The 3rd Republic on the Streets of Murcia

with nothing else better to do why not resurrect some old ghosts

the red, yellow and purple flag of the republicans

the king wanted for crimes against the state

a lengthy republican flag

It is not very clear why some seventy years after the civil war in Spain and thirty-five years of democracy following the death of Franco why that there would be a need to demonstrate and parade an old relic. Whether you are a royalist or not that the fact is that the current king Juan Carlos I reinstated parliament when he returned from exile in Greece in the 1970s Franco and the Church may have wanted him to continue the old system but that never happened.
The Civil war was ugly and the consequences continue today, Spain is a mix of the old and the new sometimes very juxtaposed. If you want to know a little bit more about the civil war and the myriad parties that made up the many fronts, you could read Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Mula mola!

A quick trip from Murcia capital inland and you will arrive to the lunar landscape of Mula, a small partially farmed region once inhabited buy the Visigoths 400a.d. There still exist thermal baths with temperatures that reach 36º C. Though to be honest a twenty Euros an hour as you can see it's a bit limited.

The town is a treasure, painted medieval buildings topped with Islamic period 700a.d castles

There is history on top of history in a small town like this and there are many like this in Spain. The Iberian people, the Romans, the Visigoths, the Mores, then the Catholics that built on top of the lot. Many of Spain's cathedrals and build directly on top of the foundations of mosques one of the most curios of these is in Cordoba where the Mosque is complete but inside is dressed up with dark-wood and biblical adornments. 
Moving out of Mula to the hills surrounding there are also Muslim palaces of course in ruins but there is a lot of treasure to be found.

the corner of the palace on top of a hill

 

Amongst the stones and rubble, don't forget that the Mores were forced from Spain and what they left behind was mostly disregarded. Scratching around the hill you can find pottery fragments and shards from the, Roman and Islamic periods we even discovered a large horse tooth that dates from around the same time. 
This is just the tip of the iceberg, if you are interested there are many interesting things out there. Here are a few photos.

tailor street (o mejor calle de-sastre)

Berenjena fritas con miel - Aubergine chips with honey, delicious

view across Mula towards the hill in distance

medieval door

the climb

From the hill looking towards the town

Islamic well without bottom at the top of the hill

Not graves but storage rooms, again all at the top of the hill

Under the Sun

Girl from Paraguay looking for work

 Living in the sunshine is a wonderful thing, but like all worlds there is lots going on under the surface.

The Beatles sang 'here comes the sun it's been a long cold lonely winter' the winters are short in Spain and shorter in the south-east, Alicante, Murcia but for many it is still cold and lonely.


Many British and Irish come to live in Spain; buying a house on a 'urbanization' a housing estate. places where the Spanish only come during August if at all, but the ex-pat community live all year round rather like on a caravan park out of season.

Integration is minimal, the Spanish are very friendly but if you can't understand what they are telling you the common reaction from a mostly middle-aged new residences, is fear.
I have heard stories of people paying for food at a market always with a 20 Euro note as they can't cope with the numerical response.

Many others suffer depression they are away from most of the family and friends and it takes time and to make new ones. However the limiting factor is the language barrier. I have been teaching English for the last six years all over the country and this is my first experience living near the coast. The Spanish do speak a better level of English than those inland, many Spanish spend a lot of time and money improving and perfecting their English but it's not them that need to learn it's the ex-pats.

All over the country you will see construction sites abandoned, tower-blocks, golf complexes. About the only building that is still continuing is state roads and highways.
Most of the workers in this industry are south American so the language barrier is less of a problem. However like immigration in all countries it has opposition.

Spain today has a very mixed culture, from Brits, Germans, Chinese, Russians, Moroccans, with a myriad of South Americans and that is more or less the pecking order. A Spanish friend asked me if I felt like I had integrated. Because my Spanish is strong enough for me to speak, read and write the answer is yes. I don't limit myself to only English speaking, bars and friends. The two languages can compliment each other we have mutual respect for our cultures so speaking both languages opens up many possibilities, of friendships. 

unfinished

for sale or rent

The economic situation here is tricky like in all European countries those that have money will always have it. The antithesis is seen daily: beggars and the homeless are in abundance. The job market is tough, many companies have closed their doors, or are in a balancing act. Some small business can't close up as there is no dole money for closing your own business but at the same time there is no profit.

The government has started to cut civil service jobs and wages. Many sub-contracts have been stopped. The increase in unemployment means people are trying to get back into education but places are limited. So those without an education try any means they can. Scrap metal prices have increased so the number of bin divers are on the increase. for example I saw a bed mattress left outside; the next day it had been cut and dissected to extract the metal springs. rather ingenious.

Of course their are new business and opportunities, for example I know of an Dance school near Marbella that is doing well and seems to be crossing language barriers too.

We are lucky to have the sunshine but in addition to this we need a job and friends. So before you pack up your bags have a good think about what you are giving up and how long it will take you to build your new life in the sun.

Education Cuts, school wall

The reality for many unemployed is ducking and diving at CashCoverters where security keep an eye out for undesirables