10 For some summers now, Asturians have noticed a greater influx of domestic tourists—Spanish tourists—to their fortunate geography of Cantabrian beaches and green mountain ranges. These are, as one might expect, climate tourists, fleeing the unbearable heat that climate change has inflicted on the Mediterranean coast during the summer months, and seeking places where they can be more comfortable. The writer Xuan Bello spoke to me about this the last time I saw him, in the summer of 2024; he died during the summer of that harsh and now vanished year of 2025. Bello felt sorry for the people of Madrid ("They've already foisted a high-speed train from Madrid to Oviedo on us; we're cooked," he reflected angrily, but not resignedly, because Xuan Bello was not a person who resigned himself). His misgivings were well-founded, because the lamentable idea of turning Asturias into the new Madrid beachTaking over from the Valencian Country, it has indeed existed for some time.

]]>