Figure 1.-- The Bethmale Valley is a Pyrenean valley in the Ariège department, Occitanie region, in southwestern France. There are only two municipalities: Bethmale (with two villages) and Arrien-en-Bethmale (with four villages). The photo was taken in 1910 and shows a group of women and children. Probably the men were busy with the flocks. We can notice that everyone is barefoot. Later in France, this became less common and was seen as a sign of great poverty, but here it was still very common at that time. We can notice that the woman on the right side is spinning wool using also her toes. Obviously, this is an impossible technique unless one is barefoot, and therefore it could only have been developed by people who often wore no footwear at all.

The breath-taking Pyrenees mountain range separates the Iberian Peninsula from the rest of Europe. It exends more than 430km separating Spain and France and rising higher than 3,400m in elevation. Today theae are There are hiking trails that crosse the entire length of the range and there vare national parks to enjoy the stunning natuaral beauty. Thee are two French regions involved, although the southern Pyrenees area covers only the extreme southern araa of these regions. Andorra is a small tiny sovereign state in the heart of the mountains. Nouvelle-Aquitaine covers the eatern portion. Occitania covers the southeasern region created from from the former regions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées. France today has a reltively homogenous national culture based on Parisuan French and culture. This was not the case through most of Fench history. Even as recently as World War I, there were destinct provisinal cultures, and this was especilly true in the sothern egions. And the isolated Pyrenees were a special case.

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Created: 1:44 AM 1/3/2025
Last updated: 1:45 AM 1/3/2025