Posts

A cheerful and clear sky and several streets of irregular shape

Image
  We are heading towards Argente - which is really in the middle of somewhere, just not a very populated somewhere. It is a splendid example of rural Spain. Some refurbishments, some garish colours, some old and decayed and some plots, like missing teeth, reminding us of what once was. The wiki page [Spanish] doesn’t bother with such things Moors or Christians, nope. Straight into the GSH Dictionary.  I’ve got to say, it is a good one. ARGENTE: l. with town hall of the province and diocese of Teruel (9 1/2 leagues), situated on a well-ventilated height, with a cheerful and clear sky; its climate is cold, but healthy; it has 180 houses distributed in several streets of irregular shape and covered with such uneven rubble that it makes its floor very uncomfortable; there is 1 primary school attended by 50 or 60 students under the direction of 1 examined teacher, endowed with its own funds with the amount of 800 reales and 50 fanegas of wheat: and 1 parish church under the patr...
Post a Comment
Read more

New ancients and not so ancient ruins - with a miasma thrown in for good measure.

Image
  We are heading into the hills and it is all going to get a bit bleak. Even Buena, through which we will travel, is really a few houses and farm buildings clinging to the road and the hillside. The pistas fossiles de Buena are above us.  https://patrimonioculturaldearagon.es/patrimonio/pistas-fosiles-de-buena/#   The website proudly declares ‘Fossilized footprints have been discovered at this site, leading to the identification of a new ichnospecies called Megaplanolite Ibéricus’  Reviews are mixed. As with all things, it is easier to set up a display board than find the cash to maintain it. Buena occupies a space in the pass that allows travelers to enter the plain. Jose gives us the details ‘It is a small tactical castle, likely built in the 12th century, consisting of a small, irregularly shaped rectangular enclosure, defended by a ravine on one side. Among its remains are a tower erected at the highest point of the enclosure and several masonry walls along the e...
Post a Comment
Read more

The grey wastes of the land of the elderly

Image
  It feels a bit like the good old days. No village. No note from 1845 saying they were all going to get lurgy because of south-westerly winds; when not growing chick peas and hunting hares; no demographic crisis in the 1960s. No, just a road and some businesses. We are going past a swinging hot spot. It is the MR Dance Club and it opens Saturday 11.30pm till 9am Sunday morning. It has a facebook presence. https://www.facebook.com/DiscotecaMRDanceClub/?_rdr   Most people leave stars, not words. Xavi was more vocal. ‘Good party. But the ventilation/air conditioning was sorely lacking.’   Yoni Rotten, who is mentioned only for the name opined ‘They're letting minors in. Whoever is responsible should take note and act.’  The crematorium is open 8am to 8pm daily, 8.30s Friday. It has a website but no reviews. They're letting minors in. Whoever is responsible should take note and act.  https://www.funerariariberadeljiloca.es/   We are turning off the N-234 and ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Bricks and Mortar

Image
A quick detour to the Pozuel del Campo. It has been its own place since 1248, when James I said so. The GSH Dictionary notes ‘ POZUEL DEL CAMPO: a village with a town hall in the province of Teruel, judicial district of Calamocha, diocese and territorial court of Zaragoza, and captaincy general of Aragon. It is situated on the summit of a small hill surrounded by larger ones, preserving some sections of an ancient wall with turrets. The climate is healthy, and no particular diseases are known. It consists of 130 houses of moderate construction; a granary with meager stocks; a moderately attended public school; a parish church (San Miguel Arcángel), served by a priest appointed by the ordinary process; and a cemetery that poses no threat to public health. There is a well in the town, located to the north, from which the residents obtain their water. and also a spring in the village with little water. The land is of good quality and consists of plains and hills with patches of holm o...
Post a Comment
Read more