Neighbours work.Xidran´s brigde.

The auzolan or community work was a common practice in all the villages of  the valley of Aezkoa until recent years. Gradually had been disappeared and now ,only come true in very few occasions as I show you now, but still continue.The bridge  that you see in the picture was fallen few years ago , and although it was too much problem for walkers, walking along the path that goes  from Orbaizeta to the swamp of Irabia,  it was certainly awkward for people in mountain bike .

We choose 7 small trunks 7 meters in length to the base of the bridge, and had one of them to see how looks it from the stream bank.It was obvious that was necesary  to rebuild the old  wall of stone made without mortar, wearing fine stones. we rebuild the first of the sides with stone slabs and concrete remains of the old work of Irabia channel which were inside..

Gradually we began to move the rest of the logs, to align them, and fill the gaps between them, with branchs of hazel or ash, and rocks..

                                                                                   .The next step was to do a  walkable and  continous surface .we thought that a surface made with tables  could lead to the formation of fungi and algae and favor the slips, so we decided to do it like the old-fashioned, cheaper and in the sense of avoiding slips, more reliable. We create a gentle slope toward the bridge, and fill it with that ground. In some time when the soil has settled, we'll take a little more in the gaps that have formed.

Enjoy it!