In the pastoral calendar, the first days of July are marked by the rise of the herds of sheep to the leased pastures on the Pyrenean peaks. It is the moment of transhumance. In a certain place as a starting point, the ranchers who have grouped together to rent the Pyrenean pastures, come together to start the long journey. After placing the tricks and quarters on the cappings that will serve as guides, men and cattle set off. The current livestock routes or what remains of them, follow a path marked by the animals' own instinct when grazing, a few millennia ago, was nomadic. Thus, when the summer heat and drought arrived, the animals moved towards the Pyrenean ports where the snow on the peaks gave way to a rich blanket of fresh grass . The strong roots of this primitive form of grazing served to establish an agricultural economy between the mountains and the plains, which has allowed lowland farmers to enjoy the Pyrenean pastures in the summer, and those from the mountains, to share food. during the winter in the somontanos. One of the cabañeras that is still active is the one that, from La Puebla de Roda, goes up with 5,000 head of sheep to the pastures of the Arán Valley, after eight hard days crossing valleys and ports. Enrique is one of those few transhumant shepherds who go up the mountain to spend the three months of the summer with the cattle. Despite his age, 38 years old, Enrique proudly holds the position of mayoral or head of the ramada. “I have been with cattle since I was 14 years old. And, here in the mountains, with this year it seems to me that 12 years climbing ”. “The responsibility, the first thing is to know exactly where you have to go, you have to know the cabañera, that is the main base; because if you don't know the way, you won't travel anymore. And then, to know the points where the cattle can be stopped, where it can be respected, which can be carried wide. The first year you don't learn much. You have to take two or three years to learn it a little and it never ends, new things always come out ”. At different points along the route through the Sierra de Sis, previously agreed, the small herds are incorporated that will increase the cabin. The economic organization of the ramada on the bank of the Isábena, follows the system of "conlloquer", that is, one or more ranchers rent the pastures of the mountains of the Arán valley, and each owner who contributes his herd, will pay an agreed amount for each animal. This amount is fixed, dividing by the number of heads all expenses incurred from departure at the beginning of July to return at the end of September. As there are several heads of each herd that have joined in the highlands of the Sierra de Sis, some want to be noticed as leaders of the ramada "tocendo" among themselves with loud and dry blows. There are many problems facing this pastoral activity today, but the most serious is the human one. It is very difficult to find good young pastors who love their profession, and who are capable of facing a mission of such responsibility. “The evil of their parents is coming, that they have been brought up in a different way, that they have preferred to take them to study or to other jobs and, then, they are no longer inclined to this. That is why there are no longer young pastors. To go up here, which is a little heavier, more painful, there is no one who wants it, but those who already have the routine of years like me, for example or someone else. But they are the least ”. Some points of the route are accessible to vehicles, which allows the ranchers to bring hot dinner to the four shepherds who lead the herd, and share some nights with them . Many of the current mountain roads have been traced by the cattle tracks themselves, which sometimes produces an incompatibility between the slow march of the herds and the rush of the drivers. Of all the pastoral knowledge, a very important one is the veterinarian. Each one of the shepherds carries in their backpack a simple but complete first-aid kit to prevent diseases and cure the animals in the event of any mishap. Although the pregnant sheep have remained in low ground, among all the heads a future mother has been misled. Sometimes the birth is happy, but other times abortions or stillbirths occur , forcing herders to put their veterinary knowledge into practice . It is not uncommon for one of the twenty thousand moving legs to break along the way . Enrique makes an arrangement with splints, fish, cloth and rope to temporarily solve the problem. Some sheep become "drowsy" or "amorous." This problem has no possible cure, because as the shepherds say, "their brains are made water." When losing its sense of direction, the "sleepy" sheep gets lost in the herd and must be abandoned to its fate. The most common cures carried out by shepherds are disinfection and, above all, rid the animals of the dangerous "fly shit" in the sores that, with the laying of eggs, produce worms in a few hours that go increasing and infecting the wound. Once clean, the sore is disinfected with copper sulfate, chinibro oil, or other veterinary products. Many of the animals begin to suffer from the "patera", which is a disease produced in part by the humidity of the soil, which requires a skillful cleaning of the hooves. Some dogs, in their painstaking work, injure sheep with their sharp canines, causing leg wounds that can be dangerous. Enrique "slaves" the dog by cutting the tips of its fangs so that when it bites, it does not tear the muscle of its legs. A whole compendium of popular veterinary medicine serves shepherds to solve almost all the health problems that arise along the way. But many times they cannot prevent the death of animals or the fortuitous accidents typical of passing through difficult roads. The vultures, which are on the lookout throughout the journey, take advantage of the corpses that are left in the cabin as food , and it is that in nature, each living being has its space. Enrique and the other shepherds have to face another very frequent problem in the cabin: In some sections the width has been reduced because some farmers have plowed part of the cabin over the years to turn this land into labor fields. The "pasatxe" is the payment that was traditionally made to pass the herd for each term. All the way this payment is only kept in Durres, where a representative of the municipality accompanying the mayoral on their way through the term to collect this tax incidentally, amounting to a quarter apiece. To enter the Arán Valley, you have to overcome the barrier of peaks that close it on its south face, and whose ports are around two thousand meters high. The ascent of the port is the hardest part of the journey, and it begins by skirting the Caldes dam. The transhumant shepherd's workday has no end. At dawn each day, the herd sets out. At noon, when the sun sets, the cattle stop to "roam" until mid-afternoon when the heat eases. That is a good time to rest the shepherds and recover the hours of sleep that the short night has taken away from them. As long as the light allows it, the cattle will keep moving. Today, for example, you say, we are going to daze to such a place, and if they get stuck, they don't want to walk, they get heavy from the sun, because maybe you can't get there. That goes with time. If it is a cloudy day or it is raining, that day you have work to endure them, because you would have enough. Things go hand in hand with time . Despite the progressive disappearance of this livestock activity, the cabañera that goes up to the Arán valley can be said to be the busiest in those days ascent to the ports. Another herd with five thousand heads has joined the main herd from Arén . This forces Enrique to apply a traffic code that gives preference to the herd in front. From now on, our cabin must maintain a safe distance to prevent the animals from mixing. The days of walking are accusing both the animals and the shepherds. After "amurriar" in the hottest hours and before starting the march, shepherds and ranchers take the opportunity to cure the animals that need it, or to milk the goats that carry the truss loaded with milk. The route of the cabañera crosses the ski slopes to branch out towards the different mountains of the Arán Valley. Dawn in the Pla de Beret. The days of transhumance are over. From this ninth day the animals will graze on the leased pastures. The day begins with the trialling or separation of the chotos to free them from the weight of the tricks and quarters that have served as a guide for the herd during the trip. All this boisterous ritual precedes the solitude of the two shepherds who will stay all summer with the flock. After a brief farewell, the ranchers leave some bags of salt for the cattle, tools, bread and food in the shelter that the shepherds will occupy in the summer months. The lack of mineral salts in the grass of the Pyrenean ports, farmers must supplement it with common salt. This salt is given at dawn, pouring it on some stones or salt flats that over time have become fixed places. Between storms and sun, stones and water, the two shepherds will have to spend the summer months in the ports of the Arán valley. ”It gets long, it gets heavy, so many days, so many years in a row. If you see that it is not profitable, that every day there are more problems, you put something in your head to quit, and in the end you explode. What you cannot do is think about it today and do it tomorrow; the day that is it will leave ”. In the months of stay in the port the pastoral activity focuses on making the most of the herbs. "Dar nedio" call the shepherds to give a piece of grass every day, starting with the highest areas of the mountain, to go down, as the days go by, towards the "downspouts" of the valley where the grass is coarser . Every ten or twelve days the ranchers go up to the port to tribe the cattle and lower the lambs that are born daily. The shepherds have been separating these animals from the herd with their mothers to receive special treatment. The shepherds mark the property on the ear of each newborn lamb. Enrique has been visited by his sister Gloria and his nephews. It was a long walk to reach the port, but it was worth it. Spending a few hours with Enrique and Antonio, helping them in the work of collecting the lambs or sharing a meal in the mountains is enough to transmit to these transhumant shepherds that family warmth they need. The temperature changes in the Pyrenean mountains are as abrupt as they are unpredictable, and they become more pronounced in the last days of September. The appearance of the "colchicum autumnale" or "picnic" in the meadows, marks the moment of the return to the lowland. Once again the preparations of the cattle for the return days begin. It is the end of September. They will transport lambing, aborted or sick ewes and newborn lambs in trucks specially prepared for livestock. The placement of the shears and tricks on the neck of the cat will be followed by the slow walk towards the plain. By having fewer hours of light, the days will be shorter and therefore the return will have to be extended one more day. As happened in the ascent to the Pyrenean pastures, the descent is not without risks and work, fatigue and rain. But, for Enrique and Antonio, knowing that in a very few days they will be at home with their loved ones, they will sleep in their beds and they will dine around a table with their family is reason enough to start the walk with joy. On the day of arrival the breeders meet at the Coll de Vents to triage or separate the cattle. It is like a festive day. The cattle have been collected in the handling sleeves and each owner will separate all the heads of his property from the general herd, recognizing them by the brand of fish that they carry on their backs. A few days later, when all the payments have been made, the ranchers will meet with Enrique to go over the accounts. It is quite possible that expenses have increased while profits have decreased. Every year, the crisis in the livestock sector and the harshness of this work are forcing many ranchers and shepherds to change their trade for any other more stable activity. But ... until when?
