Spain and Portugal for Visitors

Posted by : John Ross on Jun 07, 2008 - 08:39 AM Aragon

The inauguration celebrations for Expo Zaragoza 2008 are next weekend, beginning on the evening of June 13th, before the Expo as such opens the next day, June 14th. The Expo, with the theme of Water and Sustainable Development, will run until September 14th. Over a hundred countries are taking part, representing (says the organization) over 50% of the population of the world. The inauguration was put in question last week when Spain's record May rainfall caused the Ebro to break its banks upstream of Zaragoza, and overflowed at the Expo site itself, causing little damage but much nuisance and forcing reorganization of the inauguration celebrations. The Expo site occupies a loop in the River Ebro in the northwest of the city and includes the Expo itself and a large "water park." Spain is used to hosting World Expos, after Seville's successful Expo '92, and Expo Zaragoza 2008 is expected to receive something like 2 million visitors.

The site of Expo Zaragoza 2008 is arranged in ecosystems: Islands and Coasts; Oases; Ice and Snow; Temperate Forests; Tropical Rainforests; Mountains; Mediterranean; and Grasslands, Steppes and Savannahs. Its most recognisable landmark is the 76-m high Torre de Agua, Water Tower, and its most interesting pavilion is probably the freshwater Aquarium, representing the flora and fauna of five of the great rivers of the world: the Nile, Mekong, Amazon, Murray-Darling and, of course, the Ebro.

The programme of concerts and other performances includes over 3,600 acts. Major draws include Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Robert Cray, Keb Mo, Ruben Blades, Diana Krall, The Stray Cats and Los Lobos, and the closing act will be a performance by Gloria Estefan.

Zaragoza Airport receives only a few international flights. However, Saragossa iis less than 3 1/2 hours by road from Madrid and 3 hours from Barcelona. The new AVE high-speed train makes the journey even shorter - 1 hour 20 minutes from Madrid and 1 hour 45 minutes from Barcelona.