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Specifically Hairless

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  We are leaving Villanueva de Alcoron so let us have the two other local games according to wiki. Chueca . A popular game based on a chueca (a short stick sharpened at both ends) and an estornija (a long stick used to hit the chueca). Cloths or aprons are also used to try to catch the chueca in flight. The game consists of two participating teams: one trying to throw the chueca as far as possible from the base, and the other trying to prevent this by eliminating each of the throwers to become throwers themselves and start scoring points. Points are estimated by eye based on the distance the chueca is from the base. To make the throw, the chueca is initially on the ground, requiring two strikes: the first to lift it from the ground and the second to hook it in mid-air and launch it as far as possible. If the throw is intercepted by one of the opposing team's nets, the thrower is eliminated. Other fouls include "rastón" (hitting the ground with the estornija), "vain...
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A mocking laugh, a metal bar and extracted frankincense

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  We are heading for Villanueva de Alcorcon and will find a few places to pop into at the end. In the run up, let's have a little background. The nearby Historic moment is a CeltIberian hill fort, which was abandoned in the 5th century BC.  Others came and went and a small Roman villa lies within the municipality.  Various lords lorded it up. In 1185 the place was given to the Order of Santiago with the general hope they would organise the repopulate the place. Our old chum the GSH Dictionary has something to say.  VILLANUEVA DE ALCORON: village with town hall in the province of Guadalajara (14 leagues).  Situated on one of the peaks of the Sierra de Cuenca, with good ventilation and a cold climate : it has 125 houses ; the town hall with a jail; a primary school, in charge of a teacher paid 1,100 reales; a spring of good water; a parish church (San Miguel Arcángel) served by a priest and a sacristan: The land , which is part clay and part sandstone, is of m...
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The equality of the open road

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  It is a day of wide open spaces. Well, it is a day of a road hemmed in by an openish road so we will go for a wander through Spain today as we consider the view. Franco was against things generally, and love was one of those he particularly was not fond of. The law banning gay relations that the Dictator brought in was reversed in 1979 and a 1995 law specified an equal age of consent for all people. Equal Marriage was recognised in 1994 but it was up to the autonomous communities to set up Registries. Catalonia led the way in 1998, followed by most others by 2003. Galicia waited till 2008, La Rioja 2010 and Murcia 2018. The ban of Equal Adoption was lifted in 2005, however Navarre [2000] and the Basque Country [2003] had got there first. Laws banning discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation apply across Spain, however all but Madrid, Castilla Y Leon and Asturias have not made their own laws. Spain’s autonomous communities make their own laws on Gender...
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Welcome to the Slovenia of the West

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  Another day on the road. It bypasses Peralveche. Maybe we should have visited, but we didn’t. We are still in Castilla-La Mancha. Let us do some comparisons. Castilla-La Mancha has a population of 2,104,433 people. That makes it 9th most populace province in Spain.  If it was a country   This makes it about the same size as Lesotho and Slovenia. The total area is 79,463km2 - the third in Spain.  That makes it a smidgeon larger than Czechia and a smidgeon smaller than Scotland. The GDP is 55.560 billion euros. This makes it about the same as Cameroon or Jordan. The GDP per capita is 26,134 euros. This is about the same as Malta, a little less than Italy and a little more than Slovenia.  Tomorrow, as they say, is another day and a day in Castilla-La Mancha is roughly equal to those in other places.  Actually, come to think about it, it is on the same meridian line as Brittany, Cornwall, West Wales, east Morocco, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana.
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Where once there were as many students as there are today people

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  Into the countryside and a day of thinking about things and all that. We will get to 966m above sea level at our highest.  This is equal to the peak of Lata Mountain, the highest point of American Samoa. Heading round Europe The Faroe Islands high point is 880m, the Netherlands make it 870, Belgium 694m, Denmark 171m, and Vatican City 75m. If it helps, and why should it, Andorra’s lowest point is 840m. We are heading for Mantiel.  Currently 28 people live here. Once it was different.  Yes, we are going to the GSD. MANTIEL: village with town hall in the province of Guadalajara situated on the slope of a hill that protects it from the south winds, and is freely exposed to the others: its climate is cold and the most common illnesses are chest ailments; it has 100 houses , the town hall with a granary for the storehouse, whose fund consists of 55 fanegas of wheat; a primary school attended by 25 students of both sexes, under the charge of a teacher who is also the ...
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