ABSTRACT
Located on the northern side of the Sierra de Gredos, in the comarca of El Barco de Avila and some sixty miles from the city of Avila, La Nava de San Miguel is a pueblo, or perhaps more precisely, an aldea of thirty-seven households sited at an altitude of 1,230 metres above sea level, surrounded on three sides by mountains which rise to an average height of over two thousand metres. According to Gonzalo Barrientos, the simple passing of the mountains causes an average drop in temperature of fourteen degrees centigrade, which is enough to precipitate the greater part of the fronts' condensed humidity. The village has had electric lighting since 1962, but before that the villagers had to make do with candiles and the light from the kitchen hearth. Fresh fruit and vegetables are brought to the village by lorry every Thursday and Friday, Wine is also brought to the village.
