Landscape in Spain

[Descender]

This has always been a pet peeve of mine. Every year during the Vuelta, I start seeing comments from non-Spaniards calling the Spanish countryside "dry", "arid", "parched" or "moon-like". I find this baffling. Is this a concious exaggeration? Is it because we're used to seeing the greener landscapes of other European countries more to the north? Do you guys really don't see any difference between the Mediterranean landscape of Spain and the truly arid landscape of, say, Dubai?

This could also be a place to post pictures of your favourite natural spots in Spain. Maybe there are some fellow hikers here.

I'll start with a classic, the rolling hills by Ronda, in Andalusia: https://michealoreilly.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/img_2443.jpg

 

[RedheadDane]

Well, apparently Andalucia is one of the driest regions in Europe.
Not that you'd know from watching today's stage...

Basque Country, on the other hand...

 

[Forever The Best]

How about making this a general landscape thread? Can be a great thread imo.

 

[Echoes]

Re:

Well, apparently Andalucia is one of the driest regions in Europe.

That's the beauty of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HWpwmQFThI&t=73s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfeYcbNGRUk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqI3l-ySUy4

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Middle picture is wonderful.
On topic, not a fan of the "burned" landscape which probably accounts for a very large part of Spain.

 

[Jagartrott]

Well, large parts of Spain are actually classified as 'drylands', so the commentaries are not coming out of nowhere (especially in August-September). Of course you have sub-classifications, but compared to large parts of Europe, Spain *is* dry.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Dull and dry..
But there are areas of Spain worth visiting imo.

 

[movingtarget]

No wonder they made spaghetti westerns in Spain !

 

[Echoes]

Definitely. The few Spaghetti westerns that were shot in Italy don't come close to those shot in the Tabernas Desert. Many say that Il grande silenzio (shot in the Dolomites) is one of the greatest but too gloomy for me. If I could stand heat better I'd love to go to Almeria, to "Western Leone" as some sort of a pilgrimage. The Italian westerns are a great inspiration for me. Especially the Zapata subgenre.

 

[RedheadDane]

My initial reaction when they showed that old movie set during one of the stages in the area:

"Huh? That looks like an old abandoned town..." which, I guess, wasn't that far from the truth...