The Green Spain: Galicia

International tourism business in Spain started flourishing in the sixties and seventies decade of the 20th century, mainly featuring beach and sunny locations and (at the time) very cheap prices in an economy that fell way behind the rest of the western world. Thus most topics and known images of the country outside of our borders spring from or are related to the areas that offer these particular experiences: the eastern rim with the Catalonian Costa Brava or Valencia (Paella, if eaten everywhere in Spain, is a Valencian traditional dish) to quote just two, and Andalucía in the south coast, with the Costa del Sol of Málaga province as most popular attraction. Most of these areas are, if enjoyably sunny, also dry and arid looking in general to the visiting and local eye. And I get the feeling that such is the impression most tourists, would be and returning alike, have from Spain. They are mistaken. For Spain is also humid, green and deeply forested , as you will confirm if you go and stride for a while along the north coast and westernmost areas. Even Andalucía turns greenish as you cross to its western counties, encountering the Coto de Doñana, second biggest marshes region in the whole of Europe, or the mountain range of Grazalema, which is the rainiest spot of the country. As for the north it is all a green lively scenery that turns even more lush as you go from east to west until you reach Galicia in the northwest corner of the peninsula: the wild celtic lung of our barbarian heritage.
Galicia is the perfect communion of land and sea, with a fisherman’s soul but inextricably attached to its hills, low mountains and forests. It has a body of stone into which the Atlantic Ocean and the Cantabric Sea have carved firths and lagoons: the rías. This word’s origin is very illustrative; you see, ría is the female of the word for river (río) representing the sea penetrating and inseminating the land, in opposition to inland waters releasing into the big blue. You will find the Rías Bajas (Low Inlets) in the south west of the region, close to the Portuguese border, and the Rías Altas (High Inlets) in the north rim of Galicia.

The five Rías Bajas (South to North they comprise the inlets of Vigo, Pontevedra, Arousa, Muros I Noia and Corcubión, all named after the main villages located at their innermost points) present a curious microclimate, pretty mild compared to the rest of Galicia, with as many days of sun per year as the Costa Brava, and quite a few small but nice blue flagged beaches, including the beaches of the Cíes Islands (recently acclaimed by Conde Nast Magazine, if memory serves, as being among the 10 most beautiful in the planet) in front of the entrance to Vigo Inlet, and the beach of La Lanzada, a bit north from there, in the outer side of the Ría de Arousa, very close to the village of El Grove, both still wild. Western orientation provides for the most spectacular sunsets, too. The cultural patrimony of this area includes treasures of architecture and sculpture, mainly of Gothic and Romanesque style and dating, almost everywhere you go, and you should visit and see, to name but a few, the old quarter of the city of Pontevedra, monasteries like San Juan de Poio or San Ero de Armenteira, and captivating old towns like Cambados or Padrón, and the tiny fishermen village of Combarro, one of the most charming places you can find in Galicia and even Spain in general. The Isla de la Toja is also a balneary center of first order in the country, with few but magnificent spas.
A few miles into the coast, and halfway from Rias Bajas to the north end of Galicia you will find Santiago de Compostela, capital of the region and resting place of Spain’s patron saint, St James (Santiago in Spanish). There is a saying in Galicia that might give you a slight idea of the stone engraved beauty of this city: “In Santiago, rain is art”; for in the rainiest city of the country, every falling drop outlines an utterly fascinating compound of medieval dating constructions crowned by St James’ cathedral, standing in the Obradoiro square, one of the most beautiful settings of this kind you will find in the planet.

The north coast of Galicia starts in the west corner with a stretch of wild rocky cliffs and rocks beaten by the sea, known as Costa da Morte (Coast of Death-because of the hundreds of ship wreckages that have taken place in its dangerous waters) that after about 110 miles leads to A Coruña, first of the Rias Altas (west to east, A Coruña, Betanzos, Ares, Ferrol, Cedeira, Ortigueira, Barquero, Vivero, Foz ad Ribadeo). The city of A Coruña, founded, legend says, by Heracles himself after defeating a dragon, is the most modern and cosmopolite of Galicia, mixing modernity, romanticism and pragmatism. Gothic churches share the city with Baroque civil constructions, Modernist and Futurist buildings, medieval castles, French renaissance gardens and a 60 m roman lighthouse dating from the II century. All this surrounded by the promenade along the seafront, one of the longest and most beautiful in Europe, crossing two excellent beaches , the Museum of Man, the Castle of San Anton and the roman lighthouse (Torre de Hércules or Heracles’ Tower, symbol of the city). Although the climate is much rainier and misty and the waters of the Cantabric Sea (mixing the Atlantic with the British Channell’s that come from the North Sea) are pretty colder than the Mediterranean’s or the Atlantic’s you can find wonderful beaches along the Rias Altas, including the spectacular Playa de las Catedrales (beach of the Cathedrals) small in its strands but fascinating in the forms of the cliffs that can be seen and explored during the low tide. In this area you can also find the Cabo del Mundo (World’s cap), with the highest cliffs in western Europe (more than 600 m) except for the Nordic fjords. The cultural patrimony and the stone jewels also abound, featuring monasteries like San Andres de Teixido, second most important pilgrimage in the region after St James or villages like Betanzos.

There are too many charming places in Galicia and as usual the entry is stretching too long. Many of the locations I have quoted will hopefully star a more comprehensive article some of these days. I do not want to finish, though, without suggesting one more location, this time inland: the city of Lugo, in time capital of the roman province of Gallaecia. Patrimony of Humanity like Santiago, it keeps the best preserved roman walls compound of the world (and many other things, but just this is enough to justify the visit).

Final considerations: thanks to heavens above, tourism in Galicia is not a massive thing like it is in other parts of Spain. Urban “development” goes on, but luckily at a slower pace. Tourism is a big source of income in this area which is economically poor compared with others in Spain, but it has evolved through person to person recommendations with the locals realising potential business and setting up small family hotels, instead of huge industrial investments. You can also find big hotels, mainly in the big cities and around Rias Bajas, but that is not the rule. Let’s keep it that way.

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Day trips around Lisbon: an informed choice

It is hard to lead a tour to places you know beforehand are not what people expect, especially when they have paid to go there, but the fact, let us face it, remains that some locations have to be featured in some trips because their names are popular and ring bells in people’s minds, regardless of their individual merits concerning what the tourist likes to see and visit. My first entry about this topic revolves around magical Lisbon near where there are a few of these along with some great places. This entry is not a “Don’t go” recommendation. It just gives some info about what you can find in these places so you can make an informed decision about how to plan your day trips while in the capital of Portugal. The most known locations around Lisbon are Estoril, Cascais, Sintra, Nazaret, Óbidos, Batalha and Alcobaça. Let us get to it.
Estoril: it is one of the most famous beach and holidaying spots for the Portuguese and features a speed circuit for bikes and F1 (part of the world championship in both disciplines if memory serves) and its great casino, very famous in the country, slightly less famous throughout Europe and I can only guess if I it has been heard of in other continents. Below the area there is also a prehistoric necropolis (Caves of Alapraia) of which I know because I have read it in a couple of guides, but after nearly a dozen visits I haven’t had the chance to visit them, nor do I know anyone who has. There is not an official entity that gives tickets or tends to the place in general. If you are in to prehistoric settlements you will have to fend for yourself and arrange your visit with the locals in whose lands the entrances to the caves are found. I am sure the Internet will prove helpful. Apart from these there is not anything that I might find appealing to choose it as a daytrip or part of it. Sure it is a great place to spend a few days holidaying: very nice beaches and on the whole a pretty cosmopolite residential area with cool neighbours. It can be a good base, but is poor for a visit. The casino boasts the biggest array of slot machines in Europe (or it used to, at least) and some good shows, and you will find the speed circuit a few miles inland, actually closer to Sintra. Oh, one thing if you like stories of spies (I do!): in the side od Estoril that touches Cascais, on the beach, stands the Estoril Sol, a veteran hotel that acted as one of the most popular neutral bases during the cold war in which agents from confronted potencies would meet.
Cascais: It touches Estoril and is also a very popular spot for spending the summer holidays. It has a couple of things though, that Estoril does not. First its patrimony is a bit richer, with a couple of churches dating from the XVII century (Assunçao and Dos Navegantes) and a solid looking citadel from the same period used as a military quarter that also contains a small palace which has served as summer residence for royal and presidential families. Neither the citadel nor the palace are open to the public, however. It also has an spectacular natural feature: the Boca do Inferno or Maws of Hell (alluring, huh?). A short walk or 5 minutes drive from the citadel the salted waters have eroded in the coastal cliffs a massive cave 20 meters high and some 30 meters wide, roofless and connected to sea through impressive howling mouths that scream and spit when weather is harsh. It is cool, too, in sunny days, but loses much of its appeal (the flea market and bars that have erupted right by its side don’t do much for this magic, either). Another good thing of Estoril are its restaurants: it is one of the best places to eat seafood in the country. All in all, the town is good as a base camp to spend some days (almost as cosmopolite and trendy as Estoril, but it also keeps some air of the old village of fishermen it once was) or to drop by part of an afternoon for a couple of hours, have lunch and visit the Boca. Not much more.
Sintra: beautiful town, Patrimony of Humanity, just plan your visit carefully if you don’t have much time. I have another entry about it in the blog.
Nazaré: a few years ago it was still an unspoiled little fishermen postcard like village. So much so that tourism has ended up eroding most of this charm in very little time, so popular it became. Its main industry is still fishing, though, and the fish market, 5 in the afternoon during the week, is something impressive to watch with the particular characteristic of women doing the biddings; as with any other fish market in the world you wn’t catch a word, even a hint, of what is going on, unless you are an experienced fisherman or a local, but it is nonetheless good fun. The artisan fish drying that takes place nearby, in the beach, is also very instructive. Part of the town occupies a high perch in a reef above the bay, in a place called El Sitio (The Site), where a small chapel near a very picturesque small square, commemorates the story of a nobleman from the inner countryside that miraculously managed to stop his horse, riding after a deer he was hunting, on the very verge of the sheer cliff. There is an elevator from the beach to the square, from the balcony of which you can take a beautiful picture of the bay below. Of course it was a lot prettier when the town below was just a tiny village. There is also a church in the square, with an interesting interior. In half an hour you have seen all there is to see up in El Sitio, and there is not much to see downtown unless you are into fishing, or into local traditions and way of life (if you are, it is a nice visit).

Óbidos: I will not tell you much about Óbidos because I plan to dedicate it another entry in a nearby future. I will just say it is a beautiful postcard town, nearly themepark like, in spite of the crowds. A medieval Moorish wall marks the ship shaped silhouette of this small village of white houses, narrow steep alleyways and cobblestoned streets crowned by the Castle ad Church of Saint James. Go.

Fátima: If you are religious, catholic and pious, you have reasons to come here. More than I can give you, and you will know about the Misteries of Fatima, the alleged miracles and its history. If you are interested in religious history it is also an interesting place. Otherwise I would not rank it as a priority for a visit. The sanctuary is huge and impressive, particularly the esplanade and the 65 m. high tower of the church, all with neoclassic reminiscences. Too much for me. The rest of the town is estructured to make the most of the pilgrim crowds (it is not always crowded, but if you go any 13th day of the month you might have a hard time to get to the sanctuary), full of smaller or bigger shops selling religious merchandising (and a couple of them specialised in Portuguese wines, too).

Batalha and Alcobaça: as with Óbidos, they deserve a different entry to themselves and this one is getting too long. To make it short, I will only tell you that the only reason to go to these two little villages is to visit the monastery that each of them features. Don’t miss them if you can avoid it. Alcobaça dates from 1153 and within its walls you will have a spectacular impression of what life in a medieval monastery was. The monastery of Batalha (Battle) is an absolute masterpiece of Portuguese architecture and sculpture, featuring the Capelas Imperfeitas (Unfinished Chapels). The sites are not very far from each other if you have a car, so you can dedicate a whole morning to both of them and visit them consecutively (wake up early and allow a couple of hours for each one).

General considerations: my order of preference would be: Batalha and Alcobaça, Sintra or Óbidos, Cascais or Nazaré, Fátima and Estoril. Keep in mind, however, that Batalha, Alcobaça, Fatima and Óbidos are (if not far from each other) all of them much further away (2 hours drive) from Lisbon than the rest (Sintra is half an hour from Lisbon and Cascais and Estoril are even closer, while Nazare is roughly halfway between Óbidos and Cascais). A very nice full day itinerary can combine the two great monasteries with Óbidos and Tomar (I will speak about this spot in another entry, there is an amazing Templar monastery-fortress here), starting with Tomar. You can also start going to Óbidos and from there do a route south along the coast through Nazaré, Cascais and Estoril (even to Sintra after Cascais, though you might find attractions are closed by the time you get there). Such comprehensive combinations, however, are only possible if you have a car and either a GPS or a very good sense of orientation, as they will need you to lose no time on the way.

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Monasterio de Piedra: Gardens of lush beauty

I have led many tours, in many occasions, to places I was visiting for the first time myself, which is obvious and natural if you think about it (“nobody is born knowing” we say in Spain, and, after all, only practice makes perfect), and a significant part of my job involves thorough research and preparation to ensure, among other things, that such circumstance doesn’t show. Even if you understood it, much of the magic I strive to transmit through my work would be lost and nobody wants that, so I am very used to tread confidently and knowingly unknown trails, trusting my skills and previous preparation. And still, every now and then, a place surprises you and knock’s you off your pace. The actual beauty of the Gardens of El Monasterio de Piedra caught me embarrassingly unaware and produced one such situation first time I engaged it.
You see, this place is topic in Spain, one of those romantic sites nearly everybody has been to in that trip the pictures of which they threaten with showing you (all 600 of them) every odd reunion (right over coffee, before you have had time to make a remark on how late it’s getting for that important business you have this afternoon). Because of this, most people underestimate it or just rub it off with a shrug. I did so, too and didn’t pay due attention to graphic reference material; as a result, most of that first walk we had around this idyllic place it was all I could do not to stare open mouthed at its cascades, pools and caverns.
This place translates to English as Monastery of Stone and owes it’s name not to the materials of the actual building but to the river Piedra (“Stone”) that runs through the surrounding private natural park, creating the wonders I have mentioned. The monastery itself was founded in 1197 by some Cistercian monks come from Poblet, in the Catalonian region, and is a nice mixture of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque elements; have a go and visit it while you are there, if you have time, but keep in mind that the park is the jackpot, and it will take you the best part of three hours to trail it exhaustively. The monastery and its gardens stand in an area of small hills and valleys at the end of a winding old road, near medium sized town of Calatayud and close to much smaller village of Nuevalos, about 3 hours drive from Madrid or 1,5 from Zaragoza, capital of the Aragonese region. You will have to take a few detours from the highway, so make sure you’ve done your home work or GPS is connected. If you don’t have a car, best option is to take a bus from Zaragoza (most days of the week there is one in the morning and one back at around 5 pm, more or less 15 € return ticket).
You will be given a map of the park which helps to identify and find easily the best spots. Arrow signals (red to go deeper into the gardens, blue to find your way out) along with the map will hopefully make sure you don’t get lost. From the furthest point inside the park it can easily take you more than one hour to get back out. The park descends to the lowest part of a narrow valley, following the river in a few spectacular jumps like the 50 meters high Tail of the Horse: you don’t want to miss this: once you locate this one, find, close by it, a very steep tunnelled stair, it will take you down to a huge moss covered cavern behind the actual waterfall. This was the very feature that made me lose my step and stare tantalized for a couple of minutes before I realized one person from the tour was asking me something and I was ignoring him completely. Luckily for me I am very enthusiastic in all my lectures and trips and it shows when something fascinates me, even if I have seen it a dozen times, so my “No matter how many times I have come here, it still captivates me” sounded very natural for most witnesses. Judging by the wink of his eye and the cunning smile, though, I don’t think I fooled the guy involved. Down in the valley you will pass some artificial piscifactory pools into a gorge that surrounds the Mirror Lake and the Devil’s Crag. On your way there and the rest of the park you will find beautiful corners with evoking names like Diana’s Bath, Trinity Falls, the Panther’s Cave or the Sombre Waterfall.
As a last recommendation, best place to have lunch is a very nice restaurant about a mile off the Monastery by the same road you got there. It’s called the Mirador.

More info:

http://www.monasteriodepiedra.es/

http://www.estacion-zaragoza.com/

http://www.restaurantemirador.com/index2.htm

More photos:

http://www.fotoviaja.com/2007/01/11/zaragoza-monasterio-de-piedra

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Backpacking in Scotland

Wages in Spain are not that good for the eleventh economy of the world (they are sad, actually), mine in particular, so when I managed a few days off last winter and I decided that I couldn’t wait more to see Scotland, I soon realised, on checking transport and hotel prices, that backpacking was my only option, at least if I intended to pay the rent and eat at least twice a day (I have weird habits, I like to eat everyday and have a roof under which to sleep regularly!) for the following months. So I called on one of my teenager brothers and asked for my old rucksack back, and prepared myself to discover exactly how old can being 31 years old and three stones heavier really feel when you go back to doing things the way you did them back when you thought yourself immortal. And I haven’t regretted that decision for a single moment. Oh, I felt, old, out of shape, heavy and broadly in need of medical treatment, but I loved every minute! I found Scotland (or what I saw of it) a great country to travel this way.

First thing to say is that Scotchs are a jolly good bunch: warm, good spirited and generous. I would say they probably are, along with Irish, French and Italians (in no particular order) the most similar to Spanish in their attitude towards life within Europe. And this is particularly important when you travel virtually penniless and short of luxuries and commodities: they try to make you feel at home.
Hostel accommodations in Scotland are aplenty, and for all reports I’ve gathered, pretty good in general. It is a popular destination among backpackers, so there is an important infrastructure which results in a very wide and varied offer to choose from: family owned, youth hostels, chains, YMCA’s, dorms… In Edinburgh in particular I would recommend Macbackpackers chain from reports of many travelling companions. Among other reasons, like their more than then years of experience in the business, they have a good net of hostels in the most popular spots of the country, are very good quality-price related, and shape a family-like community of users which makes it very easy to make friends through your travels. Another very good option is the Smart City Hostel, awarded five quality stars by VisitScotland’s tourism board. This is where I stayed. Smart city is the largest and newest hostel in the Scottish capital; an awful lot of money has been invested in its construction, and it shows. Facilities are very ample and include a pub with the adjacent common room and its massive plasma tv, internet centre, common kitchen with all utensils you might need in abundance, two terraces for smokers or just for being outside if temperature is nice (haha! Sorry I didn’t mean to laugh but the combination Edinburgh-November-Nice temperature is not very likely)… As for the rooms, they are spacious for the average hostel, and all include separate shower and toilet facilities. All in all, very nice, if kind of lacking the atmosphere of camaraderie that I could see at MBP hostels.
Transport issues: in the end I didn’t use much of the public transport network outside Edinburgh, but before I went I did my homework and I found it was well managed in general, if not very exhaustive. Trains can take you to many of the most popular locations and ScotRail offers different passes that cover rail transport in particular areas of the country (some including the subway in Glasgow) but if you are a medium to keen off-the-beaten-path trailer you will have to resort to buses or, in occasions, to the mail service vans, and plan carefully your itinerary and schedule if, like me, only have a few days to spend.
Finally, you can, as did I, take a backpacking tour; you won’t regret it. And here Macbackpackers turn up again (I get no commissions, mind you, I speak of them ‘cos they are good-you reading this guys? How about a little discount next time? ;oD ). They offer a small but comprehensive variety of tours around Scotland. You ride in Mercedes minivans with a guide/driver and sleep in hostels of their network-accommodation is paid apart, on arrival to each hostel). Also, one of the tours is an exhaustive hop on-hop off through the most popular places, so you can visit Scotland at your favourite pace. Whichever option you choose, the schedule is driving all trough scenic routes, stopping at least every couple of hours at historical, beautiful or otherwise significant spots (and everyday there one or two stops are made at places where you have a supermarket or similar to buy food or other things you may need). All the while the drivers/guides are filling you in on what you see, where you are, local and general history, folklore, creating a friendly atmosphere among everyone in the trip and in the whole making the journey an experience you will never forget. And boy, these guys are good! I have led tours in my Spain and Portugal for about six years and I know very few guides that can compare to them with their informal but genial ways. Our driver, a great guy from Auchterarder (it has taken me ages to work out the spelling from what I remembered it sounded like!) in Perthsire, called Neil, could have us laughing our asses off and, half an hour later, after he told us a wonderful legend behind two standing stones in a village of Skye I can’t remember the name of (Neil, if you read this drop me a line and remind me, I beg, it’s been nagging at my memory for months!), the whole bus would stay silent, moved and in the verge of tears. Most of what I know of Scotland (and I deem myself capable of speaking for a few hours about the White Rose) comes from him.
Macbackpackers is not the only operator using this recipe (though I believe they are the best). Haggis Adventures (yes, named like that tasty (in)famous dish) is also very popular and may suit you better if you are aged 16 to 20. There is also Wild in Scotland, but I do not have reports of this one.
I think this might well be my longest entry so far, other considerations, and a journal of that trip I also plan to post, will have to wait.

more info:

http://www.smartcityhostels.com/
http://www.macbackpackers.com/
http://www.firstgroup.com/scotrail/
http://www.royalmail.com/

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Horror walking tours: the dark side of Edinburgh

Every country, city, or destination in general exploits some particular aspect of life, culture, folklore or similar, a kind of branding, by which to render itself unique, or at least especial, to the eyes of the visitor: France and Italy present themselves as the most romantic destinations in the globe and hoards of artistic treasure, featuring places like Paris, Rome or Florence, whereas London offers the very idea of cosmopolitism in the old continent, India stands unsurpassed as the ultimate goal in the spiritual area of self discovering voyages, China or Japan are revealed like bonds between millenary tradition and state of the art technologies.. and so on. Edinburgh, capital city of one of the most beautiful countries in Europe has an very particular focusto this trend, and proudly invests itself, almost every sunset, as European capital of fear and horror…
I would say it must take a lot of self confidence and good humour to dwell into the most terrible and disgusting aspects of your country and city’s history like they do, and I can assure you they don’t turn their faces on any of many horrid legacies Edinburgh claims: adultery, murder, pandemy, gore, cruel executions, prosecution of innocents, social agony… The results: refreshing entertainment and absolute fun! Scotchs are a good humoured people that know how to share a laugh even if the joke is on them (even more, of course if it’s on the Brits).
The particular physiognomy of the city provides a most appropriate atmosphere for indulging in such exercises: these walking tours take you through narrow closes and dark, sinister alleys, plenty in this old quarter, to poorly lit evil lurking corners, old cemeteries and underground suffocating spaces where lost souls still do roam this earth, led by the no less disquieting characters that play as glooming cicerones. I had the fortune of walking those ancient cobblestones behind one such specimen: the highwayman Adam Lyal (Deceased) from the Caddies & Witchery Tours, who spoke to me and some companions about the right procedures to identify and dispose of witches, the lost job and business of bodysnatching, of fellow criminals, the horrors of the Black Death, the blood and gore of famous executions (they knew how to have fun in those days!)… Never was terror so much fun, I can guarantee you will have a good laugh with Adam and his partner, the Mad Friar. Other companies providing these kind of services are Auld Reekie Tours, Ghost Hunter Trail and BlackHart Entertainment’s City of the Dead which provides, by all reports, one of the most terrifying experiences (if not the most) available on the planet (I confess I didn’t muster the courage to try it, these things give me the jeebies), including the chance of an encounter with what is claimed a genuine poltergeist at the Black Mausoleum, within the Covenanters Prison. The prison is part of Grayfriars Kirkyard and kept 400 prisoners during five winter months of 1679, on bread and water with no roof over their heads. Many died in agony. It is scary in broad daylight if you are alone, they won’t catch me dead entering that place by night! (what a funny thing to say, is it cold here or is me?). Have a look:

City of the Dead is the only tour that has access to the Covenanters (it seems the place was closed to general public after the first poltergeist incidents and sightings-prior to the foundation of the tours). Other companies have invested in acces to other spooky places in the city, like the Haunted Vault (part of the Vaults, remmnants of the old bridge that were earthed to be used as storage space and ended up cradling the underworld of the city, featuring multiple uses including tanneries, cellars, home for the homeless, clandestine distillleries and much more), Mary King's Close (this alley and the homes in it were locked and buried with all its dwellers still alive within the place, left to die of the plague), or the Witches' Coven. And that's not the end of the list of haunted and scary places in the city, to which we can add Nicol Edward's, most haunted pub in Scotland (also freat for live music and some pints!), or the Dungeons. Finally, the night bus services are called Ghosts and advertise themselves as "Ride for Free. *Only the living pay." Fantastic!

more info:
http://www.witcherytours.com/meettheghosts-spotlight.html

http://www.blackhart.uk.com/

http://www.nicoledwards.co.uk/history.htm

http://www.thedungeons.com/en/edinburgh-dungeon/index.html

http://www.nightbuses.com/

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Sintra: make the most of it

This city of 27000 inhabitants half an hour drive from Lisbon is one of the most popular locations for tourists visiting Portugal, and my educated guess, after more than a dozen tours led there, is that most people end up making very little of their visit in a wasting chase of the topical.
You see, the thing is that the Palacio da Pena (Palace of the Rock), the most known attraction of Sintra, draws nearly all public coming to the city through a poorly managed visiting system, taking most of the time you allotted to the place and often resulting in you leaving Sintra after having visited only one of its monuments (which in my opinion is not even the nicest one) and sometimes not even that. So there go some suggestions and considerations that hopefully will enhance your visit a little.
Palacio da Pena: If you go to Sintra, you have probably read about it. It is declared Patrimony of Humanity by the UNESCO. One of the most important residences of the Portuguese royal family, the palace was built over the ruins of an old monastery of the order of St Hyeronimus, and, in an exaltation of the romantic spirit of the time, it recovers all architectural and artistic topics of what popular imagination considered exotic. Thus it alternates nineteenth century imitations of different styles that range from Gothic to Arabic and Colonial to Renaissance, producing a kitsch fairy tale mixture which, if definitely impressive, boasts a remarkable lack of taste and style. Obviously this is a personal opinion, though, so please do not refrain from experimenting it yourself just because of me. Just keep in mind a few things:
Check opening hours and arrive in Sintra a minimum 30-45 min. before the Palace opens! You will have to queue for the bus up to the Palace (it is located long way up a steep road on top of the hill overlooking Sintra), then queue for your numbered ticket, queue again to enter the building, visit for 2 or 3 hours, then queue for the buses back down. You can also take a cab (more or less 4 times the fare of the bus, so perfect if you are 4 people), paying return in advance and making sure you agree with driver your returning time (be there sharp or you will lose both taxi and money).
Paço Real (National Palace): Discreet in spite of its important size, this former summer royal residence, still host to receptions and meetings with heads of state, is probably the least spectacular monument of the old town, but still historically important. Doesn’t take long visiting and is the most accessible attraction, right in the main square, so if you have some spare time you can have a go and walk within its white plain walls of Arabic influence.
Quinta da Regaleira: This is my favourite place in town, and also Patrimony of Humanity by UNESCO. If you don’t have much time (say, less than 3 hours) to dedicate to Sintra, please by all means choose the Quinta over Palacio da Pena, If you have more time but want to see Da Pena it would be good to follow all advice above and try to come back down with at least a 2 or 3 hours for this. This mansion, along with the surrounding gardens and constructions within them, was built by a local man who migrated to America, made fortune and came back, in the interim of this submerging himself into the teachings of the freemasonry, the Temple, Rosacruz and alchemic traditions. The artistic style is also imitation (early 20th century), but with a consistency (mostly Gothic, some Renaissance and a little Manuelin) that comes from strong beliefs and influences to back up his project (instead of a popular fancy trend, as in Palacio da Pena) and I believe this plays an important role in the magic this place conjures. The trails that zigzag through the gardens of the Quinta invite you to get lost and surprise yourself with the mystical secrets sprayed along them, and the magical teaching hints inscribed in the walls of the Iniciatic Well, the House of Alchemy, the Trinity Chapel…ahh I’m revealing too much, go and see for yourself!
Eating, drinking, shopping: If you are a lucky, wealthy b*****d go ahead and indulge, no more hints (well, one: I have heard, though I haven’t eaten there myself, that the restaurant by the corner of the main square is pretty good). If you are not too big on spending, I would suggest taking a little walk back and away from the little nucleus of the old village. Eating, drinking and buying souvenirs there can prove pretty expensive.


more info at http://www.portugalvirtual.pt/_tourism/costadelisboa/sintra/index.html

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El Angel Caído: Monument to Lucifer

My beginnings in the tourism business took place on top of a panoramic hop on-hop off bus in Madrid, seven years ago, pointing out the most interesting spots to the tourists; we completed, depending on traffic and time of year, an average of seven tours a day and I worked there for about a year, which more or less adds to about 2000 trips round the city: enough to get you bored no matter how much you love your city and it’s beauties. Fortunately, every trip had a few rewarding moments where you could see something in the tourist face that made it worth it: expressions of awe, disbelief, admiration or simple always welcome fun. For most people, one of the most surprising details of their visit was finding out about the Fallen Angel. “And on this corner of El Retiro Park, further up that road to your right, you will find the only monument in the world dedicated exclusively to… Satan”. Best effect if there were kids on board and you lowered and hoarsened your voice as you revealed the starring character, eyes not blinking and gaze lost, in your best imitation of “Someone flew over the cuckoo’s nest”. I am not Robert Redford, you know, and combining the acting and my face resulted more than once in crying kids and angry mums, I swear!
The statue, which presents very recognisable helenistic, baroque and romantic influences, is a beautiful piece of work of a much more melancholic than terrifying nature. It can be also disquieting though, especially if you approach it in a clouded windy autumn afternoon and there seems to be nobody around but you and an evil looking boy wearing a cardigan. Damian? Is that you?...
The sculpture, inspired by some verses of Paradise Lost by John Milton, dates from 1877, and is signed by Ricardo Bellver, originally made in plaster cast and later molten to bronze by the Thiebaut-Fils house in Paris to fit the requirements of the Universal Expo of 1878 in the French capital. In 1879 was first placed in El Retiro and in 1880 a pedestal was designed and built in bronze and stone, presenting infernal faces to match the subject. The complete piece was inaugurated in 1885.
Want to know something weird about its location? Although measurement systems at the time were not nearly precise enough to notice this, the exact official altitude in meters from sea level of the fountain’s location is… you guessed it! 666, the number of the Beast! Awesome, right? (this is no joke or invention and there is a plaque in the ground, near the fountain, certifying this fact by the National Cartographical Institute).

(…)what time his Pride / Had cast him out from Heav'n, with all his Host Of Rebel Angels, (…) To bottomless perdition, there to dwell / In Adamantine Chains and penal Fire, (…) round he throws his baleful eyes / That witness'd huge affliction and dismay / Mixt with obdurate pride and stedfast hate (…)

John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book I, Chant I.

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Eilean Donan Castle: Inmortal

I will tell you a secret: there is a kind of freaky side to me concerning movies, comics and literature (yes, most of it the Epic Fantasy and SciFi kind, but I also read classics and nobel prizes, thanks very much for your insightful remark). There is a chance that the impression this place provoked in me may owe a little to this personal circumstance, but I frankly believe that if this spot does not move, inspire, or caress you soul in any way it probably has more to do with the fact that you don’t have a soul. Those of you who share with me a liking for some modern classics of cinema might remember a movie from the eighties called “Highlander” about a race of inmortals whose destiny pushed them to behead each other to the last man standing (thoughtful script, I agree) and which was starred by a Scotch Highlander played by a guy from Belgium-Christophe Lambert- and a Spaniard played by a scotchman-Sean Connery (Isn’t that just terrific?). An important part of the movie took place in this very same place: Eilean Donan Castle.
Located in the western side of Scotland, less than 10 miles from the Island of Skye (most famous of the Inner Hebrydes archipielago, a place of breathtaking serene beauty-these last three words are going to be repeated pretty often when I speak of Scotland) and also very close to the village of Dornie (one of these days I will post the legend of the Seven Sisters of Dornie), Eilean Donan claims to be the most beautiful castle in Scotland and, although I have not seen that many of them, my heart tells me that is nothing but the truth. It stands on a tiny island hardly worth that name a few meters from the shore of Loch Long, at its confluence with Loch Halsh and a third lagoon of which I do not know the name. The original construction dates from early medieval times but it was reduced to ruins during the political and religious conflict with the Jacobites in 1719. The present reconstruction took place between 1911 and 1932 (in most cases, for me, knowing this would have taken some magic off the place, but with Eilean Donan I just don’t seem to care). A local story says that the architect only had old drafts of part of the building, not of all of it, to work with, and that he finished the missing bits from an image of the castle he saw in a dream. It goes on to say that years after it was finished a couple of old paintings representing the whole building turned up opening an old chest in another castle or museum somewhere else in the country, and proved the architect’s work absolutely true to the original construction (Yes! How cool is that? there is magic in the air…).
If you are lucky and your timing is good you will arrive there early in a clear morning before the sun is visible behind the hills. You will cross the parking area to the east side of the entrance and position yourself in that point where you can see two castles: the real one and the reflection in the serene waters of the Loch. You got that right? Good. Now make some time waiting for the sun, have a smoke, share a quality moment with your girl, wander about your inner world. And here it comes…

The first rays of light from the south east bring colours, lazily, to the forested hills across the lagoon and life sparks roam eerily the surface of the waters and the hilly dopplegangers in them until they reach the grassy little island, climb and dive into the walls, and, suddenly both castles are
ablaze!

Caution: If you are there to watch when this happens there is an all too serious possibility of you having an argument with your family/wife/friends/etc about what the f*** do you think you are doing calling at those hours and what in earth is that nonsense about quitting your job and buying a cottage in Scotland to do whatever cottagers do there for the rest of your life.

More info at http://www.eileandonancastle.com/

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Accommodation in Spain: Quality Standards

It’s been a while since I last visited France, but I have led several tours there in the past, particularly to the south region bordering Spain and, more specifically and most often, to the catholic pilgrimage spot of Lourdes, and every time I go it always worries me, when going to a hotel I have not stayed in before, not knowing what to expect. Of course the company I lead the tour for always gives me some information about it beforehand (well, not that much, actually just the name, address and contact) and I do some research through the web to find some more, but unfortunately that doesn’t work always (not even often). Category standards are just too vague. This has happened to me in France, Portugal, Italy and the UK: one three stars hotel (not many of them) turns out sparkly clean, diligently serviced, newly refurbished and presents ample rooms and baths, next three stars hotel is old and wrinkly like old movies’ landladies, with a just as grumpy a service and staff, and a cleaning condition, or at least look, that results in getting of the bed in the morning scratching your body and wondering whether that bugbite was already there in your thigh before you reached your room last night, while you make your way to the tiny shower plate of the claustrophobic bathroom a lot quicker and readier than you do in the sleepy waking ups of your own home.
This is rare in Spain: it is not unheard of, but regional tourism authorities keep a very consisting policy concerning the quality of services. The category division by stars is mandatory in all the country for hotels (and most areas have also other category divisions for non hotel accommodations like aparthotels-usually ranged 1 to 5 “keys”-hostels, road motels, pensions, campings, etc), and strictly supervised. Each region’s authority establishes a list of minimum services and extras that must be available at the hotel in order to claim a given number of stars and failing to produce them results in very severe fines, loss of stars and other administrative (and sometimes penal) measures. Tourism being a very important source of income for the country, regions strive to be competitive and these standards are usually high. Sometimes you can even find hotels that are much better than their announced category. Why is this? They simple have reached and compiled a very high level and number of services that would allow them to gain a new star, but in doing so they would be also stepping up into a tax category of luxury service in which they do not want to incur yet.Of course you still find differences from one hotel to the next in the same category (especially in 1 and 2 stars) which mainly occur because not all hotels choose to provide the same services: if law decrees that 15 out of a list of 20 services must be provided in a 3 stars hotel, and 9 of them are compulsory, different hotels may differ in which other 6 they offer. Admittedly, some of those might be the ones you particularly like to have available, and so these explanation may not satisfy you if you are disappointed on arrival, but consider all the above and you might find that it is not the quality of services what is nagging at you. If still you think you have reasons to do so, please, by all means take measures about it; a complaint form in Spain is a very important tool for tourism: fill one, give the hotel/restaurant/agency/whatever else their copy, keep your copy, and mail the third one to the tourism authorities. This is the right way to do it and if the guy attending you knows anything about his job and you are right in your complaint, the very second he realizes you know what to do with the form he will probably try to amend the problem a.s.a.p to prevent you from sending it, which more often than not results in a quick fine of minimum 5000 euros for his business (if your complaint is rightful). Hope this was useful.

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Spain: a sketch ( II )

A rough outline of the geography of Spain: It occupies most of the Iberian Peninsula, two minor archipielagos (Canary Islands, by the norhtwestern shores of Africa, and Balearic Island in the Mediterranean Sea to the east of the peninsula) and two autonomic cities just across the strait in the Moroccan coast (Ceuta y Melilla), plus a few other little islands close to our shore and Africa. Portugal and the Atlantic to the west and South, Cantabric Sea and France to the north, the Mediterranean on the East side and the strait of Gibraltar and Africa behind it, to the South, are its borders.

A 600 m. in average mesa covers about half the area of the peninsula (the central part), surrounded by middle ranged mountain systems. This Central Mesa features the capital region and city of Madrid, roughly in its centre, the two Castilles (Castilla León, kind of Northwest of Madrid and Castilla La Mancha, kind of South East), Extremadura (South of C. León) and Aragón (North of C. La Mancha). The north coast presents (West to East) Galicia, Cantabria, Asturias, the Basque Country and Navarra (the former touching Aragon to the East and the Pyrinees to the north, and thus actually not in the coast). As for the eastern shores (north to south) we boast Catalonia, Valencian Region, and Murcia. South of Murcia all the way to Portugal lies the golden sunny jewel of Andalucía.

As a rule of thumb, climatic conditions tend to go from humid and fresh in the north to hot and arid in the south, temperatures are usually more severe in the central mesa and milder in the fringes and the Canary Islands have an irritating nice weather (irritating for those of us who do not enjoy it, obviously). Of course there are a quite a few exceptions to the rule, including mountainous climatic conditions and a couple of microclimates like the tropical area occurring in the coast of Granada (much milder and more humid than the rest of hot and equally sunny Andalucian coast), the Coto de Doñana National Park (second biggest area of marshes in Europe behind the French Camarge) also in Andalucia, or the awkwardly sunny (awkwardly for Galicia, greenest, rainiest and most humid region in the country) Rías Bajas in the north west corner of Spain, to quote some. (more to come)

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Spain: a sketch ( I )

Some data for consideration (when I’m working as a guide my lectures are prepared and I give exact figures and dates but I won´t now. because if you are at a computer you have wikipedia or the Britannica for that and I really do not believe a country is made up of exact numbers-much the opposite):

Spain is roughly half a million sq. Km, numbers a population close to 45 million and stands between the eighth and eleventh position among the richest countries in the world depending on which aspect of economy you focus your view at. We float amidst two seas and an ocean and overlook a border between two continents (two worlds for many) and present, within an area that doesn’t make it even to the fiftieth country in the world, just about every kind of climate known in the planet, only declining polar arctic, desertic arid, tropical moonsoonic and the occurring in Tundra regions in north Europe and Asia (I can´t recall the term now).
The beginning of Spanish history as a more or less consistent entity could be estimated in times of the Roman empire (Hispania was how classic greeks and romans named this region, about 21 centuries ago) although even older cultures-Iberians, Celts, Phenicians and Tartessicans inhabited the area before that (a couple of theories-and roman texts by a classic historian, Plinius or Strabo if I remember right- place Atlantis close to the southwest shores of the peninsula). Many historical characters from the empire were born in Hispania (then a province of Rome): philosophers like Seneca, emperors like Theodosius, Hadrian or Trajanus, and military geniuses like Scipio.
In early medieval times most of what is today Spain found a semblance of unity under the crown of Visigoth kings, of Germanic ascendant, who had won over the also Germanic tribes of Suebi , Vandals and Alans. They didn’t represent a strong resistance when the muslims came.
In less than 30 years, starting in 711 they conquered almost the entire peninsula and became a flourishing caliphate which would gain political and religious independence from Damasco and stand as the most refined and rich territory in the western world at that time (Cordoba, capital city, had a population of more than half a million souls!), thanks to the cultural convergence of Muslim, Jews and Christians. Christian kingdoms would take seven centuries to conquest Spain back, a process that ended in 1492, just in time for Columbus to discover a new continent and set the basis for the greatest empire of the renaissance age.
I guess it is more or less from this point onward that Spain makes it to non Spanish (or especially non European) history text books, so I will not dwell much on the rest of the story: we amassed a huge number of colonized territories around the globe and had many lineage connections with other European monarchies, as well as a few popes (probably the most famous of them was Cesar Borgia, from Valencia in the east coast of Spain), and we lost those influences and lands throughout the following centuries, in a succession of bad political decisions, military conflicts and probably a fair share of bad luck which included being one of the countries occupied and taken by Napoleonic strategy prowess. Economical and political diminishment ensued, Spain falling behind the ranks of what is generally considered the first world, and modern times saw us going through our last totalitarian monarchies, a couple of republics poorly organised and worse managed (up to twelve different presidents in the span of less than thee years during the second Spanish Republic!), a civil war the aftermath of which still hangs in the air of our political and ideological consciences, and the oppression of a dictatorship that, if managed to keep us somewhat protected (some would say alienated) from the worst of the Great World War and succeeded, during its last years, in starting a process of economical rejuvenation, did not do much to make us become the “One, Great and Free” nation which Franco and his followers up to present times claimed we were. Democracy (in a transition to Parliamentary Monarchy, supported by a king for whom Franco planned an absolutist model) has brought and age of rebirth and led our steps back to the front line, creating a country rife in social changes and improvements, economically strong, culturally rich… Of course we trip sometimes, like a young child learning to walk, but we keep trying, we learn, we improve, sometimes we rest and consider, who knows the wonders that await in days to come.

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Why Spain?

Worldnaut's Journal / D. 11748:

Bullfighting toreros, paella rice dish, sleeping siesta, olé!
Is that what you were looking for (please say no)? If the answer is yes, buddy, you in for a one night stand with the sharks! Away with him lads, off ye go!
Mmmm. No, on second thought let’s not do that. Oi! Get him off the plank, will ye! He is probably the one who has most to learn, and he might well be our first visitor, no good in letting him roam the seas (all of them at same time, even) sailing some fish guts, is there? No good for business at all.
Sorry, sometimes I get carried away by folklore; probably most people that work in a ship end up, sooner or later, somewhat fed up with all the stereotypes of their way of life and it just doesn’t seem fair.

It is not fair because I really enjoy eating paella every now and then, I like most flamenco music (guitar playing like Paco de Lucía’s can really move me) and, if I had the time I obviously would love to take a nap everyday after lunch (I am all against bullfighting, though; I won’t lecture you about it-not the place or the moment-but I do not believe in cruelty to animals). And yet it does vex me if I see such a vast array of possibilities and wonders as Spain offers reduced to a few stereotypes. I am not a patriot. The people of Spain are strongly divided ideologically (can’t help it, we are too young; I’m 32, almost the same age our democracy is, which is young for a person and even younger for a country: no matter how old most of our culture is, civil war is still very close in time, and wounds are still sore if not bleeding) and most right wingers take pride in being authentic patriots; I’m neither thing. I was born in Spain but I’m not proud of that because it would be like being proud of being born rich(that would have been fun, though), brown eyed, white, or as extremely handsome as I am (damn it, there is a picture in my profile!). Frankly, I don’t know which is more absurd. I love Spain, though, with a devotion that springs from having experimented it’s beauties (artistic and natural) it’s riches (economical, cultural and social) and also it’s miseries (few but existing) in all mentioned areas. It is a wondrous country, and you should come and see it for yourself.

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Roadmap

Worldnaut's Journal / D. 11748:
So, where does the way lead? what is the route? I guess the answer would be "everywhere" or, at least "everywhere I can". This is: I will try to show you everywhere I've been, and my plan, in due time, is to have been everywhere. What did you say? Yes, I guess it is pretty ambitious, and yes, it probably will not happen, but I am the only one who can stop me from trying, am I not? If you think about it, however short I fall from my mark I will be far richer (if not in money) than where I started. I will die trying cos' I will be trying all my life (I have always wanted to "accomplish or die trying" it has that heroic feeling!).

As for, being more specific, the worldnaut blog, as I said in the introduction I have guided groups around Spain and Portugal, and I have been on my own to a few other places-so far the list only comprises London, Rome, Lourdes, Edinburgh, a bit of the Scottish Highland and the Isle of Skye, Havana, Grand Cayman and a bit of Jamaica (mainly part of the countryside and the cliffs at Negril). I will try to alternate different things (monuments, cities, hidden spots, blabbering digressions that at the time of writing I will consider thoughtful and worldly, who knows what else...) about different places, so hopefully the blog will not become too boring or specialized, or focused, for that matter. Again, it might just do that, this things tend to evade control, especially for me.

A word on "focusing": so far (and I am past a third of my life expectancy, maybe even half of it considering my habits!) it has proved a most elusive discipline for me: most of the time I absolutely lack said ability, so I apologize beforehand if, for some strange reason, you end up developing an interest for my writings here, and find that the blog’s continuity is anything but what you desire. If it helps (probably not) I am really motivated in this very moment.

A word on “truth and absolutes”: everything I write is as absolutely true as I can manage, at least according to William Keats’ definition of the term. I do not make things up, really, though some of the people I have taken my data, stories, legends, etc, from might. All I write is what I know or think I know and take for true: these include (but are not limited to) historical data and interpretation, names, tales, dates… I am a professional, though. My information comes from, more or less in this order, my eyes, ears and other senses, proper and serious published reference materials, lectures from local official guides, popular knowledge from local people, friends whose criteria I trust that might point out some things I missed to me and, last but not least, personal thoughts, impressions and considerations. So I will feel really bad if you feel disappointed on site for some discrepancies (I really hope that will not happen), but no apologies for that one, sorry (did I just apologize por not apologizing? See about the focusing!?)

Well, I believe this is long enough for a first introductory entry; don’t want to get you bored so soon. Welcome all to the Worldnaut, I hope she cuts the waves as gracefully as she rocks gently in port

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