The Road from Santiago

  It is a bit of a day to wander amid fields and leave the N-II behind.  The Ebo continues to roll down towards the sea. The roads run in both directions. When the Generals Coup sparked off the Spanish Civil War the traitorous General Miguel Cabanellas helped seize Zaragoza for the rebels.  It became a key target for the Republican forces.  In August 1937 the Army of the East, under General Pozas, sent 80,000 men up the valley to seize the city. We are currently opposite Fuentes del Ebro. General Lister’s 11th Division was ordered  to take the fortified town of Fuentes del Ebro in order to open the road to Zaragoza. Forty-eight BT-5 tanks carrying Spanish troops would supported by the troops of the XV International Brigade. Nevertheless, the attack was ill-planned. The tanks were not suited to carrying troops, very little reconnaissance was carried out, there was virtually no artillery preparation an d the tanks became bogged down in the mud. The attack failed a...

  The arrival of the motorways, in this case, the AP-2, has seen the collapse of some of the old petrol stations and wayside hotels.  We will, however, as promised, passing another retirement home - Las Adelfas Residence.   According to the website ‘At Las Adelfas Residence, we have large natural spaces (10,000 m2) that provide a peaceful and relaxing environment, ideal for the well-being of our residents. Enjoying the outdoors and the beauty of our gardens not only improves your mood, but also promotes physical and emotional health. There are 21 reviews and it averages 3 - one of the five stars being very critical. I am not sure what to say with these.  The most recent, a month ago, is five stars and I will quote the first paragraph. ‘ MY 102 YEAR OLD MOTHER MERI HAS RESURRECTED IN THE OLERA... IN HER HOUSE SHE WAS MENTALLY FATAL AND NOW HER MIND IS A COMPUTER... SHE HAS GOT FAT AND DOES EVERYTHING HERSELF. THE CAREGIVERS ARE WONDERFUL AND VERY PATIENT’  Please...

  If the Ebro had any decency it would make an ox-bow lake at this point. It gets very bendy at this stage, unlike the N-II - which goes straight ahead.  We almost dip our toes into the Ebro towards the end of the day when we reach two huge accommodations - one occupied and one post apocalyptic.  The Residencia El Veral https://elveral.com/ is an old people’s home.  It is managed by the Ramon Rey Ardid Foundation. The website says ‘ by both a permanent and a floating population’. I can’t help thinking about the floating population and the nearby Ebro.  Sorry.  Should you wish to book in the price begins at 1650 euros a month for residences, 700 euros as a day centre and 80 euros for short days. The site goes on ‘The aim of the centre is to "achieve maximum comfort and the highest quality of life for the resident". To this end, the rooms, single or double, have been equipped with articulated and electric geriatric beds, with four support planes and mattress...

We are heading down the very straight N-II , I’ll nip up on the junction to the AP-2 just so you can get a better look/  We are going to go past yet another town, it is almost like being in a fertile river valley attracts them or something. Villafranca de Ebro seems to have been a general farming place until the Muslims built a castle there.  In 1118, Alfonso I the Battler took it.  The existing castle is of 12th century origins, based on the 10th / 11th century predecessor.  It is basically a tower with a surrounding enclosure. It was damaged when an observation point and trenches were constructed during the Civil War. War-wise, the pueblo has not done too well.  In 1379 Lope Ximenez, one-time Viceroy of Sicily, took the placed and razed it.  More heroically 110 of them formed a unit in 1808 to fight the French.  More tragically, Carlist troops murdered women and children in 1833. Villafranca has generally bumbled through the Twentieth Century with ab...

  I am putting a couple of landscape screenshots down, partly because we have no streetview on our dusty trail but mainly because it really shows the contrast between the barren hills and fertile valley.  We are following the N-II until suddenly we come to the neatly grided town of Alfajarin.   Alfajarin is one of those places which, generally, bumbled along through History.  The Muslims built a castle here in the 10th century. Wandering between being a large village and small town it had 55 hearths in a 1495 Hearth Register.   Alright, rabbit hole.  In 1495 the French were threatening and the Plague had ravaged and what with one thing and another Ferdinand of Aragon needed some tax so he sent people out to find out how much he could squeeze.  Alfajarin.    Had about 600 people in 1842, 1000 by 1857 and slightly less till the 1920s/  By 1970 it had 1250 inhaboitants but shot up after 2001 to the present 2600 - the result of car owne...