We see these old stone fences all over Muxia and other places in Galicia. We could not figure out what their purpose was. They were small, the fences were low, couldn’t be for animals or property rights. The guy we met from Portugal had the answer, he had seen them before. When you clear a field you remove as many rocks as possible. You put them to the side, not too far, hence the small size. Often they are just left there, we have seen that on the Camino. But if you are in a place with a lot of wind (and Muxia definitely qualifies) you can build the stones into walls that act as wind breaks for the plants, especially the young ones. And, according to our Portuguese source, if you grow grapes by the walls they act as heat sinks and change the character of the wine. He said that is one thing that is responsible for the taste of Madeira wine.