Weather in the Pyrenees

Weather in the Pyrenees

By Alexander.Turcan@TurcanLaw.md (April 2013)

“The West is wet, and the East is much dryer.”

The Pyrenees Mountains form the natural border between France and Spain, and completely engulf the tiny nation of Andorra.

The mountains extend for about 440 kilometers (270 miles) from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean Sea.  

The highest point is Pico de Aneto at 3,404 meters (11,168 ft.)

The Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre have historically extended on both sides of the mountain range, with small northern portions now in France and much larger southern parts now in Spain.

Legend

The mountains are named after a mythological princess – Pyrene.  Apparently Pyrene was raped by Hercules, who has abused of her father’s hospitality.  As a consequence, Pyrene gave birth to a serpent and, afraid of her father’s rage, run away in the woods, where she was torn apart by wild beasts.  After learning of Pyrene’s fate, Hercules was seized by profound grief and remorse.  He laid Pyrene to rest tenderly, demanding that the surrounding geography join in mourning and preserve her name: “struck by Herculean voice, the mountaintops shudder at the ridges; he kept crying out with a sorrowful noise 'Pyrene!' and all the rock-cliffs and wild-beast haunts echo back 'Pyrene!' … The mountains hold on to the wept-over name through the ages.”

Climate

The amount of precipitation the range receives, including rain and snow, is much greater in the western than in the eastern Pyrenees, because of the moist air that blows in from the Atlantic Ocean over the Bay of Biscay.  After dropping its moisture over the western and central Pyrenees, the air is usually dry over the eastern Pyrenees.  

The winter average temperature is -2°C (28.4°F).  

Sections of the mountain range vary in more than one respect. Some glaciers are found in the western and especially the snowy central Pyrenees, but the eastern Pyrenees are without any glaciers – with the quantity of snow falling there being insufficient to cause their development.  

The snow-line varies in different parts of the Pyrenees from about 2,700 to 2,800 meters above sea level.  

The weather varies considerably across the Pyrenees.

The general rule is that the West is wet, and the East is much dryer.  Furthermore, the Spanish side of the Pyrenees is considerably warmer than the French. As a consequence, plant and animal life change almost as soon as you cross the border.

The French side has lush wooded forests of beech and oak, whereas the Spanish side is sparsely planted with low vegetation and dotted with pine trees. The desolate but beautiful nature of the Spanish Pyrenees is in part due to the destruction of olive groves several decades ago.

The climate year-round is that of temperate mountain regions.  Short bursts of heavy rainfall can be expected in April and May, and stable periods of high pressure between September and November give clear blue skies. During the height of summer (especially August), short violent thunderstorms are a regular occurrence during mid-afternoon. Occasionally, the onset of winter is heralded by a cold-snap at the start of November.  However, any snow usually melts away below about 1,000 m altitude.  

Winter conditions are to be generally expected between January and March.

Weather in May

The most beautiful month of May is possibly also the rainiest month in the Pyrenees.  While hoping for sun and for T-shirt & shorts weather, at the same time we need to be prepared for rain, and for temperatures below zero.  

The Rule of Aragon in Medieval Iberia

The Rule of Aragon in Medieval Iberia: A View from Moldavia

By Alexander.Turcan@TurcanLaw.md (a lawyer from modern-day Moldavia)

As someone who studied the world history from Soviet textbooks, the first thing I remember about King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Spain is that they gave Christopher Columbus travelers cheques to sail across the ocean to try and find a sea route to Asia from the East.  Google also reminded me that they were the ones who drove the Moors (Muslims) and Jews away from Spain unless they converted to Catholicism.

Did you know that King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Spain were cousins?  Ferdinand’s marriage in 1469 to his cousin Isabella of Castile was dictated by the desire to unite his own claims to the crown, as the head of the younger branch of the same family, with hers. When the king died in 1474, Ferdinand made an ungenerous attempt to procure his own proclamation as king without recognition of the rights of his wife. Isabella asserted her claims firmly, and at all times insisted on a voice in the government of Castile. Though Ferdinand had sought a selfish political advantage at his wife's expense, he was well aware of her ability and high character.

In turn, when Isabella of Castile chose her husband, she had three candidates: Charles of Valois, the son of Charles VII of France, Alfonso V of Portugal, and Ferdinand, son and heir of John II of Aragon. Although marrying the French or Portuguese candidates seemed to be more beneficial to Castile in terms of diplomacy, and her half-brother King Henry IV hoped her to marry Alfonso, Isabella proposed to Ferdinand of Aragon and married him.  It is said that she sent Catholic missionaries to all three countries and gained information about the tree candidates for her husband; while Charles was weak and incompetent and Alfonso was over forty years old, Ferdinand was a young and talented man.  

Their marriage was not just a love affair.  Their married life was dignified and harmonious; because Ferdinand had no common vices, and their views in government were identical.

King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Spain reigned from the mid 1400’s to early 1500’s.  For a Moldovan, this period is of particular historic interest, as it is considered to be one of the greatest ages of old Moldavia.  During this same period the Moldavian greatest king – Stephan the Great (Stefan cel Mare) – fought 36 wars and battles (scoring a record of 34 wins), most of which were also against the opponents of Christianity.  

One of the curiosities was that despite being baptized by the Catholic Pope as an “athlete of the Christian Faith” for his numerous victories against the Ottomans and Tatars, Stephan the Great was also cousin of Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler), another notorious King of Wallachia (Romania) during 1456-1462, the one who inspired the Bram Stocker's fictional character of Count Dracula.  

The remarkable parallel reigns of the Southeast-European cousins duet formed of Stephan the Great (Moldavia) and Vlad Tepes (Wallachia) and Iberian cousins duet formed of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in Spain is extremely telling about the importance and symbolism of their age – the period of great kings on both edges of the old Europe.  

A historian blogger naming himself ‘The Mad Monarchist’ calls the Queen Isabella as his “favorite king of Spain”, depicting her as “one the most giant, iconic figures in Spanish history, whose marriage to Ferdinand of Aragon brought a new unity to Christian Spain”.  She is said to be the mother of the notorious Spanish Inquisition, which is appreciated to be ultimately to the benefit of Spain as it is said to have spared Spain from the horrific, catastrophic wars of religion that so divided and devastated Britain, France and Germany during this same period.

King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Spain together aimed to reunite Spain under the banner of Christianity. As a result of their relentless efforts they managed to reform Spain into becoming one of Europe’s best administered countries.

Despite lacking all of the attractive personal qualities of his wife, king Ferdinand was known for being one of the most skillful diplomats in an era which bred some great diplomats. Ferdinand managed to organize the Iberian states in a manner that served their purpose most effectively. Castile, Aragon, Catalonia and Valencia were maintained as independent political constitutions. Under their rule Spain managed to put an end to the Muslim domination of Granada, the victory which is known as the Reconquest. It is this effort that earned them the admiration of the Pope and the title of Catholic kings.

There still remained a considerable amount of non-Christian minorities in Spain, namely the thousands of Muslims living in Granada which posed a constant threat. It was at this time that the King’s men led ruthless crusades against the Muslims and Jews. The Muslims were given the choice to either convert to Christianity or leave. As a result many did convert whereas the majority left and some were forcefully driven out. A considerable amount of Jews embraced the Christian faith which even got them important positions in the government and other ecclesiastical positions in Aragon and Castile. The small number of Muslims that managed to stay back in the re-conquered territory lived a low profile life as skilled craftsmen and peasant farmers.

The drive to make Spain a purely Christian state was declared fulfilled in the year 1525 when it was announced that all the residents of Spain professed the Christian faith. But in order to keep on the safe side, all government and religious positions where reserved for the Coptic Christians. There were other groups of converts that were suspected for being hypocrites who would secretly practice their own faith and thus served as a constant threat to the Catholic government. As a result they were investigated and prosecuted where and when the need be. There was a hint of rebellion from the Muslims who at one point stood up for their Faith, but were expelled from the country forcefully.

Despite the adoption of several Aragonese institutions in Castile, the economic systems of the two crowns were still separated. The customs system was untouched, thus transportation of goods from Castile to Aragon, or vice versa, still caused heavy additional costs.  As a natural consequence, Castile and Aragon developed quite disconnected economic systems according to their geographical locations; Castile's Atlantic system and Aragon’s Mediterranean system.  This segregation of two economic systems later resulted in contrary phases of economic development between Castile and Aragon; while Castile's economy encountered its heyday, Aragon's was in continuous downfall.  

Ferdinand is remembered as a very cunning and deceitful politician.  Each time he made a new pact, treaty or agreement with someone, such document would always contain language that would implicitly benefit Ferdinand above the negotiated intentions of the parties.  Legends say that he has deceived Louis XII of France a dozen times in this way.  The worst of his character was prominently shown after the death of Isabella in 1504. He endeavored to lay hands on the regency of Castile in the name of his insane daughter Joanna, and without regard to the claims of her husband Philip of Habsburg. The hostility of the Castilian nobles, by whom he was disliked, baffled him for a time, but on Philip's early death he reasserted his authority.

A few acts of illegal violence are recorded of Ferdinand – as when he invited a notorious demagogue of Saragossa to visit him in the palace, and caused the man to be executed without any trial.  He was too intent on building up a great state to complicate his difficulties by internal troubles. His arrangement of the convention of Guadalupe, which ended the fierce Agrarian conflicts of Catalonia, was wise and profitable to the country, though it was probably dictated mainly by a wish to weaken the landowners by taking away their feudal rights.

Ferdinand died at Madrigalejo in Estremadura in February 1516.

From the dynastic union in 1469 to the end of the 16th Century, the economy of Spain could be characterized by the word 'bipolarization'. Although Aragon had more developed economic system than Castile at the beginning, Castilian economic power much overwhelmed Aragon’s in the following centuries. This can be explained by several factors.

First, as the New World was discovered by Columbus and Europeans started to trade with the New World, the economic center of Europe naturally moved from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. Thus, Aragon's Mediterranean economic system was destined to decline. Moreover, due to its geographical advantage over trans-Atlantic trade, cities of Castile such as Sevilla obtained monopolistic rights over trade with the New World, thus, enormous wealth as well. In contrast, Aragonese cities were isolated in the new source of wealth, and did not have means to compensate the loss of Mediterranean trade.  Castile had better demographical and territorial conditions for economic development. Castile had about three times larger territory and five to six times greater population than Aragon. Also, as Castile obtained a substantial amount of land through Reconquista, it could obtain the infrastructures, such as the irrigation system, established by the Muslim population in the land. Therefore, Castile's economy could develop much faster than Aragon’s thanks to its superiority in resources and labor.

Last but not least, most economic policies that the court enacted were toward Castile more than Aragon. A prominent example is the prerogatives given to Castilian pastors. As the court found Castile's burgeoning wool industry profitable, it granted numerous privileges such as the priority in passage and land use over farmers. Thus, Castile enjoyed better support from the court for economic development than Aragon.

Thanks to abovementioned factors, Castile could develop its economy much faster than its neighbor Aragon. As a result of almost 200 years of economic bipolarization, Aragon, with the economic system much backward to Castile's, was ultimately 'absorbed' by Castile.  

Henry Russell

Henry Russell and the Mountain

 By Joelo Delgado

Count Henry Patrick Marie Russell-Killough, was born on 1834 to an Irish father and a French mother, blessed with the aristocracy of the Irish and wealth of the French, Henry Russell practically lived off of his inheritance. He didn’t need to build his career, as his inheritance was enough to give him a life of comfort.

 Nevertheless, his fascination with the mountain ranges of the Pyrenees lead him, time and time again, to the peaks of the Pyrenees. He was no stranger to adventure nor was he afraid of danger. Henry Russell traversed deserts, crossed Oceans and seas, climbed mountain and trees. He explored Russia, North and South America, New Zealand, and Australia; the Gobi Desert, and China. The world was his playground.

The Vignemale

When he was only 24 years old, Henry Russell summited the Neouville Massif and the Ardiden of the Pyrenees, at 27 Henry Russel summited the Vignemale, which is the highest point among the French Pyrenean summits. Henry Russell was not drawn to Kilimanjaro nor Everest but his focus centered on the Vignemale and the Pyrenees. Over his career he has had over 30 FAs (First Ascents) and numerous other second and third ascents. He was in love with the mountain and he spent so much time around the Pyrenees that he had have several caves built into the mountain system as any other construction was unacceptable. These caves served as his living space, and in some cases he would throw banquets in some of the caves – he built over 7 caves in his lifetime.

Henry Russel died in 1909 in Biarritz and was buried in the town of Pau.

THE LIONS OF THE PYRENEES NATURE GUIDE

CHAPTER 3
TREES OF THE PYRENEES

By Daniel Arenas (Ornithologist and Nature Correspondent)

Over 100 species of trees and shrubs are found in Pyrenean forests. Each species grows on slopes with different characteristics: altitude, exposure, type of soil, rainfall or cloud cover.

Beech; Fagus sylvatica

   
The Beech grows at mountain level, between about 800 and 1,800 m in humid conditions with condensation forming thick fog, drizzle or rain. Though not fussy about the soil, beech trees can be badly affected by late frosts, which destroy tender young leaves and blooms. 
Where trees are tightly packed, few other species grow in the humus.

 Silver fir; Abies pectinata

The silver fir is often found among beech trees where it can be spotted by its tall, dark silhouette. It is also found growing in 100% fir forests, especially in shady spots near the top of the mountain level (around 1,800 m). Another tree that will grow in different types of soil, silver firs form a shady, silent cover for undergrowth.

Scots pine; Pinus sylvestris

At the same height as the silver fir but preferring south-facing slopes sheltered from wind, rain and lasting snow, you will find Scots pine. Its blue-green foliage and the scaly bark which glows red near the top filter the light, providing good lighting conditions for flora similar to neighbouring heath and grassland.

Hooked pine; Pinus uncinata

The hooked pine takes over on higher slopes, where conditions are harsher. It is found from the uppermost parts of the mountain level and particularly at subalpine level between 1,800 and 2,300 m. As hooked pine woods are not normally very dense, there is plenty of room for other plants to grow.

The Somontano Wine Region

The Somontano Wine Region

By Joelo Delgado

The region of Aragon is blessed with lush landscapes supporting vast pastures of livestock, forests with a healthy population of game; where truffle mushrooms grow. Several rivers snake through the landscape watering the grasses and trees; the river Ebro in fact, Spain’s largest river in volume, cuts through the province from west to east.

In this province, lying in the northeastern region of Spain, in the province of Huesca, is the region of Somontano. It lies nestled at the foothills of the majestic Pyrenees and stretches to the valley of Ebro. Just as it’s name would suggest (latin in origin) Somontano – at the foot of the mountain - is protected by the Pyrenees mountain range from the north.

Geographically Somontano boasts one of the best winemaking climates; with the Pyrenees providing a buffer from cold winds from the north, the continental climate providing ample sunlight for the grapes, and the sandy-clay soil – although not the most fertile – offers deep penetration for the roots of the vines to extract more moisture and nutrients. Summers in Somontano are hot and dry, and can get to a scorching 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius). Wintry months can see temperatures dipping as low as 15 degrees Fahrenheit (-10 degrees Celsius), and the region also experiences it’s fair share of rain (20in annually). The region experiences balanced exposure to all the elements.

Consequently Somontano wines, generally speaking are very balanced, the modern wine drinker would be eased into a harmonious blend of fruity, acidity, round, experience; largely caused by the region’s trifecta; altitude, climate, and soil.

Although Somontano has been making wines since the Romans started planting grapes in the 2^nd century, it was only in the 80s, when the region was awarded a D.O.  (Denominacion Origen) that Somontano became known for its innovative and modern approach to winemaking. Its 33 wineries[1] and some 500 private ones, occupy more than 4,500 hectares of grape country in this region.

Local grape varietals to watch out for are moristel and parraleta, but most especially Alcañon a Somontano white varietal, almost wiped out of existence as it started to lose popularity. Local wineries are now starting to propagate Alcañon again.

The wines are not the only stars, Somontano is not bereft of other attractions. Perhaps most historically important; The River Vero Cultural Park, houses over 60 cave paintings, declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The city of Barbastro, the Torreciudad Shrine, and medieval village of Alquezar are some of the top recommended tourist spots.

Somontano is an enchanting region offering excellent, well-balanced wines; excellent cuisine with game, lamb and fresh fishes; beautiful ancient medieval villages and cities. How your experience will pan out it all depends on you.

[1] Four best bodegas: Bodegas Somontano, Bodegas Pirineos, Enate, Vinas del Vero