The dead centre

Macabre but fascinating ,the cemeteries of Spain are a source of wonder and very different to those in Britain. Instead of digging down (often difficult because rock can lie just 2' below soil level) they build up. There are walls of cells like a beehive for the dead, often 30 or 40 cells horizontally and 4 or 5 vertically. The deceased are walled in ,in coffins, and the entrances of the tombs often have biographical details and sometimes photographs of the occupants.

Decorated with vases of flowers, usually plastic, for the frugal Catalan does not believe in wasting money on fresh flowers for those that can't smell the fragrance, they look like the remains of travelling fairgrounds, a little tacky and garish.

The plots are rented out, mostly on 5 year leases, if a family can't or won't pay then the lair becomes free for another family to take on, I have not yet discovered what happens to the remains of those evicted yet unknowing tenants. Though most families pay into perpetuity handing down the responsibility as a counterbalance to the inheritance. Like us all the Catalans worry that they have somewhere to rest, cremation still not being the most popular option here.

The sites themselves are mostly well tended, with just some tombs showing signs of decay, there are timeless elements to some of the family histories that can be traced by looking from ground level to 5th tier. Great grandparents below grandparents below parents below children, family trees stood on their heads.