Hemingway's use of Burguete as a base for fishing...

[Stephen]

Not really a camino question, but he set some of the scenes of Fiesta/The Sun also Rises in that area. Where did he do his fishing?

 

[Mark Lee]

Not really a camino question, but he set some of the scenes of Fiesta/The Sun also Rises in that area. Where did he do his fishing?

I know he fished a lot off of Cuba and lived in Key West, Florida for some time.

 

[scruffy1]

"The Sun Also Rises" Chapters XI & XII quick summation

Bill and Jake board a crowded bus to ride to the small, rural town of Burguete. The bus is filled with Basque peasants…

Jake wakes up early, dresses, and goes outside. He digs for worms down beside the stream and collects two tobacco tins full....

Bill and Jake pack a lunch and bottles of wine, and head to the river. They walk through beautiful meadows, fields, and woods, and, after a long hike, arrive at the river. They place the wine in a spring up the road in order to chill it. Jake fishes with worms, but Bill tries fly-fishing. They both catch many fish, but Bill’s fish are bigger. Over their lunch, they joke about the friends they met in the war. Bill then asks Jake if he was ever in love with Brett, and Jake says that he was “for a hell of a long time.” They take a nap under the trees and then head back to the inn. They spend five days in Burguete, fishing, eating, drinking, and playing cards. They get no word from Cohn, Brett, or Mike.

 

[scruffy1]

Bowdlerized the unrelated bits concerning homosexuality, the Spanish Civil War, and sex. Its there if you want it.

 

[Tincatinker]

Ah, the joys of literature. As Scruffy1 says; its there if you want it.

Still plenty of trout in the Burguette river, Hemingway didn't get them all. Neither did I...

 

[mspath]

For more about Hemingway in Navarra see the Ruta de Hemingway and this PDF file prepared by TurismoNavarra. Many of his famous 'watering holes' in Pamplona are listed; don't over indulge!

MM

 

[scruffy1]

No replies? How sad. Hemingway is somewhat out of fashion these days. For English readers he remains the best, supreme, author for all things Spanish - far better then Richard Ford or and Gerald Brenan. Not convinced? "Death in the Afternoon" is a window into the Spanish soul, not just those of the male variety, all of Spain, that an English reader can find.

 

[Tincatinker]

It was The Old Man and the Sea" that gave me an insight into age, wisdom and the loss of youthful vigour. I was 14, my grand-father, broken down by years of physical labour on boats, dockyards and building sites was dying. Until I read Hemingway's story I thought the old man didn't mind. I spoke to him that night and saw the rage in his eyes.

 

[scruffy1]

Yes Margaret but Hemingway is forever associated with "Dago Red" Italian not Spanish. “One of the best things about being a writer,” Hemingway wrote to Ezra Pound, “is when you’re having the wildest time, when you’re completely on the bum, you’re still working, or you at least you should be.” Now thats the way I wish to live my next reincarnation.

 

[Stephen]

When I was a boy the father of my best mate, they lived just a few doors along the street from us, lent me Fiesta/The Sun Also Rises. When I'd read it I made a point of searching the local public library for other Hemingway books. I mightn't have come across him but for that loan.
The man who lent me the book was maybe typical of a lot of Irishmen of his time. He had little formal education but was far from being unintelligent. He'd spend the weekends in the pub drinking porter with his friends and by the time Monday came around he 'd be broke and reduced to reading to help pass the time.
He was a builder's labourer and sometime during his working life a trench had collapsed crushing his left leg. He was left with a knee that wouldn't bend and a pronounced limp. Despite the legacy of the accident he returned to the same work when he recovered.
My question about Hemingway prompted these thoughts about that man. He was tough and bore the consequences of his accident with quiet courage. It might be stretching it a bit to talk of 'grace under pressure' but he was a good man.

 

[Adhemar78]

Not really a camino question, but he set some of the scenes of Fiesta/The Sun also Rises in that area. Where did he do his fishing?

According the Foods from Spain website (http://www.foodsfromspain.com/icex/.../0,9459,35868_6865989_6908352_4446062,00.html):
"Hemingway used Burguete as a base for his trout fishing excursions on the Irati River, frequently walking to Aribe, which can be reached by backtracking 1 km/.6 mi on the N-135 and then turning left onto NA-140 for 9 km/5.6 mi."

 

[mspath]

According the Foods from Spain website (http://www.foodsfromspain.com/icex/.../0,9459,35868_6865989_6908352_4446062,00.html):
"Hemingway used Burguete as a base for his trout fishing excursions on the Irati River, frequently walking to Aribe, which can be reached by backtracking 1 km/.6 mi on the N-135 and then turning left onto NA-140 for 9 km/5.6 mi."

Backtracking from where? Actually from Burguete you continue towards Espinal on the N -135 to the single junction with the NA-140. Turn left and continue for 9 km/5.6 mi to arrive at Aribe via Carralda. Soon after Carralda the NA-140 parallels the Irati river.

 

[naplesdon]

Ah, the joys of literature. As Scruffy1 says; its there if you want it.

Still plenty of trout in the Burguette river, Hemingway didn't get them all. Neither did I...

Hopefully there will always be plenty of trout in the streams in the Pyrenees but make sure you order one for lunch or dinner while you are there. One of my good friends in Biarritz, an artist know as Aski, was employed as a young man to paint the still art for the filming of "The Sun Also Rises" and during the filming he became good friends with Hemingway. He is a Basque patriot through and through and visited Hemingway in Key West.

 

[jayree]

"Death in the Afternoon" is a window into the Spanish soul, not just those of the male variety, all of Spain, that an English reader can find.

I agree. The best book ever written about bullfighting, at least in English.

And the best poem about bullfighting? (Some say it is the most beautiful poem ever written in Spanish) ... "Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias" by FG Lorca.