Windmill at El Algar (1)
This windmill is one of three on the outskirts of the village of El Algar which have been restored to working order. Strictly speaking it is not a mill, because it does not do any milling. It is used, albeit nowadays in conjunction with electric pumps, to irrigate the adjacent fields. In the past the work was probably shared by animal-driven mills - wheels of blood, as the Spanish call them (norias de sangre) - for a wind-pump is only useful when the wind is blowing.
Fortunately, the wind in this region is reliable throughout the summer months and throughout much of the winter, tending to go to sleep only in December and January. Despite this fact, I have only once seen this windmill working... which tends to suggest that modern man is much more fussy about the strength of the wind than his forbears!