Went on a marvellous Spanish Civil War walking tour in Barcelona yesterday, led by a Brit who's lived here for years. He's amassed a fascinating number of artefacts to show along the way, including many connected with the International Brigades.
Recommended next time you're in Barcelona and want to experience something deeper than the food scene and architecture: https://thespanishcivilwar.com
Spain's cabinet on Thursday approved measures worth more than two billion euros to alleviate the impact of a prolonged drought that has hit its key agricultural sector.
The country's water reserves are on average below 50% of capacity, while levels have fallen to roughly 25% in the two worst-hit areas – Andalusia in the south and Catalonia in the northeast.
The drought in Spain highlights how global warming is crippling the nuclear industry, which is entirely dependent on abundant quantities of water to function.
Spanish reactors, all on rivers, are competing with a range of other segments of society that rely on the decreasing levels of water.
Additionally, the heated water these plants return to the river exacerbate the problem.
Today in Writing History May 11, 1916: Spanish author, fascist and Nobel laureate, Camilo Jose Cela, was born. He was a staunch homophobe and a supporter of Franco, fascist leader of Spain. During the dictatorship, he worked as a censor for the fascist state and as an informer for the secret police.
This building was locked, but peering in through the window it looked like it housed a few farming exhibits. There was mention of a museum, maybe this was part of it.
Came across this spring yesterday with remarkable cooling properties. The Fuente de Corcuela at Moclin. I suspect originally built by it's wonderfully creative Arabic originators. It might have been 30c+ in the sun but on entering this area we were met by lovely cool air, generated partly by the shade but also by the water circulating through and away to lower regions. A wonderful spot and worth a visit if you are visiting the Granada area.
Yesterday we hiked the Ruta Gollizno at Moclin. A beautiful descent into a dramatic gorge with rope bridges and a heavily vegetated (cool!) river valley, followed by a tough ascent in the afternoon heat back up to the town. The cold beers afterwards were most welcome!
I struggle with cooking rice and I refuse to buy a rice cooker. I’ve tried a score of varieties to find a couple that I can cook reliably. The first on my list is “Bomba” which is from Spain & often used for paella. Wow! It’s delicious and easy to cook well. It uses a lot of water and expands width-wise rather than length-wise. It can also be cooked in a small batch, I use:
Ancient ruins, I love them. Stepping back in time, walking where others have walked but are no longer with us. Thought provoking #history. This is the Pecos ruins in New Mexico, adobe church or what is left of it. Fascinating history between the Pecos Indians and the Spanish.
Camera: Mamiya M645 1000S / Film: Ilford FP4Developer: Ilfotec LC-29 1+19 - 7.5 minutes / Agitation: Four inversions at the start, then 4 inversions every minute / Digitised: Nikon Z6 and Capture One software..
Trying to learn more about Spanish history and Kingdoms of Faith was a bust. (Almost exclusive focus on dynasties and war rather than cultural history, and barely discusses Jews?)
So let's try another angle. Anyone got a good cultural history of Sephardic Jews in Medieval Spain?
What a find! A restored farmhouse and outbuildings (a kind of museum) with a wonderful picnic site. I spent an enjoyable afternoon here; perfect temperatures too during the Spanish hot summer.
New at my Patreon... You'd think there'd be many direct trains between Lisbon and Madrid - but in fact there are zero. This is how I made that journey by rail, via four regional trains: