Who is Bargeman from Iberia: Spanish Travels and Reflections and what is their importance?

Though his name is never revealed, Bargeman is the first person that the narrator meets in Spain. He runs a barge that sends out barrels of oranges to ships that wait out in the sea. Since Valencia does not have a port, this is the only way to get the oranges aboard. The narrator agrees to pay this man to take him to shore. Later the man takes him out in the city of Castellon where he teaches him about Spanish life and the different customs that they have.