Spain and Portugal for Visitors

Wikiloc is a website with the goal of helping you "share and discover GPS tracks and waypoints from around the World in an easy way," in other words, it is a wiki for routes or trails - walking trails, climbing trails, cycling trails, mountain bike trails and many more, not just in Spain and Portugal, but practically everywhere in the world. But Wikiloc's founder, Jordi L. Ramot, is a Spanish software engineer, based in his native (I am guessing from the name) Catalonia, an expert in all things geospatial and enthusiastic trail-beater. Wikiloc has nearly 27,000 users at the time of writing, and over 32,000 trails. Whether or not you use it to plan an excursion, it is tremendous fun (and if you are GPS-handicapped and want to contribute, you can always upload your route in kml format). The news, though, is that Google Earth now includes Wikiloc trails (including Panoramio pics, the other great Spanish contrinution to Google Earth). Read on for a sample trail and the different types available, from ATV to Zoo* trails.

Posted by : John Ross on Thursday, October 02, 2008 - 12:21 PM 60 reads

A press release just in announces the inauguration of the Palace of Rubianes Hotel and Golf in the heart of the countryside of Asturias, and it really is mouth-watering. The four-star, 23-room hotel is appealing enough in itself, being a restored 16th-century manor house, complete with tower, water mill and hórreo (a kind of granary, raised on stilts, typical of Galicia and Asturias), 9-hole golf course, restaurant and aerodrome. But throw in the fabulous surroundings on the lower slopes of the Sierra de Sueve, home to a 1,000-year old yew forest, the oldest in Europe, and it becomes almost irresistible. The hotel has its own 200-hectare hunting estate (partridge, pheasant and pigeon), if that is your thing, and at hand, you have a local stud farm, the River Sella (famous for the annual descent by canoe), some of the best salmon fishing in Spain, and the gorgeous countryside of Asturias. Read the Palacio de Rubianes press release.

Posted by : John Ross on Thursday, October 02, 2008 - 10:13 AM 78 reads

The planned tunnel between Morocco and Spain has received a serious setback, and it is possible that it may now not be feasible. A paleochannel is a kind of dried up water course which has become filled up with soil, and geological studies have found not one but two running east-west across the bed of the Straits of Gibraltar. A tunnel would have to run through them or underneath them. The Straits of Gibralter are very deep and the huge pressures mean tunnelling under the paleochannels is probably impossible, and the muddy nature of their fill means boring through them would be difficult and hugely expensive.

Posted by : John Ross on Monday, September 29, 2008 - 11:33 AM 89 reads

Since Republican presidential candidate McCain put his foot squarely in it last week by confusing Spain and Latin America in an interview and hinting that he would give Spanish president Zapatero the cold shoulder, I've had the chore of ploughing through heaps of blog posts related with the upcoming US elections in my regular Google Alerts for Spain. Oh well. It's been worth it, though, for I have discovered the very funny Sarah Walker,* who made me laugh out loud by her proclaimed adoption of the Spanish way of life: "Why? Because Spain is a winner, and it boils my fiery, passionate Mediterranean blood to hear that McCain would refuse to meet with the Spanish Presidente or Prime Minister or Jefe or whatever. Spain is a winner and our country should befriend winners. Look at tennis star Rafael Nadal winning everything and having great hair. Also, lest we forget, Spanish futbol, that's soccer to you, won the Euro Cup this year. They also have great hair, by the way." She's right, of course, Spain has been on the most extraordinary winning streak - more about that on the next page. The headline is inspired not by Rafa Nadal's great hair but by Ms Walker's idea that if the lyric-less Spanish national anthem did have words, it would begin: "Oh Spain you are so sexy." Danged right. Read on.

Posted by : John Ross on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 - 09:45 AM 169 reads

Iberia has announced that it will cease to operate the historic, twice-weekly Madrid-Gibraltar route, because there is not enough demand for it. The last flight will take off for Madrid from Gibraltar Airport on September 28th. The opening of the route in 2006 was one of the very few signs of progress made in the dispute between the UK and Spain about sovereignty over Gibraltar since... well, ever. The airport-sharing arrangement involved was the result of a particularly momentous agreement, because Gibraltar Airport is doubly disputed by Spain, as it is on land not covered by the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, whereby the Rock - El Peñon - became a British possession. That's all, click the headline to leave a comment.

Posted by : John Ross on Tuesday, September 23, 2008 - 06:20 AM 141 reads