Camins al Vent

I have often admired these curious chimney-like objects on the platform at the Valencia airport Metro station. But I do not know what they are or what they do, I just know that I like them.

I had to find out. There is a plaque on a nearby wall and they are called "Camins al Vent" by Enrique Sanisidro. I don't do Valencian but "Camins" must be the same word as the Spanish "Camino" which is well known and "Vent" has to be wind so I went to a Catalan-to-English translation website (I never found a Valencian one but reckoned that Catalan is close enough), typed it in and it came up with "Pathways of the Wind" which I think must be about right.

Enrique Sanisidro is a well established and respected Valencian artist, celebrated for his ceramic murals. I am sure that he will be pleased to learn that he can count me in as a new fan. And he is a local chap with his studio at Manises. Nice muriels, Enrique! See some of his other work here, www.enrique-sanisidro.com

But what do they do? What are they there for? There is a web link included on that plaque, www.elsfumeralsdemanises.com. Much good it is as all you get is the good old "No se encuentra la pagina" message. Bugger! Now, "elsfumeralsdemanises" is clearly "Els Fumerals de Manises". The airport is in the district of Manises and what on earth is a fumeral?  Last I heard, it was a volcanic phenomenon; a hole in the ground which releases hot gases. So I googled it and yes, in Valencian, the word "fumeral" is used to refer to a tall chimney (with hot gases gushing forth!) Indeed, there is a learned society dedicated to the study of Els Fumerals. Just in case you were wondering, chimney in Catalan is "xemeneia".

So, there we are. They have got something to do with chimneys and they're done by this Valencian artist geezer. That's really all you need to know. "Mind the Doors!!"