Solo Journey Into Western Europe’s MOST DESOLATE Country

Are you kidding? Seeing the Spanish countryside, the people, the history, the culture is enthralling.

Love this video! Born and raised in Marbella, I'm so greatful to watch your videos!

Dude! Joe from West Bend Wisconsin here. I love this content. Me and my former wife flew to Madrid, rented a car, and drove down to Cadiz stopping at all the cool cities on the way (Toledo, Seville, etc). We're both bilngual and she was born in Peru. We were like you and your wife sort of. Man we loved Spain. This was back in like 1995. So you're bringing back fond memories. You make me want to go back. You know the best part of your videos, you engage the locals. It was my favorite hearing their Spanish and how friendly they were. Spain people are so friendly. I miss it. They treated us so well when we were there. I'm going back. Heck I want to move there. So yes please, more of this content. Also I just sub'd. Oh your Spanish is awesome. Hablas muy bien el español por ser gringo, ja ja.

4:28 I think Alvaro just wanted a friend to chat with. Seemed like a really good dude. Must be lonely in those little pueblos

It's "dolmens" in English too. The Dolomites are part of the Alps in northern Italy. Cheers from el norte de Burgos in northern Castilla 🙋🏽!

Elliot Villanueva de Algaidas es mi pueblo, años viendo tus vídeos y jamás pensé que fueses a mi pueblo. Un abrazo

What a wonderful video❤ I really enjoyed your exploration of southern Spain /Andalucìa and your very interesting perspective on its rich history. Its true, you definately still can still feel/hear the echoes of Al-Andalus in the air. I also want to add a small clarification (hope you don’t mind): You see, the Muslims of Al-Andalus weren’t simply ‘Arabs.’ While the linguia Franca of that time was indeed Arabic, the "Moors'/muslimd of Iberia or Al Andalus were actually predominantly local Iberians who converted over time or at one point of history to Is lam. Genetic studies show and support this, that they were mostly local/native Iberians with some admixture from North Africa.(Berber, a Mediterranean ethnic group, indigenous to North Africa)) This admixture(and vice) could be pre-Al Andalus, the distance is less than 8 miles or 14 km. Some could argue that the conquest was done by "Arab s" , well, this is not true either. This conquest of Al Andalus was under leadership of Tariq ibn Ziyad’s (a berber who worked for the Ummayad) and his army were largely forces made of Berber of Amazigh from modern-day northern Morocco and partly Algeria.(previously known as ancient Mauretania or the land of the Mauri/Moor) So on the basis of genetic studies its now proven what some historians already knew, that the ‘Moors’ (later on it became mostly a synonym for muslim)were mostly of local Iberian origin, with some North African ancestry, some of which predated Al-Andalus. Those who were expelled during the Reconquista were not "foreigners" but actually locals who happend to be mnuslim. They kept speaking their native (castello)language many many years after being expelled from their homeland and this is also reason why for instance in some cities in Morocco were they settled the so called Arabic dialect has many Spanish loanwords.

So Al Andalus remains fascinating till this day, the cooperation between Chr' istians, Sephsrdic J" ews, and M uslims was largely responsible for a society where philosophy, science, and art flourished. It’s a reminder that we should not try to view history through modern (political) lenses. Modern tensions between communicaties is often scapegoated to be between "religions" This is incorrect, politics, often money laundering, operations, not the faiths themselves should take the blame imho . Sadly, your country (the U.S.) still has a big responsiblity with this politicization too. Not the people, politics. So with this i hope its clear, that in 2025 with help of science, DNA, we can unlock the "secrets" of the past. I want to thank you for sparking this reflection. Im a follower and your content always inspires my curiosity! Keep up the amazing work. 😊 Cheers

I love rural Spain and I have travelled trough it extensively. My Spanish wife and I have a small home in the Malaga region and know Antequera and its surroundings very well. Most people have no idea how difficult life in Andalucia was until very recently. The older people in our village are illiterate and had no real schooling because they had to start working at such a young age. There was no water or electricity supplies in much of Andalucia until the late 1970s. There were hardly any doctors or medical facilities. Following the horror of the Civil War they faced years of starvation (people starved to death) and hardship.

Educational levels are not great but the people are friendly. Family is very important. Anyone travelling in these places must learn some basic Spanish because hardly anyone speaks another language. A handful might have a bit of English if they have to do a bit of business with foreigners. People want to be friendly to visitors but you hit a brick wall if you can't communicate. Talking to that hunting guy with the gun is a fine example. By the way, hunting game is very popular in all of Spain and you will often find pheasant and partridge on the menu in inland Andalucia. I always feel a bit nervous when I'm walking around the campo and find shotgun shells all over the place.

Last year I spent a bit of time with my wife in Priego de Cordoba and the Subbetica. I love that part of the country. We drove through Lucena and other places like Cabra, Iznajar, Rute, Monilla, Aguilar de la Frontera, etc. Each one of Andalucia's eight regions is like a small independent country with its own style, character and local pride. I'm really glad you liked Cabra Elliot. It's a lovely town which highlights the charm of inland Andalucia. I love the French lady in Baena and she is right when she says you can buy fine affordable properties in these places. Modern lifestyle opportunities are limited though and so more and more young people move to larger towns and cities. I love these places but not much happens and you have enjoy your own company.

Elliot, I love these travels you do in the less visited parts of Spain and would love to see more. Spain has practically become a 'concept'. Videos like these put a human face on the country and real people. There are so many unfortunate clichés and 99% of YouTube creators feed into that. Keep up the good work my friend. You are creating a fine legacy. WT

Your Spain videos are the best but I can’t invest in paying for videos so I’m happy when you post Spain videos to YouTube. Thank you. Please continue sharing your content with us dreamers

Loved this video bro! I didn't make it to Spain yet. My wife's family originated from Toledo. Her aunt has a home in Granada. Look forward to more Spain videos 😎

La de tiempo que llevas en España y sigues con ese español de mierda

Im spanish and I loved the video and how I learnt a lot of things about my country thanks to you. Cheers!

Blessings apon blessings my brother 🙏

Tu si k tas desolado😂

Disculpa, a partir de los 60 (con Franco) la economía empezó a despegar. Me parece que existe otra "Leyenda Negra de España" sobre la época de Franco, tanto en España como fuera de ella. No fue un periodo para venerar, pero tampoco fue tan oscuro como se cuenta. Te aseguro que fue mucho más positivo que la famosa II República. Existe mucho discurso victimista….bla bla bla….pero mayoritariamente, doy fé de ello, DISCURSO PRECOCINADO. Y repito, no fue venerable pero no fue peor otros anteriores.

Muchas gr por tus videos. Es muy interesante saber cómo nos veis quienes venís de fuera y qué pensáis de nosotros, de cómo vivimos y de nuestro país.