CHAPTEK II 



UNEXPLORED SPAIN (Continued) 



ON TRAVEL AND OTHER THINGS 



Travel in all the wilder regions of Spain implies the saddle. 



Our Spain begins, as premised, where roads end. For us 



railways exist merely to help us one degree nearer to the final 



plunge into the unknown ; 



and not railways only, but 



roads and bridges soon " petter 



out " into trackless waste, and 



leave the explorer face to face 



with open wilds — despohlados, 



that is, uninha])ited regions — 



with a route-map in his pocket 



that is quite unreliable, and a 



trusty local guide who is just 



the reverse. 



Riding light, with the " ir- 

 reducible minimum " stowed 

 in the saddle-bags, one may 

 traverse Spain from end to 

 end. But it is only a hasty 

 and superficial view that is 

 thus obtainable, and except 

 for those who love roufrhing 

 it for roughness' sake, even the freedom of the saddle presents 

 grave drawbacks in a land where none live in the country and 

 none travel off stated tracks. In the campo, nothing — neither 

 food for man nor beast — can be obtained, and no provision 

 exists for travellers where travellers never come. The little 



17 C 





Types of Spanish Bird-Life 

 FANTAIL WARBLER (Cisticola cursitans) 



Resident ; 



builds a deep purse-like nest supported 

 on long grass or rushes. 



