On El Paseo De Hemingway!

We got out of France during the demonstrations! Our hearts are definitely with the demonstrators - Sarkozy is France's Bush - but it is nice to be able to go about the business and not get stuck in southern France without fuel, etc. It was actually quite benign in Pau, just outside of which one of the major French petro companies (Total) is based, but we did get to see Lycee (high school) students blockade their school for three days straight and have bonfires outside each chilly morning. Stayed away from the fish counter as the truckers were also on strike and the seafood was rotting in the stores.

We left following Hemingway through the Pyrenees to Auritz/Burguete (Basque/Spanish names) where he stayed after the rigors of Pamplona/Iruna bullfights and social scene in the 30s and from which he journeyed a few kilometres east to fish the Irati (which, along with the events in Pamplona/Iruna he immortalized in "The Sun Also Rises" - see the photo above). He is recognized in Auritz/Burguete with a plaque on the side of the Hotel in which he stayed, as well as in Pamplona/Iruna where his image and name appears all around the Plaza del Toros (bull ring) and on the Paseo de Hemingway (also see above).

Why consider Ernesto so important here? He did help bring recognition of Spain's fine trout fishing to America, and he is well regarded by the people in this region (as well as elsewhere, such as in Cuba). Anyway, have had some good success in making contacts and collecting information about the piscatorial landscapes here, and the travels continue. We're just outside Bilbao today after four days in Pamplona/Iruna. Staying near Mundaka, near Gernika-Luma from which many Basques leave to work in Oregon/Nevada/Idaho, we visited the penultimate market of the year w/ too much wine, cheese, bread, and other regional products to name and describe. We just fell into it. Lots of political activity too, and when a sticker was placed on the coat we had to remove it in fear of provoking the other side unknowingly (they were in Euskari or Basque language).

We are on to Asturias and Galicia, the remaining heart of Atlantic salmon in Spain, in a couple of days. The weather is warmer but wetter, so we may head to Andalusia to dry out for a while before resuming the Ruta de los Pesces.

All the best to you all, the Shive and the Aagaard-Shivelys.

Regions de France

Attn: Pics are in reverse order!

Leaving Basel, Switzerland on 10/5, we were immediately back in France. En route to the home of Rio's pen pal Eric near Dijon in Bourgogne, and his wonderful family, we passed through Belfort for lunch and haircuts. The city is a former historic (no redundancy - really) military center with a very impressive fort and battlements. Then we dallied down the Doubs valley exploring the villages and the river which is significantly modified for barging (a busy day). We spent several days in Bourgogne and were able to see the Cote d'Or (gold coast) while driving the Rue de Grand Crus (route of grand vineyards) in the heart of Burgundy w/ the leaves changing color (see photo!). This is a tourism must there. Classic and historic villages, vineyards, and beautiful autumn weather were all ours!

Several days then in Lyon - a great city that is even greater for its role in the French resistance during WWII. I visited with geographers from Lyon Universities 2 & 3 (and the Ecole Normal Superiere), we saw the old city, the Basilica de Notre Dame de Fourviere, the two Gallo-Roman ampitheatres, and visited the Musee de la Resistance et la Deportation. The last is an extremely important place to visit in Lyon we all think.

From Lyon it was on to Mende in the Massif Central which is in a landscape remarkably like Grants Pass in SW Oregon. We camped along the Riviere Lot. Next day we drove through the Gorge du Tarns (see photo!). Twelfth century chateaus and villages peppered along a gorgeous river that is now a popular tourism and recreation (say kayaks!) destination. We then saw the Viaduct du Millau that crosses the R. Tarns just below the terminus of the gorge. Camping that night was in a Ferme (farm) Camping area - pitched tents at 11 pm and woke to a beautiful landscape.

We're now in Pau at the foot of the Pyrenees (they're in sight!) for the research on the Piscatorial Landscape after doing a drive-by of Toulouse (unfortunately we had reservations to keep in Pau). It turns out that Gregory Dolet, a biologist and fishing guide here that I visited with, and Guillaume Baranco with Department 64) are working with other anglers and stakeholders to organize for the conservation of the fisheries and rivers - there is a big initiative under way here. You'll have to read the details in the book later. Anyway, for a fishing trip in the Pyrenes-Atlantique, a special area with Basque and Bearn influences, see Gregory's website at right and that of Peche64 (use Google to translate this if necessary).

The Pyrenees await - just have to find some gazole for the car so we can leave (the general strikes may limit fuel availability - another day of strike is scheduled for tomorrow after an especially volatile one today - see the BBC story here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11567457). C'est la vie! Au revoir, Dave et al.

When in France...

It's been difficult to devote time to research and tourism equally, but being a geographer I'll try to count them as the same anyway. In Paris for a week, we did some of the usual things. I will have to say that seeing the batteaux on the Seine, and then later on the canals that connect all of France, got me to thinking about the historical importance of these features in terms of economy and place, and their larger role in large-scale hydrologic alteration! I'll be visiting with hydrologists and geographers in Lyon next week and will have a better perspective on this. This is also important in the context of England, and even Scotland with its Caledonian Canal too (the boys got to open the locks on its "Neptune's Staircase" at Fort William in September).

We saw the Rhine at Strasborg and Basel, Switzerland, and I was impressed with the clarity of its waters and wonder if the salmon are coming back to it as they are the Seine (see the following link describing the returns of summer 2009 there: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/6013819/Salmon-return-to-Frances-River-Seine.html).

Here's a pic from Paris, and one from Basel, and I'll post more to Picasa soon too. Au revoir all!

Rivers Test and Avon

We spent a couple of days in Southeastern England exploring the Rivers Test and Avon made famous by Izaak Walton and others. Heading on the Salisbury Plain which is also the home of Stonehenge (did a Griswold on that site), these are beautiful and very productive streams albeit very inaccessible to anglers who don't have lots of money. The difference between chalkstreams whose chemistries are affected by the limestone lithology and the freestone streams of Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and Northern England is very apparent (see the large resident brown trout in the aquatic veg - Ranunculus? - in River Test photo above). Dave will be doing some more research on the centuries long maintenance of the fisheries here, and current programs to improve water quality in the Southampton region which is home to some of the most industrialized agriculture we've seen since leaving the US.

In Paris now and looking at the canals that link the Seine and Marne Rivers, I'm thinking that it is going to be very interesting to try to make sense of how these historic yet seemingly unnecessary hydrologic features affect riverine ecology today, and how this might change in light of the EU's Water Framework Directive, Biodiversity policies, and French landscape management policies. I'm just beginning to study some French vocabulary to prepare for research to be conducted further down the road in Burgundy, Lyon, and the Pyrennees.

More later, au revoir!

Rivers of Scotland

We spent some two weeks exploring Scotland - Loch Lomond NP, the Western Highlands and Glencoe, Loch Ness and Inverness, and the Cairngorms NP in which the Rivers Spey and Dee head. Travelled part of the whiskey trail, sampled some and some Haggis (good stuff w/ neeps and tatties - and an ale of course), and explored the Aberdeen area quite thoroughly including the coast south of there. Also injured our rental car by adding 1/4 tank of unleaded to it (it was supposed to have diesel only!) and now have a different one that runs on unleaded. From all that I talked to, it's a pretty common and easily remedied mistake that results from diesels dominating the roadways and both types of fuel on the same pump (you can put an unleaded pump in the diesel, but not the other way around). Should only set us back a couple of hundred pounds (about $300). Now we can fill the car and the stove fuel tanks together (figure we're getting about only 30 mpg from the stove - that's meals per gallon!). See the photo of us waiting for a cab back to our camp after the car was towed away.

Scottish salmon rivers are legendary and still hightly touted by the Scottish National Government's tourism division owing to their economic importance (probably second to golf, which of course follows oil and gas from the North Sea). The salmon still run but the trend seems to be downward over the last couple of years according to what I heard from various people. Challenges are many - agriculture, water abstraction (diversion) for hydro, whiskey distilling, and municipal uses), salmon farming in the near shore environment, predators, etc. There also appears to be a serious need for more progressive riparian managment, especially for LWD recruitment (and restoration), but the town and country planning approach employed in the UK has protected the rivers from rampant development we see in Montana.

The district salmon fishery boards (DSFBs) are the main bodies for fisheries managemment involving both riparians and angling associations in their activities (include hatchery programs, habitat work, monitoring, establishment of angling rules, etc.), but there are some noteworthy basin management programs and approaches that are underway such as the Dee Catchment Partnership's "Catchment Management Plan" (still have to finish downloading and digesting this!) and the Scottish Govt's implementation of the EU's Water Framework Directive.

The photo of the anglers' hut and the river with the bridge is from the Spey, and the other with the angler casing is on the Dee. We didn't get to fish after all given our schedule and the expense (about $60.00 US per day for even low quality pools/water - and that's a low budget rate apparently). Hope to make up for that elsewhere.

We are now in Wales again on our way south to Southampton and the legendary English chalkstreams (Rivers Avon, Test, and Itchen) to see what's going on there. Our stop in Wales was to see Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, and the Dr. Who exhibit here (they film it and Torchwood here).

Until later, Cheers!

North England and Scotland!

We've been rambling about for the last two weeks. We visited Snowdonia Nat'l Park in N. Wales (and importantly Paul Morgan's Coch Y Bonddu Bookstore in Macynlleth, Wales - the very best bookstore for angling ever, anywhere! - see link on this page!) then the Lake District Nat'l Park in Cumbria, then Hadrian's Wall in Northumbria (& Northumberland NP), Loch Lomond NP in Scotland, the Western Highlands (stunning mountains!), around Loch Ness and Inverness to the River Spey in the Speyside District of NE Scotland (Whew!).

Besides eating the scenery, and an excellent meal at the Battlestead Inn at Wark, England, we've had some excellent meals of our own all prepared on the MSR Whisperlite International (on high octane unleaded!). Local lamb and beef, seafood chowder, and even several rounds of wild chantrelle mushrooms and puffballs that we've found here and there. Think we'll begin working on a cookbook too!

Now in Aberdeen, on the River Dee, we have a chance to get back to work and blogging, etc. Will also post some pictures to the Picasa site. The image posted here is of a small lake in Snowdonia with association fishing that we found on our way to Eddie I's Caernaforn Castle (built to subdue the Welsh!).

We've seen some salmon fishing here in Scotland, and it turns out that the fishery on the River Tyne in Northumbria is recovering as well due to the decline of heavy manufacturing and shipbuilding in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Met some really nice folks around Hexham and Bellingham England who put us on the trail of fish squeezers in Edinburgh, our next destination in a week or so. Until then I'm going to visit with Geographer colleague Antonio Ioris at University of Aberdeen, and his colleagues, and try to arrange for some salmon fishing on the Dee! Might even bump into the Queen as the fishing has just turned on here in N. Scotland, and her summer palace is just up the road!

So, until later, here is a pic from the recent travels. Cheers!

Leaving Aberystwyth

We've spent the last two weeks in Aberystwyth and have done some research, sight seeing, and fishing (these are all inter-related of course!). Dave experienced wonderful hospitality on the part of Michael Woods (Professor and Head of Geography at Aberytstwyth University), Chris Bear (Lecturer at AU), Dai Ricketts (of the Llanilar Angling Association, Welsh Salmon and Sea Trout Assoc., and Captain of the Welsh National Angling Team), and Mark Sedgewick ( of the Aberystwyth Angling Association). Many, many thanks to Chris, Dai, and Mark for the loads of valuable information, and for the coffee, the field trip (including time on the river), and the pint of best bitter (all respectively!).

Sewin (sea trout) and salmon angling in Wales is stronger than ever and the levels of local organization and attempts to influence national policy are increasing, and much of this is in response to declining returns of fish and increased activity of other river users. These are problems that are similar to Ireland, and in the US. It seems that a broader study of the status of anadromous fishes would be in order (a meta-analysis), but will have to save that for later and perhaps with the help of others! The pic on the top is of the Boyz about to begin fishing for Sewin on the Ystwyth last night. We fished from Dusk to about 11 pm (in the dark!).

The pic on the bottom is of the Environment Agency, Wales, flood awareness campaign promotion. We visited with a couple of their staff on the street today and will later access the flood zone maps for Wales and England to compare with those produced by FEMA in the US.

We're off to North Wales, the Lakes District, and Scotland next in the Silver Bullet (our Peugot 5008)! Will update you as we can. Cheers!