Northern Spain is miles away - both literally and figuratively - from the crowded resorts of the southern coast. This cluster of ancient kingdoms is home Gothic cathedrals, stunning mountain ranges, charming seaside towns and the buzzing cultural capital of Bilbao. From sampling fresh seafood and delicious cider to walking the medieval pilgrim route to Santiago - Footprint's 6th edition of the Northern Spain Handbook will help you make the most of your trip. • In-depth coverage of the region's activities, from climbing to skiing • Highlight maps to help you get the best from this vast region • Exceptional background and history section - from the Reconquista, to pilgrims, to politics • Where to stay and eat for your budget; also offers information on the best refugios, paradores and sidrerías • Includes feature on the Camino de Santiago Packed with valuable information on this fascinating area of Europe, Footprint’s Northern Spain Handbook will ensure that you get the best out of this culturally rich destination.

Insight Guides: all you need to inspire every step of your journey. An in-depth book, now with free app and eBook. Home to spectacular mountains, lush green valleys and a scenic coastline, Northern Spain is fast becoming a haven of green tourism. This new edition covers all the highlights, from the cultural Bilbao and elegant San Sebastian to the wine-growing region of La Rioja and the Picos de Europa mountain range Over 346 pages of insider knowledge from local experts In-depth on history and culture, from festivals and food and wine to the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela Enjoy special features on Basque games, the Guggenheim in Bilbao, country museums and the region's distinctive granary stores Includes innovative extras that are unique in the market - all Insight Guides to countries and regions come with a free eBook and app that's regularly updated with new hotel, bar, restaurant, shop and local event listings Invaluable maps, travel tips and practical information ensure effortless planning Inspirational colour photography throughout Inventive design makes for an engaging reading experience About Insight Guides: Insight Guides has over 40 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps as well as picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture together create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.

National Outdoor Book Award Winner for Outdoor Literature From the award-winning, bestselling author of Cod-the irresistible story of the science, history, art, and culture of the least efficient way to catch a fish. Fly fishing, historian Mark Kurlansky has found, is a battle of wits, fly fisher vs. fish-and the fly fisher does not always (or often) win. The targets-salmon, trout, and char; and for some, bass, tarpon, tuna, bonefish, and even marlin-are highly intelligent, athletic animals. The allure, Kurlansky learns, is that fly fishing makes catching a fish as difficult as possible. The flies can be beautiful and intricate, some made with over two dozen pieces of feather and fur; the cast is a matter of grace and rhythm, with different casts and rods yielding varying results. Kurlansky is known for his deep dives into specific subjects, from cod to oysters to salt. But he spent his boyhood days on the shore of a shallow pond. Here, where tiny fish weaved under a rocky waterfall, he first tied string to a branch, dangled a worm into the water, and unleashed his passion for fishing. Since then, his love of the sport has led him around the world's countries, coasts, and rivers-from the wilds of Alaska to Basque country, from Ireland and Norway to Russia and Japan. And, in true Kurlansky fashion, he absorbed every fact, detail, and anecdote along the way. The Unreasonable Virtue of Fly Fishing marries Kurlansky's signature wide-ranging reach with a subject that has captivated him for a lifetime-combining history, craft, and personal memoir to show readers, devotees of the sport or not, the necessity of experiencing nature's balm first-hand.

This authoritative and magnificently designed book applies the latest developments to all aspects of trout fly fishing around the world. Techniques are suggested for fishing a large range of lakes, rivers and springs in a straightforward, detailed and sometimes humorous, approach. The authors have also included examples of their favorite fly patterns including those found in their own tackle boxes.

Modern-day fly fishing, like much in life, has become exceedingly complex, with high-tech gear, a confusing array of flies and terminal tackle, accompanied by high-priced fishing guides. This book reveals that the best way to catch trout is simply, with a rod and a fly and not much else. The wisdom in this book comes from a simpler time, when the premise was: the more you know, the less you need. It teaches the reader how to discover where the fish are, at what depth, and what they are feeding on. Then it describes the techniques needed to present a fly at that depth, make it look lifelike, and hook the fish. With chapters on wet flies, nymphs, and dry flies, its authors employ both the tenkara rod as well as regular fly fishing gear to cover all the bases. Illustrated by renowned fish artist James Prosek, with inspiring photographs and stories throughout, Simple Fly Fishing reveals the secrets and the soul of this captivating sport.

“A lavishly photographed dreambook of the world’s top angling spots” (Men’s Journal) Amateur or expert, every angler dreams of landing “the big one,” but that’s only part of the appeal of fly fishing. Because even when hours pass without a bite, nothing beats the rugged beauty of the surroundings. For both armchair travelers and avid outdoorsmen who may have already started a checklist of their own, Fifty Places to Fly Fish Before You Die maps out the meccas of the fly-fishing world. Through in-depth interviews with the sport’s acknowledged gurus, author Chris Santella goes beyond standard guides to convey the very essence of the recommended locations. Readers can vicariously cast mouse patterns to fifty-pound taimen in the wilds of Mongolia, wrangle with wily permit off the Florida Keys, and match the hatch on Montana’s Armstrong’s Spring Creek. Jardines de la Reina, Cuba (tarpon), the Zhupanova River, Kamchatka (rainbow trout), and the Rio Negro, Brazil (peacock bass) are also included. The fifty essays include a cultural and natural history of each site, along with colorful anecdotes based on the author's and authorities’ experiences. With breath-takingly-beautiful photos of the spots, many by celebrated fly-fishing photographer R. Valentine Atkinson, the book also provides adventurous anglers with enough travel-and-tackle information so that they, too, can start planning excursions to go fish around the globe. Praise for Fifty Places to Fly Fish Before You Die “Santella offers 50 short takes on the ultimate fly-fishing destinations in this beautifully photographed and nicely packaged volume . . . With its elegant descriptions, gorgeous photos and practical information, this book is a dream travel guide for avid fly-fishers.” —Publishers Weekly “Everything dad needs to tackle his next trip.” —Fort Worth Star-Telegram

For three years, journalist Richard Louv listened to America by going fishing with Americans. Doing what many of us dream of, he traveled from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from trout waters east and west to bass waters north and south. Fly-Fishing for Sharks is the result of his journey, a portrait of America on the water, fishing rod in hand. To explore the cultures of fishing, Louv joined a bass tournament on Lake Erie and got a casting lesson from fly-fishing legend Joan Wulff He angled with corporate executives in Montana and fly-fished for sharks in California. He spent time with fishing-boat captains in Florida, the regulars who fish New York City's Hudson River, and a river witch in Colorado. He teamed secrets of fishing and living from steelheaders in the Northwest, Bass'n Gals in Texas, and an ice-fisher in the North Woods. Along the way, he heard from one of Hemingway's sons what it was like to fish with Papa and from Robert Kennedy, Jr., how fishing changed his fife. As he describes the eccentricities, obsessions, and tribulations of dedicated anglers, he also uncovers the values that unite them. He reveals the healing qualities of fishing, how it binds the generations, how the angling business has grown, and how the future of fishing is threatened. But most of all, Fly-Fishing for Sharks is about the unforgettable characters Louv meets on the water and the stories they tell. From them, Louv learns about our changing relationship with nature, about a hidden America -- and about himself.