The Road from Santiago

4.9 km.  225m upwards - which is gradient of about 4.6%.  You get the feel of this as the agriculture thins and disappears and we are definitely getting end of valleyish. We will pass ‘Finca El Fraile’. https://www.bodas.net/fincas/el-fraile--e231246   They do events for 40 to 300 people.  Three reviews and not a single word among them. Well, we have little more to do than look at the trees so let's get linguistic.  Languages are a bit non-binary, what ever the French say. The snuggle up to each other and pass on words with gay abandon.  So, what has Castilian casually picked up from English when they were holding hands.  Some words have been taken outright. Football becomes fútbol , trailer dons a cap and becomes tráiler and, my favourite, sweater becomes suéter. Some words stand proudly out.  The English influence on Spanish football was marked by Athletic Club [of Bilbao] and Madrid used the untainted English till Franco declared all things mus...

  Morata is so small a place it only has a wiki page in one language , Spanish, in case you wondered if it was more unusual.  It is so obscure no wiki editor has bothered to shout at if for being uni-sourced or speculative.  Anyway, it has 304 people, the young have moved out and Ecuadorians and North Africans have moved in.  Apparently the almond and the olive tree are still important. That is where we are heading up to.  Before that we have a bit of cross country rambling and the roads less traveled. We will pass a pharmacy.  Farmacia Aleman Marin opens 9.30-2.30 and 5.30-8.30 weekdays and mornings only on Saturdays.  Don’t be needy on a Sunday.  Look, I’m tired and it has been a long day and my brain is free wheeling.  Let’s pad this out with some music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGJsokdGaww    The farmacia has 18 reviews and 4.8 stars.  Alejandro gives the most fulsome of coverage. ‘ Great professionals. If they don't...

  We are off on the RM-D5 today.  We will see polytunnels, bins, rugged landscapes and, at the end, letter boxes.  Better do to some fillers. Before that, we will pass one bar. It is the Bar Pastrana.  They do 6.30am to 8pm, but not Mondays.  I mean, Mondays. Its key words are tapas, sunset, price, flat roof and very good.  Fernando was much taken last Spring.   ‘A fantastic place, awarded the "The Sun from Rise to Set" award, with a spacious terrace, spectacular private rooms, home-cooked meals, affordable menus, grilled meats, paellas, and top-notch service. Young, friendly, dynamic, professional, and above all, family-oriented people. Just like your home. Don't worry, just make your own arrangements, and enjoy a spectacular day with us. OH! AND DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE PARKING, 300 SPACES, AND IT'S FREE.’ Rene have four stars.  ‘Nice, authentic Spanish tapas bar, very friendly people and delicious tomato/pepper salad with plenty of garlic.’ S...

  Murcia is known, these days, for the sort of agriculture which provides British supermarkets with tomatoes at times which nature never intended. We are wandering through a landscape such as will be populated by enclosed horticulture, warehouses and waste water treatment plants. First to a waste water plant. EDAR Canada de Gallego has one review. JI gave it three stars four years ago.  So it is and so it remains. Spain exported 674.43 million kilo of tomatoes last year.  This was an increase of 18%, despite Morocco breaking records for its own exports.  Germany remains the chief place for exports, soaking up 32% of the crop. This comes after a decade in which the trade had decreased.  In 2022 Germany was still top destination, with 28%, France was second [14%], Netherlands third [12%] and the UK 8% Horticola de Mazarron is a fruit and veg wholesaler. http://www.hortisa.com/ It gets 4.4 stars but only a scattering of recent reviews. Pedro felt, a year ago, ‘ On...