2024-07-20 09:03:26
Spain is the loudest country in the world along with Japan. Both countries have been changing top spots for the past 15 years, fighting over who can be the most divisive for its residents.
Whether it’s a tractor passing by at one o’clock in the morning, a neighbor yelling “Goooool” when the ball is on or the sound of coffee cups being lifted off the tree in the morning, there’s no escaping it. noise (noise) in Spain.
Advertising
Well, there is a place in the Spanish region where peace and quiet can truly be found: Spain is empty (Empty Spain).
To be precise, the area around the Montes Universales mountain range, a triangle between Albarracín, Molina de Aragón and Cuenca, in central eastern Spain.
It is almost twice the size of Belgium but has the population density of Lapland or Highland Scotland.
Los Montes Universales, Teruel, population density (0,98 population/km²) zero of the so-called Spanish Lapland with a population density of 6.99, does not look like a good Lapland fall. Areas <10 considered human deserts. Beautiful to travel but freezing winters, little activities, few of any children pic.twitter.com/uQtQVdpDru
— Nick Lloyd (@Civil_War_Spain) November 27, 2020
Quiet Parks International, a non-profit which aims to preserve quiet for all life, has given this area the official title of “Quiet Place”.
Quiet Parks founder Gordon Hempton came up with the idea when he traveled around the US with a van and a tape recorder to find places where there were periods of silence longer than 15 minutes uninterrupted by human noise.
In Europe, it is impossible to find such places, and in Spain, where eighty percent of the noise pollution is caused by traffic, you have to enter the empty part of the country to find that happy silence.
Advertising
There is even a company called Empty Mountain which offers quiet bike tours through this ‘Spanish Lapland’.
In case you don’t know, noise pollution can cause stress, sleep problems, interfere with cognitive processes and can even lead to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, while silence has the complete opposite effect.
Another thing that can be expected to generate less negative noise is the renewed relationship of the UK and Spain, after 14 years of Tory legal rollercoaster and of course the elephant in the room: Brexit.
Pedro Sánchez and the new Prime Minister of the UK Keir Starmer met on the sidelines of the European Political Community (EPC) in Oxfordshire, the first meeting between the pair since Starmer replaced Rishi Sunak.
It is a pleasure to reaffirm the ties of friendship that bind our countries together, @Keir_Starmer.
The United Kingdom is a willing partner, friend and ally for Spain.
The leadership of two progressive leaders will bring great progress for our citizens.
Lose… pic.twitter.com/PwO5adMyrN
– Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) July 18, 2024
The meeting was cordial, as expected from two leaders of the same political affiliation (Sánchez congratulated Starmer for the title of PM), and the main issue on the table was the post-Brexit position of Gibraltar.
According to sources from the Spanish Government, an agreement on Gibraltar is very close and Sánchez believes that it can happen within the next months.
For the Prime Minister of Spain, making an agreement on the Rock after years and years of negotiations could deepen the current relations between Spain and the UK, to the benefit of many Spaniards in Britain and even a large number of Brits in Britain Spain.
Within two days he was named the new Foreign Secretary of the UK, David Lammy had already spoken for the Spanish counterpart and for the head of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo, raising hopes that Gibraltar’s post-Brexit uncertainty may finally come to an end.
Picardo noted the potential political alignment in a post on X: “For the first time in history, we have socialist parties in government in London, Madrid and Gibraltar… that ideological unity will undoubtedly help us in our work.”
Sánchez and Starmer did not discuss the lack of regional debate “Gibraltar is Spanish” chants that the Spanish national football team sang during the celebration of winning Euro 2024.
Despite the centuries-old rivalries and the love-hate relationship that Spain and Britain have always had, the two are connected in many ways.
Five years of friendship in these trying times will be more than welcome.
#quietest #place #earth #newly #friendly