Guaso

Guaso is easily reached from L'Ainsa where you start at the signpost pointing to Guaso. You'll leave the village, cross the Río Ena and then reach a bunch of houses at the foot of a higher plateau. Turn right towards the Río Ara. The road is becoming narrow, runs straight-on and then takes a sharp turn to the left. Shortly thereafter a branch to the right will bring you down into the riverplains. Time to drop the car. Follow the road and you'll soon find the markings of the local PR-walking circuit. Follow this path to the West and You'll long the irrigation and drainage channels and first encounter the Batán, then the new powerstation and eventually the main building.

Pictures: V.2001, VIII.2006, XII.2007

(14) What remains of the flourmill: a couple of stones.

We were sincerely welcomed by the present owner who showed us every corner of his project.

Originally the mill was much lower: the upper floor is a recent addition together with several other improvements — many of them to reduce energy spending. The groundfloor is now a joinery.

Apart from a couple of stones (14) nothing of importance remains of the corn mill. The aceitero survives only as some fragments of the wall (12). Presumably, the press is on show in a hotel in Boltaña.

In the basement several empty socles witness past times (15, 16). The drain of the turbine empties in a long tunnel which is still accessable via a manhole (17) near the new power station. The 1933 map shows lines from the mill leading to Guaso and Latorecilla, Margugued and Sieste, Ainsa and maybe much farther (but the map is a bit blurred in some areas).

Recently a new turbine was installed in a small building a short distance away from the old mill (19). While we were there, in 2006, the installation was running but only at 80% of its calculated capacity of 100kW. Fine tuning would soon follow. The joinery will use part the energy. The rest will be delivered to the public network. A nice future for an old site.