Laguarta

Laguarta, though quite a remote spot in the Valle de Serrablo, is easily found. From Boltaña take the road towards Lanave. It's scenic, narrow, winding and long. Take care. First the road goes up to the Puerto de Serrablo and then slowly goes down into the valley. You'll pass the sign for Matidero, cross the very young Río Guarga and eventually reach Laguarta. Drive through the small village and halt at the other side near the coloured waste containers. That's also the spot where the rivulet Barranco de Salvador crosses the road. Walk the path along the water. The mill is located only a few steps up stream.

Pictures: 10.IV.2007

(1) Electricity plant of Laguarta

Saturday, October 7th of 2006 was a great day for the dozen of people living permanently in Laguarta. It was then that —with much pump and circumstance— the new powerline was officially put in service. The village was ready for the twentyfirst century. Life would become much easier.

Some people even played with the idea of re-opening the albergue which was closed many years earlier precisely because there was no electricity. It should be possible to lure at least some tourists this way now.

(2) Start of powerline towards Laguarta

(3) Outlet of cooling water

The locals kept their cool though. They knew already that it would take a long time before the new commodity could be trusted to flow without hiccups. The old installation would be kept in working order as a backup.

Up until 2006 electricity came from this humble building (1) with Central painted on its door. Two lines, just above head-height, run to the nearest house and provided barely enough energy to make it possible to leave the home during dark winter nights, states a newspaper article relating the inauguration.

The same article also mentions that the mill made electricity since the beginning of the XXth century. That is perhaps a trifle too early.

The first edition (1933) of map 211 of the Spanish Instituto Geográfico y Catastral shows a construction at the same spot as the current mill, but there are no powerlines nor any other indication suggesting energy production. Other mills on the same sheet (e.g. Jánovas, Guaso) have lines drawn.
The second edition (1952) has the caption Fábrica de Electricidad at the right spot. I therefore assume that production started at the earliest somewhere in the 1930s.