God damn it, you've got to be kind.

Ernest Hemingway (left) and Joris Ivens, Guadalajara, 1937

"Yes," she said. "I see. The stew; as usual. Como siempre. Things are bad in the north; as usual. An offensive here; as usual. That troops come to hunt us out; as usual. You could serve as a monument to as usual."

"But the last two are only rumors, Pilar."

"Spain," the woman of Pablo said bitterly. Then turned to Robert Jordan. "Do they have people such as this in other countries?"

"There are no countries like Spain," Robert Jordan said politely.

Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls

Tarragona, Day Three

Spanish Sunday ghost town. The bells toll clear across these empty streets - only ghosts and stray cats are out tonight and me.

Tarragona, Day One

I have been warned against the local waters. It is said that by drinking them the locals become crazy and by showering in them they lose all their hair. No es bueno. I have not decided if I should feel scared or right at home.