Bob Bolling 's Website in Galicia, Northwest Spain

Our neighbors, Paca and Manolo, asked us to feed their dog, Truman, while they were attending a fiesta in Betanzos for two days. We're familiar with Truman and were glad to oblige. But it turned out to be harder than we thought.

Behind the walls (and grapevines) is a centuries-old stone house that once was the home of the monks in Ambroa.
Truman is barely visible at the gates on our second visit to feed him.

As they were leaving, Paca and Manolo locked Truman up while they got their car out but they forgot to let him back into their walled-in yard. Plus, they locked their front gates, so the only access to the yard (and to Truman) was over a six-foot stone wall.

When it came time to feed the dog, Marivi's sister, Rosa, was visiting us and she volunteered to walk down and do it. When Rosa discovered the locked gate she managed to scale the wall, release Truman into the fenced-in yard and feed him. Climbing back down the wall was harder than climbing up and Rosa scraped her arms on the rough stone. For the next feedings, we took a ladder along to avoid getting scratched up on the stone wall. (Inside the wall, the yard is a foot or so from the top of the wall.)

Feeding Truman September 2005
Our neighbors, Paca and Manolo, asked us to feed their dog, Truman, while they were attending a fiesta in Betanzos for two days. We're familiar with Truman and were glad to oblige. But it turned out to be harder than we thought. Behind the walls (and grapevines) is a centuries-old stone house that once was the home of the monks in Ambroa. Truman is barely visible at the gates on our second visit to feed him. As they were leaving, Paca and Manolo locked Truman up while they got their car out but they forgot to let him back into their walled-in yard. Plus, they locked their front gates, so the only access to the yard (and to Truman) was over a six-foot stone wall. When it came time to feed the dog, Marivi's sister, Rosa, was visiting us and she volunteered to walk down and do it. When Rosa discovered the locked gate she managed to scale the wall, release Truman into the fenced-in yard and feed him. Climbing back down the wall was harder than climbing up and Rosa scraped her arms on the rough stone. For the next feedings, we took a ladder along to avoid getting scratched up on the stone wall. (Inside the wall, the yard is a foot or so from the top of the wall.)
Truman, waiting at the gates	It's a lot easier if you use a ladder. (That's Ambroa's Church in the background.)
When Paca and Manolo returned, we borrowed their gate key and made copies. That was probably a good idea anyway, even without the dog-feeding incident. If an emergency arose while the gate was locked it would be hard for some people (me, for example) to get in to help.