Since 1975 Spain has witnessed an extraordinary growth in facilities for optical astronomy. There are now four major optical observatories on Spanish soil. The oldest is el Observatorio de Teide on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, and the newest and highest is el Observatorio de Sierra Nevada near Granada in Andalucía. The largest is el Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos on la Palma, also in the Canaries, and this has the recently installed Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) with a 10.4-m aperture, which makes it one of the world’s largest. GTC was inaugurated on 24 July 2009 by King Juan Carlos of Spain.

One of the highlights of my visit to Spain has been a recent visit to el Real Instituto y Observatorio de la Armada, or in English, the Royal Naval Observatory in San Fernando near Cádiz. I spent a week working in the magnificent library there at the end of June.

Real Observatorio de la Armada at San Fernando. The building dates from 1798 and houses the library and historical archives. Francisco Gonzalez is standing on the steps in front of the building.

First some history: el Real Observatorio de la Armada, or ROA for short, was founded in 1753 in Cádiz. In 1798 it moved to a far superior site in San Fernando, some 8 km from central Cádiz. For those who know the topography of the area, Cádiz is built on an island on Spain’s Atlantic coast, and connected to the mainland by a long and narrow sandspit. Essentially the city is fully built out and land is at a premium. San Fernando is also an island of sorts (la Isla de León) but a narrow channel separates it from the mainland proper.

It is good to know that regional astronomical societies are flourishing in Spain, as they are in many other places in the world. I have just been to Málaga, the Andalusian town on the Mediterranean Costa del Sol and I gave a lecture there to la Sociedad Malagueña de Astronomía (SMA or Málaga Astronomical Society). My lecture was to mark the Society’s 34^th anniversary since its foundation in 1975.

I have just returned from five days in Barcelona, Spain’s second largest city, a major port and centre of business and of culture. Like all the cities of Spain I have visited, each one has brought pleasant surprises. Barcelona is so different from the towns of Andalucía which I have come to know in recent months, but it has its own fascinating Catalan culture. It is also a remarkably cosmopolitan and elegant city, having a sophistication, smart elegance and a genuine sense of fun and style that immediately strikes the new visitor.

I just retuned to Granada from a few days in Madrid. I travelled there with my wife, Vickie, from Granada in Andalucía. Our route was first to travel by bus to Córdoba, one of the oldest cities of southern Spain and the site of the Mezquita, the famous Moorish mosque with a Catholic cathedral built inside it. It is certainly one of the most amazing and bizarre buildings I have ever visited.

The Roman bridge in Cordoba

Córdoba was founded in Roman times, and there is a splendid Roman bridge across the Guadalquivir River as a reminder of the city’s past. From 716 to 1236, Córdoba was a Muslim city, and the huge thousand-year old mosque is a reminder of this era in its history. During this time, Córdoba was a flourishing city of the arts, technology, culture and trade. Its population may have reached as many as 500,000, which would have made it the largest city in the world at that time, in the eleventh century.

I set foot in Spain on Friday 13^th March, undeterred by superstition and by the Ides of March which soon followed. I had flown from Mauritius to Hong Kong overnight, where I met up with my wife, Vickie, and from there we flew from Hong Kong to Granada via Munich and Barcelona, over the following night. As always, the excitement of arriving in a new place, to experience a new environment and culture and to meet new friends was more than enough to keep me awake for my arrival.

Granada – what an amazing place! It’s the ancient city of the Moors and their magnificent palace, the Alhambra, once the stronghold of the Muslim empire of the Nasrid dynasty in southern Spain. It’s my first visit to Granada since 1960 – nearly a half century ago in the distant era of my youth!