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Stretching from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, the Pyrenees form a natural some 450km long between the Iberian Peninsula and the rest of Europe. In some cases villages to the north and south share common language and culture, while there is rivalry between valleys on the same side of the mountains.
The Eastern, Central and Western Pyrenees are the respective homelands of Catalans, Aragonese and Basque, each with a tenaciously preserved culture. As you traverse the Pyrenees you will hear Aragonese, Aranese, Catalan and Euskera (Basque), plus others notably the Gascon dialict of Occitan - not offically accorded the status of a distinct language.
During the Second World War, the Pyrenees mountains were a natural escape route for allies. Escape routes were operated by Spanish farmers and shepherds who had fled from their homes during the Spanish civil war. Smuggling has been a way of life for centuries together with the farming. Things have changed radically, jobs in the industry attracted most young people in the 60s and 70s, leaving away the rural economy.
After 1968, many disillusioned French protesters and "alternative" typestook up residence in the back country, swelling the traditional local vote for the political left. The Pyrenees historical disregards for the often-altered boundaries between France and Spain has beenvindicated and accentuated by the the post-1993 European single market, as old border posts lie abandoned and a strong regional identity bridging the watershed has reassert itself.
After decades of being eclipsed by th Alps, the Pyrenees have come into their own as a traveller's destination. Infrastructure and amenities impove each year, exemplified by increasing numbers of quality lodgings and a plethora of no-frills airlines offering service into previously sleepy regional airports. It has never been easier to visit the Pyrenees mountains.
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