The long and short and level of it.

 To be honest it is a quiet day and we are wandering along a treeline road, broken by the occasional finca.  We will wobble between 10 and 12m above sea level and there is not a lot to say so let’s have five random facts about Spain - without going to 10 facts about Spain you won’t believe web pages!


In 1823 a French Army restored the Monarchy and Ferdinand VII was restored.  His first official  Prime Minister, Víctor Damián Sáez Sánchez Mayor, was also his confessor. Ferdinand’s repression, led by Saez was so harsh, foreign nations protested and Saez was sacked after 13 days.  Alright, he had been Secretary of State before so not quiet as short as all that but none the less. He was made Bishop of Tortosa soon after.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%ADctor_Dami%C3%A1n_S%C3%A1ez 


Ignoring Franco, and why not, it would annoy him, the longest serving Prime Minister since 1823 was PSOE’s Felipe Gonzalez, whose election, in 1982, marked the arrival of the first left of centre government since the 1930s. He was PM for 13 years and 155 days.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_prime_ministers_of_Spain



Spain’s busiest International Airport is Madrid, with 50,4 million passengers, then Barcelona with 44.1m and Palma de Mallorca with 26.2m.  Malaga comes 4th and Alicante 5th. 

 In 2024 Spain’s biggest export was vehicles - $63.8 billion. Mineral fuels comes next $31.6 billion and machinery third, $30.9 billion.

Spain’s oldest confirmed person was born in America.  Maria Branyas was born on 4th March 1907 and died 19th August 2024. [117 years and 168 days].  She was born in San Francisco, of Catalan expats. She later lived in Texas and New Orleans before returning to Catalonia in 1915. 


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