SPAIN - part 1

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· SPAIN - part 1

In a nutshell. For some reason most of we Americans who have never visited Spain think of this country as a small one and it comes as a shock to find that of all of our States only Texas is larger than she. And her population is pushing thirty million which makes her one of the more populous countries of Europe.

Possibly our ignorance of Spain is due to the fact that few members of this generation have visited Spain. Her civil war broke out in 1936 and didn't end until 1939. Hardly was it over but the Second World War began and for nearly seven years Europe was wrapped in conflict and tourism was a forgotten luxury. Both Spanish and American officials are trying to ignore the fact now but Spain was, and is, a fascist country and during the war she supported the Axis Powers. This undoubtedly helped, when the war was over, to keep American tourists from the country. For years Spain was virtually ignored.

Tourists were coming to Europe as never before, but the main points of interest were further north, England, France, Switzerland, Italy. In 1947 only 3,700 of our countrymen entered Spain and the figure only slightly more than doubled in 1948.

But finances have been chaotic since the war and everywhere prices have literally zoomed. France, once a bargain paradise, became as expensive as the United States, or nearly so. And Switzerland and Italy trailed not far behind. Rumors began to drift up from the south that Spain was still operating at pre-war prices. That you could travel in Spain at a fraction the price in the more popular tourist countries, or could retire on a pittance.

And nothing spreads so fast in the traveling set, and those who live permanently, or semi-permanently abroad as such rumors. Thousands began to drift into Spain, and then tens of thousands, until at this writing at least a quarter of a million Americans visit Spain each year, and thousands have become permanent residents.

Of course, just because a country is cheap is no reason to retire there. Possibly the cheapest place I have ever been is the interior of Turkey. I would estimate that given the current black market rate of exchange, you could live there like a pasha for $50 a month for a couple. But what would you do? What would you see? Who would you talk to? You might live in a palace and have a swarm of servants on $100 a month in one of the smaller towns of inland Turkey—but you'd probably go stark raving mad after a couple of months or so.

But Spain offers a good deal more than economy. Her scenery is varied, her climate probably the best in Europe, with the possible exception of the Greek islands, there is a wide Anglo-American population which guarantees companionship if you cannot find it among the Spaniards, and the luxuries as well as the necessities of life are available.