelict properties to make it more accessible.
But it’s still an interesting town and while we only go there when we have admin to do (it’s where we get our documents done), it’s always nice for a wander (I think).
Look at the last pic below – I don’t know if this is historically accurate or just built on what people know – however that fireplace is EXACTLY what we have in the barn!
And – well what would nativity be without a bit of Jesus suffering for good measure…
This mural is over the wall from where the Belen is with Mary and Joseph.
‘The Agony of Christ’
