SPAIN PHOTO DIRECTORY

1.   The Beauty of Northern Spain

A magnificent dam in the Pyrenees near the border with France

The lake made by the dam

Looking into the abyss on the back side of the dam

Some of the magnificent cliffs as one drives further into Spain

Many beautiful old cities and towns on the edge of cliffs as here.

On top if this mountain was a small Christian hermitage that I found.   There were no people around and everything was open, a wonderful spiritual life apart from the world.

Medieval looking bridges with drawbridges still characterize some of these beautiful towns.

At one time the tower in the middle of this bridge was closed at night or during periods of danger.

What must it be like for the people who live among these ancient churches and remnants of Medieval civilization as well as within this beauty?

I traveled south to the Monastery of Montseurat, in the mountains not far from Barcelona.   Here at one time monks lived in caves and crevices along sheer cliff faces.   Today it is a tourist attraction with a broad parking lot and trams to take people to the cliffs where monks once lived.    The campsite was full so I climbed out of sight onto this cliff face and pitched under this overhang.   You can see the rope at the bottom right of the tent which is one of the ropes I used to make sure I did not slip off the cliff face during the night.

The view from my tent site at Montseurat the next morning, looking off the mountain into the valley below.

2.   The Fourth Provisional World Parliament, a Buddhist Monastary, and Barcelona

This is the main hall of a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in central Spain where I stayed with some colleagues from the Fourth Session of the Provisional World Parliament.   The evening after we arrived we held an incredible meditation session with drums, chanting, and Tibetan instruments.

That evening we stayed in this 10th century stone building on the grounds of the monastery.   This is a typical room.   The ceilings are about six feet high at the center, made for shorter people than ourselves.

The harbor at Barcelona.

The high table of the Fourth Session of the Provisional World Parliament in its impromptu session at a hotel near the Barcelona airport.   It was arranged for Andorra, and some $24,000 worth of materials and banners had been shipped to the hotel in Andorra.   But at the last minute the government of Andorra threw out delegates coming to the parliament (without giving an explanation why) and we were forced to meet here in Barcelona.   

I do not remember the name of the woman from Nigeria (center) who chaired the meeting.  But otherwise from the left are Dr. Terence Amerasinghe from Sri Lanka, Professor Philip Isely from the U.S., Dr. Reinhart Ruge from Mexico, and Yogi Shanti from India.

The top of the towering Monument to Columbus near Barcelona harbor.   I wrote about this obscene shrine to a genocidal murderer in the last chapter of by book Millennium Dawn (2004) entitled “Barcelona Reflections on Revolutionary Solidarity.”

3.  Northwest Spain

Sunset looking west into the Atlantic from the beaches south of Vigo

From the right: Aaron, Phyllis, Glen, Bego, Hilliary
On the beach coastline south of Vigo.

The tiny, winding road into Picos de Europa National Park follows
this Rio Deva as it rages out of the Park.

The City of Potes near our hotel in the center of Picos de Europa National Park.

The Rio Deva runs through the heart of this remote city within the Park

We eat at a terrific restaurant in the city

Some of the snow-covered peaks in the National Park

In the Park

4.  Santillana del Mar, Altimira, Bilboa, Burgos, Valley of the Fallen, and Madrid

(March 2015)

The cathedral at the center of the old town in Santillana del Mar near the famous Neolithic caves at Altimara.   We stayed in the very old home of a former Count of the area.  The surrounding streets all remain cobblestone.

Before heading for Bilboa we visited the archeological site at Altimira

Altimira demonstrated very well what is shown in this painting at the museum next to the Neolithic caves there: that human beings originated in Africa.

Part of the exterior of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilboa

A view of the Interior of the Guggenheim.

The Guggenheim’s famous dog made of flowers, with Phyllis

The entrance to our hotel in Burgos, formerly a monastery.

The famous cathedral at Burgos

The Rio Arlonzon running through the center of Burgos,
with public walks on both sides and the Cathedral nearby.

Public space near our hotel and the Cathedral in Burgos

Buildings, at one time monastic in nature, in the large park area known as the Valley of the Fallen.

Beneath this 500 foot high cross, hollowed from the rock is a Cathedral like sanctuary, commissioned by General Franco, to house the bones of the fallen on both sides of the Spanish Civil War.  Franco’s tomb is in there as well.  A very beautiful place, which Phyllis and I visited primarily to make sure Franco was still dead.  To all appearances he was still where he belonged.

From the balcony of our room in the city center of Madrid, with block after block of tapas bars and thousands of people every evening flooding
the city center.

Exterior of the Prado Museum, home of the works of many old masters.

Exterior of the Reina Sophia Museum, home to Picasso’s Guernica and an incredible collection of art related to 20th century liberation struggles.

Looking across Madrid from the observatory atop the old Post Office Building in Madrid’s City Center.