peninsula

In its efforts to once again conquer the Peninsula, the brown bear has just found its main ally against the ranchers: tourism

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In the late 80s and 90s, the brown bear was on the verge of total extinction in Spain. There were just a few dozen spread across remote areas of the Cantabrian Mountains and the Pyrenees. Today there are more than 400 And although we have been recovering the species for almost 40 years, the truth is that it has not stopped being controversial for a single moment in all that time. A controversy that, little by little, spreads throughout the country. An absence of 150 years. In the regions of La Cabrera, Sanabria or Carballeda and even in areas bordering Ourense, it had been more than a century and a half since anyone had seen a brown bear. However, a new study They have documented up to 85 tests that he has returned to the region. They are direct observations, verified footprints, damage to hives, phototraps and testimonies. It doesn’t matter, despite the size of these bugs, identifying them is difficult. The interesting thing is that, as another study pointed out, the bear has expanded to 17,000 km2. But… how did we do it? There are three key pieces to the system: great efforts were made to prevent poaching, their natural habitat was protected, and Slovenian bears were reintroduced to replenish populations. In the Pyrenees, in fact, the native line ended up disappearing (although, in 2025, it was recorded the first native bear cub born in the mountain range in more than 50 years). An even more important question: why are we doing it? That is, what purpose does a brown bear serve and why do we want to reintroduce it. Well, according to experts, the brown bear has several important functions in the maintenance of its ecosystems. To begin with, they are dispersers of seeds of fleshy fruits (something very beneficial for the forest mass), they control the populations of herbivores, they clean the forest of bodies as scavengers and it is a bioindicator of the quality of the ecosystem. The bear is at the top of the food chain: its presence improves ecosystems, manages them, maintains them. But, it creates problems… doesn’t it? That’s what the livestock industry says. According to data from the Aragonese Pyrenees, in 2024 there were 33 confirmed attacks (29 in Ansó and 4 in Hecho). The result was 44 dead sheep and 2 goats. The dispute is that, according to the ranchers, the compensation (22,431 euros in 2024) is insufficient. For them, not only deaths must be counted, but also stress abortions, disappearances and a drop in production. That is, what they defend is that part of the costs of the reintroduction of the bear are being paid by them. The issue, as its presence is consolidated, the interests of the ranchers are no longer the only ones. Little by little, the bone regions are attracting wildlife tourism which also generates money. A lot. In the Val d’Aran, there is even talk of overcrowding. In the end, the problem is always the same: Are we willing to pay the cost of living with the nature that we say we want to save? Whether we like it or not, the accidents on the farms in the Pyrenees and the massive replantings (up to 150,000 trees) in the Cantabrian Mountains are two sides of the same coin. It is not enough to throw it in the air and wait to see what happens. Image | Karl Paul Baldacchino In Xataka | Faced with the largest flood of wild bears in memory, Japan has taken a measure: emergency hunts

Until 1868, an “independent” microstate inhabited the Iberian Peninsula between Portugal and Galicia: Couto Mixto

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If you travel to Santiago de Rubiasa village in the municipality of Calvos de Randínin Ourense, you can enjoy a few things: good landscapes, good food, a Romanesque church with paintings dating from the 16th century and a bronze statueinstalled since April 2008 on one side of the atrium, which shows an old man with a mustache and shaggy sideburns, wearing a hat, cape and a cane. Next to it you will find a plaque that identifies it as Delfin Modesto Brandon. This Delfín Modesto was not an Indian who returned from the Americas with his pockets lined with money, nor a confused pilgrim on his route to Compostela. Nor a particularly popular neighbor or priest. If he is still remembered today in Calvos de Randín it is because he was the last of a long and interesting line of statesmen. Of course, of a different state to Spanish or Portuguese. In the 21st century we remember Delfín Modesto because he was the last judge with executive and judicial powers of Mixed Coutoa republic that for several centuries survived as an independent territory on the peninsula. Independent of the Spanish and Portuguese courts, with its own system of administration, rights and privileges. A true historical rarity, a political hiatus in the middle of Raya that managed to survive for nearly seven centuries and there are those who point out even as one of the first European democracies. Of Couto Mixto we know better its characteristics and how it was governed and ended than its origins. Its birth usually dates back to the 12th century, to the time of the Treaty of Zamorafor which Alfonso I of Portugal (Afonso Henriques) and Alfonso VII of León They achieved an agreement that is usually marked as the birth of the Portuguese kingdom. With this backdrop and taking advantage of the birth of a new and above all extensive border between both kingdoms, Couto Mixto was created, a small portion of territory located in the intermediate basin of the Salas River who managed to stay outside the designs of Spain and Portugal. That particular “microstate” was made up only three villas: Rubias dos Mixtos, Meaus and Santiago de Rubiás, where the locals decided to establish their capital and administrative center. Small but independent Couto Mixto was small, so much so that its extension barely reached the 27 square kilometers and it did not have more than a thousand inhabitants in its census. It was probably this peculiarity, added to the fact that the place was not especially prosperous or central, that allowed it to survive with its special status for several centuries without Spain or Portugal paying it much attention. And this despite the fact that the microstate was a real rarity on the peninsular map. Because of its characteristics. And for his government system. As remember Tourism of Galiciaan organization that today promotes the place precisely for its historical interest, functioned as a kind of “federal republic” with two great administrative figures: a representative of each of the three towns, which they called “home of agreement“, and a chief judge (“xuiz“) who was elected every three years and exercised the highest authority. Its inhabitants also enjoyed a series of rights that, at least in certain aspects, made them privileged. They could choose between receiving Spanish nationality, Portuguese nationality or renouncing both and remaining as a citizen of Couto Mixto. Furthermore, they were exempt from fulfill military service. The microstate I didn’t have to provide soldiersbenefited from an interesting tax exemption and boasted freedom of trade and cultivation. Another of its oddities is that the small “microstate” enjoyed the “right of asylum”, which was applied in all cases except those of blood crimes. If we add to that peculiarity that it welcomed the “Privileged Path”a road of about six kilometers that linked Couto with the neighboring Portuguese town of Tourem and it was exempt from military or fiscal control, it will be understood why over time it became an interesting point for smuggling and fugitives. No matter how small, cornered, and ancient Couto was, it was not destined to survive forever. A few centuries after being established, Spain and Portugal decided to shelve that territorial anomaly. The negotiations were fruitful in Lisbon Treatywhich in 1864 allowed both countries to definitively establish their common border. The pact defined the Raya from the mouth of the Miño River to the union of the Caia and the Guadiana. And it swept away the microstate, which was incorporated into Spain, deprived of its privileges. Perhaps the tiny republic no longer exists, but its memory remains. In the atrium of the church of Santiago de Rubiás, the nerve center of the old republic, where its inhabitants met to decide relevant issues for the microstate, it has been built since 2008. the statue of Delfín Modesto Brandonhis last judge. Inside the church there is also a replica of the ark that guarded the archive of the old republic, a chest that could only be opened with three keys, one for each “home of agreement“. Their neighbors continue to meet even today in the atrium to celebrate a symbolic act in which they name their honorary judges. In Xataka | When the USSR declared war, Finland decided to protect its roads in a peculiar way: with flying trees In Xataka | There was an advanced civilization high in the Andes that based its dominance on one thing: feces. In Xataka | In 1888 an English doctor dissected a corpse down to its nerves. And illuminated forensic science along the way Images| Wikimedia (map by José de Castro López (1863)), Portasxures and Wikipedia (Fabio Mendes)

Southeast Spain is the driest place on the peninsula and a DANA has just arrived to “rescue” it. It will give more problems than solutions

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Right now, as I write, “the world cup is falling” on Alicante. And that, in itself, is news. Not the DANA that is crossing the southeast right now, which has a moderate entity and is going to leave unremarkable accumulations; No. It could be, but no. The news is thatit’s raining in the southeast and that, for some time now, has become almost a miracle. A miracle that leaves something revealed, Almería, Murcia and Alicante live in a climatic (and emotional) ‘new normal’ for which we have no physical (nor psychosocial) infrastructure. Let’s look at it in some detail. What is happening? At a meteorological level, the situation is very simple. In the early hours of March 10, a DANA detached itself from general circulation and positioned itself between eastern Andalusia and the Alboran Sea. In the next few hours, the epicenter It will be located over the province of Alicante and it will also cause enormous instability in Murcia, Albacete, all of eastern Andalusia and some parts of Valencia. AEMET predicts accumulations of between 30 and 50 mm in Murcia and Alicante, with some very specific areas reaching 80 in six hours. We may see snow above 900 meters. However, it must be taken into account that the DANA is very small: any change in trajectory, can move precipitation from one region to another. Is it normal? If we are honest, it is quite normal. This is part of a very unstable first week of March with storms, DANAs, haze and many more problems. The underlying problem. The problem is that, for months, we have seen how the very abundant rains of January They left aside this corner of the Peninsula. Thus, the Segura basin is the worst in the entire country followed by that of Júcar and that of the Andalusian Mediterranean basins. That is, not raining is a problem. But let it rain too. Because throughout that area of ​​the country, although it may not seem like it, although it is very subtle, tension continues every time a DANA appears on the weather forecast maps. The worst part goes to the areas where it hit the DANA of 2024 (with up to 30% of children with sleep problems and thousands of people suffering from eco-anxiety and fear), but the consequences are there whether we like it or not. Above all, with failures around the corner. Rethink everything to adapt to what is coming. A few weeks ago, AEMET and the University of Valladolid They published a very interesting work in which they explained that without climate change the DANA of 2024 It would have been much more unlikely. The January rains over Andalusia they do not help to calm to the experts. Image | ECMWF In Xataka | In California, the funds discovered that there is no investment more profitable than farmland. Now it’s Spain’s turn

a scar that “splits” the peninsula with water

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We have had 2026 going through water. Christina It brought strong winds and covered the central part of the peninsula with snow. Then, the storm Leonardo left torrential rains and strong winds in Andalusia and we didn’t finish saying goodbye to Marta and Nils is here. So much water has fallen that the state’s reservoirs store 117% more hydroelectric energy that a year ago, classes have been suspended in almost all of Andalusia and municipalities such as Grazalema have been evicted in the face of the threat of almost 600 liters of water per square meter, a figure that beats any previous record. Not only Spain has suffered the intense rain, Portugal has also taken its share: affected areas include Alcácer do Sal and the Tagus River basin, in the southern part of the country. Luis Montenegro, Prime Minister of Portugal, has declared the state of calamity in 68 municipalities until mid-February due to unprecedented rains and floods. Visually we have seen how rivers and reservoirs reached unusual heights, but from space the image of the trail left by the train of storms in the southwest of the peninsula it is also impressive. Below these lines, the radar image of the European Space Station based on data captured by Copernicus Sentinel-1 with the extension of the floods around the Tagus River and its basin. The extent of flooding around the Tagus River and its basin. THAT To create this composition, ESA has superimposed an image taken on February 7, 2026 over one taken on December 27, 2025. The area marked in red indicates how far the water level has risen in the Tagus basin and surrounding areas. This synthetic aperture radar is capable of operating even in unfavorable conditions, such as low sunlight and dense cloud cover, allowing continuous monitoring. The map that we see below shows the accumulation of rain in the Iberian Peninsula in a few days: from February 1 to February 7, 2026. For this, the European Space Station has taken the data of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) missionan international network of satellites that provides global observations of rain and snow. Those areas in red indicate a record of more than 250 millimeters of rain in just one week. Accumulated rain from February 1 to 7. THAT As can be seen, North Africa, southwest Portugal, Galicia and the provinces of Málaga and Cádiz bore the brunt, which explains the situation of saturation of the land and why several hydrographic basins increased their flow significantly. By combining both systems it is possible to relate how intense the precipitation is with its physical impact and its real extension. In Xataka | Google flood risk map: so you can see if you live in an area that is at risk In Xataka | Map with the level of reservoirs: how to check their status and the dangers of river overflowing with infoAGUA Cover | European Space Agency

The first cable that connects it to the peninsula is already in the sea

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Giulio Verne, a cable vessel from the company Prysmian, crossed the Strait on September 15 to dock in Ceuta. In his winery he brought more than copper and steel: the first underwater cable that connects to the autonomous city with the peninsular electrical system. With this, Ceuta leaves decades of energy isolation behind. And Spain, when looking in that mirror, is reflected the challenges that still Drag in your own networks. Weaving networks. According to the Red Eléctrica press release from Spainon August 26, the line began from the Line of La Concepción, in Cádiz. The cable toured 58 kilometers under the sea until reaching the Ceutí coast, with maneuvers almost 900 meters deep and special measures to protect the biodiversity of the Strait. The boat chosen for this operation, Giulio Verne, is one of the few of the world prepared for this type of missions: it can load up to 7,000 tons of cable and place it more than 1,600 meters underwater. Leaving behind the “energy island.” Until now, Ceuta’s electrical demand was covered with diesel and gas turbines. The result were high costs for the system, dependence on fossil fuels and polluting emissions in an especially sensitive enclave such as narrow. Thanks to the interconnection, Ceuta will stop depending completely on fossil fuels. As we point out in Xatakaup to 87% of the electrical demand can be covered with clean energy. That will be a respite for the environment – about 300,000 tons of co₂ will be avoided – and also for the system invoice, with a saving of about 30 million euros per year. From Ree summarize it with a clear image: This “umbilical cord” will give Ceuta a supply as stable and safe as that of the Peninsula, but also cheaper and sustainable. The challenge is even greater. Yes, Ceuta has ceased to be an “energy island”, but Spain continues to be in more than one sense. The Iberian Peninsula maintains an interconnection level With France of just 2.8%far from 15% marked by the European Union by 2030. In addition, they are still waiting for reach concrete plans To create electric interconnection runners, while they continue to suffer an electric “bottleneck. However, the problem is also internal. Within Spain, at noon there is cheap renewable spare in rural Spain, but at the afternoon, electricity is fallen in urban areas. According to the employer Aelēc83.4% of distribution knots are already saturated, which blocks the connection of new industrial or digital consumption and forces to waste up to 30% of clean energy at some points. Rather than directly relieve these knots – Ceuta’s link responds to another logic – the project demonstrates that Spain has the technical capacity to undertake large interconnections, just what you need to reinforce its internal network and stop losing clean energy along the way. More networks. In Ceuta, the road map is clear and will benefit the electrical system. The second submarine circuit will tend along autumn. On land, the new virgin substation of Africa (132 kV) should be ready in September, and in October the new Algeciras transformation park will be put into service, connected to the existing 220 kV substation. With the Soterrado terrestrial sections almost finished, the official forecast is that all the infrastructure is running before the end of this year. You have to get muscle. The Ceuta cable shows that Spain has technical muscle to undertake complex and sustainable projects, with underground, directed drilling and compact substations. But it also launches a warning: it is not enough to celebrate a new link. The energy transition requires more internal network, more distribution capacity in demand poles, more storage and more international interconnections. Other countries have already advanced. The United Kingdom and Denmark Viking Link premiered in 2023a 765 kilometers cable that crosses the North Sea to import or export electricity according to the wind. Spain, which beats cheap renewable generation records at noon, needs something similar not to run out at night. The Strait already has its “umbilical cord.” The question is whether Spain will know how to weave the network that connects it, really, with itself and with Europe. Image | Freepik and Ree Xataka | Emptied Spain has been filled with solar mills and panels, but waste energy for a simple reason: there are no cables

This map distributes the “heart” of Europe over the Iberian Peninsula. And reveals the key to the success of the region

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Maps are useful, fascinating and sometimes almost almost An art form. However, they do not always allow us to understand real dimensions and distances well. Especially when we talk about broad territories. A map published in Urbanity.one (and shared by Madrid projects) With a peculiar approach: its author has taken some of the main cities of Central Europe, the metropolis of the one known as “Blue Banana”and has distributed them on a plane of the Iberian Peninsula respecting The real distances. The result reminds us of two things. The first, the considerable size That has Spain. The second, how close the cities of Central Europe, a crucial factor to understand the history and economic development of the region. As a picture is worth more than a thousand words, at the end of the 1980s the Geographer Roger Brunet decided to invent A visual metaphor to refer to the most populous and urbanized region in Europe. He called her The “Blue Banana”. Maybe it sounds strange, but it makes enough sense when a map is taken. If the cities of the European industrial axis are connected, covering from England to the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and northern Italy, that is: the drawing of A huge banana Located more or less between Manchester, Munich, Zurich and Rome. How big is that “Banana” imaginary? The first response to mind is obvious: very much, right? In Madrid it projects They have shared However, a map that helps to understand that this abstract axis is actually much smaller than what intuition suggests. At least if we compare it with Spain. The reason is very simple. Its author has selected the metropolis that are distributed by that theoretical axis that structures Europe Central and has arranged them on a map of the Iberian Peninsula respecting the real distances between them. The result It shows that Cambridge would be more or less where Vigo is, Rotterdam would stay up to Valladolid, Bremen in Pamplona, ​​Stuttgart almost where Alicante is and Paris would more or less occupy the place of Badajoz. In the center of the Peninsula, in Madrid, it would be located (kilometer up, kilometer down) Düsseldorf and the Barcelona space would occupy by Linz, an Austrian city. The cast may be striking, but it arrives with pulling Google Maps and its measurement tool for Check the distances. Between London and Paris there are about 340 km in a straight line, just under those that separate Madrid and Granada. If we pull a straight line from Rome to Munich would measure approximately 700 kilometers, a little less than Barcelona to Córdoba. Comparisons are interesting for several reasons. The main one is that they remind us The great size of Spain. The Iberian Peninsula measures just over 583,000 km2 and Spain occupies approximately 505,000taking into account the 12,500 km2 of island surface. That makes our country one of the most extensive of the community club, together with France and Sweden and Germany. A wide disposition of land is both an opportunity and a challenge in aspects as a distribution of the population or provision of services. The other great conclusion left by the map Shared by Madrid projects It is the close thing that are actually the Central European metropolis and their main industrial poles, population centers and strategic axes of political decision -making, a proximity that has influenced the development and integration of Europe. Images | Urbanity.one and Madrid projects (x) In Xataka | The demographic debacle in Europe, exposed on this map with a misleading guest: Monaco

Not the entire peninsula was left without stable access to the Internet, there was an exception: "Starlink was better than usual"

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When the light left yesterday I did not alarmed. Then I realized that I did not have data, nor could I make calls, and I knew something fat It had passed. Starlink was the exception. Without wifi, or mobile connection, many are completely incommunicado. And although some operators they managed to partially restore the service With the generators of their cell towers, only users of Starlink They had means to feed the router and the antenna enjoyed a stable and fast connection throughout the day. With more than 7,000 Starlink satellites in orbitthe constellation of Spacex worked in the Iberian Peninsula without major problem. Satellites have the capacity to communicate with each other and, although they depend on land stations to access the Internet, they have backup equipment in case of energy loss, such as generators, solar panels and batteries. Youtuber Redskull maintained its Internet connection with Starlink and a cargo station A youtuber in the Malaga axarchy. Known as Redskull On YouTube, Alex ran out of light in the province of Malaga between 12:30 and 17:45, but did not recover the mobile connection until the next day. However, he continued connected through Starlink. “It worked throughout the time that the light cut lasted,” he told Xataka. “The discharge and climb speeds were even better than usual: about 300 MB of discharge and 30 mb of climb.” The smallest number of customers using the service by the blackout explains the latter. “Normally, at night, Starlink’s speeds are lower because the network is more congested. Yesterday it was not so.” Alex solved the lack of light with a huge external battery, the Jackery Explorer 1000 V2 Energy Station, which gave him for 12 hours of use, including the feeding of a mesh network that has installed in his house to improve the Wi -Fi coverage. However, he did not need to consume the load during the day thanks to a solar panel of 100 W. The Graells family maintained its Internet connection with Starlink, Solar Energy and Batteries Teleworking in a town in Barcelona. The Graells family He has solar panels and batteries of Tesla in his house, a single -family house of L’Ametlla del Vallès where two people telework. They only found out of the blackout due to the notification of the Tesla app because they also have a Starlink connection. “The connection was the same as any day, very good for particular use,” Eduardo Graells told Xataka. “Ping of 22 ms. Download of about 150-200mbps. Upload of about 15mbps. It was used from the early morning without any interruption until 18:00. At 20:00 we used it for YouTube and some series. Electricity returned to our area at 2:30 in the morning.” In Xataka While almost all Spain immersed in chaos, a place continued to function normally: Mercadona Despite the 14 hours of the blackout, the Graells lived a normal day with an eye on the battery, which went from 70% at the time of light cut to 40% when the supply was recovered. “Starlink can have some disconnection of 1-2 seconds when it seems to change satellite, and very occasionally. You just notice if you are talking in a videoconference. Watching movies, football, formula 1, etc., do not notice, I imagine that for the buffer.” Five stations in Spain. Starlink ends Open two terrestrial stations of Starlink In the Iberian Peninsula, one in the province of Barcelona and another in Santa Olalla, province of Toledo. There are already five, added to the three in Madrid, Huelva and Alicante. And as we have seen, resistant to blackout. {“Videid”: “X86xfvs”, “Autoplay”: False, “Title”: “Starlink arrives in Spain! This is the satellite Internet of Elon Musk”, “Tag”: “Webedia-Prod”, “Duration”: “279” These stations are small, but recognizable by the numerous phase antennas, covered with white domes. They maintain the connection of the constellation with the control centers and serve as link doors for the traffic of Internet Starlink customers. Basically, they act as intermediaries, receiving data from satellites and sending them to Internet networks. Image | Starlink In Xataka | Starlink satellites have transformed war: China and Russia work on “Starlink Killers” to be able to disable them (Function () {Window._js_modules = Window._js_modules || {}; var headelement = document.getelegsbytagname (‘head’) (0); if (_js_modules.instagram) {var instagramscript = Document.Createlement (‘script’); }}) (); – The news Not the entire peninsula was left without stable Internet access, there was an exception: “Starlink was better than usual” It was originally posted in Xataka by Matías S. Zavia .

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