Homage to Catalonia - Huesca

 > For those of us who don't know the terrain there at all, what was the
campsite
 > in Yesa like? Does rosemary really grow entirely wild on the hills? I saw
 > genuinely wild rosemary once in southern France, but it's hard to believe
the
 > part of H to C that talks about routinely grubbing up rosemary roots for
 > firewood. Does wild rosemary follow growth patterns at all like desert or
 > coastal sagebrush? In coastal California, rosemary grows untended or
nearly so
 > but it apparently has to be planted first -- you don't see it among
naturally
 > occuring scrub or in vacant lots here. This notion of a completely benign
 > aromatic shrub growing as a weed is just lovely. "Shivering like a jelly"
or
 > not, I bet it was nicer to burn rosemary than it is to burn sagebrush.
 > Sagebrush smoke is bitter and greasy. Said to be "purifying," but you
wouldn't
 > want to grill food over it.
 >
The only campsite at Yesa was by the post-war reservoir , a wild desert like
area with low but steep sided brush covered hills with clay dusty
soils.Following small winding paths up the hills you had to push through
thickets of wild rosemary which are quite common all over the hot areas of
Europe - Greece , Italy , Majorca , Ibiza (the most common holiday
destinations from the UK) . The shattering heat at the time added to the
wild desert effect, trees being small , stunted and nonexistent in the
valley flat areas where industrial farming has taken hold with the massive
watering hoses that do the whole field at the same time. Further to Pamplona
more development has taken place with wind Turbines on the low hills. But
the area still retains a wild look and is quite beautiful. Driving across to
Spain like this made it a 2000 mile round trip from the Midlands UK
including a 4 hour ferry to Cherbourg and is considered an "adventure" style
holiday not undertaken by most British folk. Flying to the Mediterranean
coastal resorts or the Balearic isles (Majorca etc) is the "norm" so the
area explained is right off the "tourist route" as it were and retains its
unspoilt appearance.

Next year we may drive straight to the Spanish border near Narbonne then
have several days on the Costa Brava then drive back up through the Catalan
region and explore this area more thoroughly.

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"notme" <never.DeleteThis@here.ok> wrote in message news:<bif8ra$urm$1@news6.svr.pol.co.uk>...
  > > For those of us who don't know the terrain there at all, what was the
 > campsite
  > > in Yesa like? Does rosemary really grow entirely wild on the hills?

I don't know but doesn't this passage sound familiar?

"(John Walker) Lindh's unit was then sent toward the front lines in
Takhar, where the group was ordered to take up defensive positions on
two hills opposite Northern Alliance forces. Lindh was told his group
would make no attacks; their mission was simply to hold the hills,
essentially guard duty at a position that weathered only the
occasional volley of Northern Alliance mortar fire. His
long-anticipated jihad consisted of touring a remote corner of the
front line where the Northern Alliance forces were so far away that
the Taliban rarely, if ever, saw them. Lindh never managed to squeeze
off a shot across the front lines, and his unit suffered no casualties
while protecting the lonely hills. He mostly read and eyed the empty
landscape, rotating with others in two-week shifts in and out of
foxholes."<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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I believe I can safely say that you sound a little naive/ignorant for to the
best of my knowledge the Falange (fascists) of Spain were always good
monarchists whereas in Portugal and Greece they seized power in competition
with the monarchy for different reasons.

S>O>S>F>

"notme" <never RemoveThis @here.ok> wrote in message
news:bidjmr$c6r$1@newsg1.svr.pol.co.uk...
 > Having just finished Homage I was annoyed to find that whilst I was in
Spain
 > a few weeks ago I was only 20kms from Huesca. Had I left the campsite in
 > Yesa and braved the 110c in the shade ( I kid you not) I could have toured
 > the area around Alcubeirre as mentioned in the book. Mind you I would not
 > have expected to find any evidence of the civil war after 40 yrs of
Franco's
 > rule. The area generally appears prosperous as agricultural areas go with
a
 > lot of wind farms and new developments around the small towns nearby. The
 > towns around San Sebastian and Bilbao seemed a little "tense" with ETA
 > slogans daubed , Basque flags etc but nothing like Londonderry / Bogside .
 >
 > I have also found the website for the Falange Espanola a modern equivalent
 > the fascist falange from Orwell's time though now I think its a
"monarchist"
 > party.
 >
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