When I prepared my Spanish trip, besides my extended correspondence with Xavier EA3ALV, the editor of the Spanish CQ magazine, I also wrote to U.R.E., the Radio Amateur Association of Spain, asking their cooperation in finding amateurs I can visit.  In the beginning our collaboration was slow but I still decided to go to Madrid to see them and some local hams.
   I also wrote to His Majesty Juan-Carlos, the King of Spain, known to us as EA0JC, asking for a chance to visit and photograph him in his radio shack.  I received an answer from one of his aids saying that an interview can not be arranged due to the busy agenda of His Majesty.  I wrote again asking as a second choice, for a photograph and some facts about H.M.’s radio amateur activity.  I received a second answer saying “Be sure I will do my best to find a gap in the schedule of HM the King” however the letter arrived after I left already for Spain.  I believe that if I would have signed my letter as “George Pataki, Count of Transylvania” or give as an alternative residence the New York Governor’s office in Albany; I would have had a better chance.
   Nevertheless I have obtained from other sources a photograph of EA0JC at his radio station and his QSL card.  Many amateurs worked EA0JC but the vast majority contacted the second operator Jose, and after his retirement, Isaias.  I also found out that Margarita de Borbon y  Borbon de Zurita, the sister of H.M. the King, is EA4AOR, and I even saw one of her QSL cards.
   I also exchanged some E-mails with Isi EA4DO whom I met in 1970 during my first visit to Madrid.  That time, a very young boy, Isi was the second operator at his father's station, also EA4DO.
   From Barcelona I took an early morning train to Madrid.  Not knowing that on the same route are different types of trains, with different prices, it happened that I took the most expensive one, and for a first class ticket I paid 8,300 pesetas, about $56.00.  With another train, on 2nd class, I would have paid only 4,900 pesetas, about $33.00.  I could not notice much difference between the trains except that the faster they go making fewer stops, more expensive they are.
   At every major railways station, at the information office, one can get a computer printout with all the trains going to one’s destination, with times of departure and arrival, type of train which determines the cost of the ticket, etc.  Also in every major city there is one or more tourist information offices, one is usually at the railway station, where maps and various useful facts can be obtained, like a list of reasonably priced hotels and hostels, points of interest etc.
   In Madrid, Juan, U.R.E.’s Administrative Secretary, was waiting for me and took me to their headquarters, in a spacious four-story building.  I was surprised to find out that U.R.E. is having only 12 paid employees and only one of them, a novice, has a radio amateur license.  Four of these people work in the QSL bureau, sorting cards, one is handling the packing and mailing, thus only seven are doing administrative and organizational work.  However, it seems that they are doing a good job.
   U.R.E.’s General Secretary is Angel EA1QF, he lives about 200 miles from Madrid and he comes there only when is necessary.  Angel was licensed in 1976, is a computer and communications specialist.  He is DXer, is on Honor Roll #1 missing only Scarborough and North Korea.
He is an award hunter and was active from several Spanish islands.  In October 1998 Angel participated in the TJ2RSF expedition.  He collects radio amateur pins so if you go to U.R.E. take some pins with you.
  U.R.E.’s President for the last 12 years is Gonzalo EA1RF, who lives in Orense, Galicia, quite far from Madrid.  He is great talker, I saw him talking on the telephone, non-stop for about 10 minutes, without giving the guy on the other end a chance to say a single word.
   U.R.E. has 16,500 members out of a total of 60,000 licensed amateurs, however there are 271,000 CBers in the country.  It is interesting that while in the province of Madrid, which includes the capital city, the largest city in the country, there are 1,921 class A amateurs, in Barcelona province there are 2,700 class A hams.
   The maximum allowable power for class A is 800 W but I saw many amplifiers capable of delivering 2-3 kW pep.
   At the U.R.E. headquarters there are four operating positions for EA4URE: HF, VHF-UHF, satellites, etc.  On the roof, at 48 feet from street level, they have three towers; the tallest one, a 32 footer, has a 7 element Yagi for 10-15-20-40 meters, a vertical for 2 meters and 70 cm, and a 9 element vertically polarized Yagi for 70 cm.  On a 19 footer there are two Yagis with crossed elements for 2 meters and 70 cm, used for satellite communications, and a wideband discone.  On a third tower, also a 19 footer, there is a log periodic for 2 meters, a 13 element Yagi for 2 meters, a 21 element Yagi for 70 cm, and a couple of more experimental antennas.
   The QSL service, both incoming and outgoing, is free for members.
   U.R.E. publishes Radioaficionados; a monthly magazine resembling the CQ published in the US, with more color photos but fewer pages.  The coordinator what is like a managing editor, is Juan, the Administrative Secretary.
   U.R.E. organizes national contests and is sponsoring several awards like EADX100, TPEA, ESPANA, 100EACW, CIA, TTLOC and Locator EA.  U.R.E.’s Web page is at http://www.ure.es and their e-mail is  [email protected].
   Years ago when I visited Spain, they had a socialist government.  Coming from a “socialist” Romania I was very curious how this system works in Western Europe.  In Eastern Europe socialism was an economic disaster; nothing worked properly, people were unhappy but could not do or say anything.  In Spain however, going from city to city I saw prosperity, stores full of merchandise, freedom of expression, to travel, to do business, etc.  Houses, banks, farms, factories, etc. were in private hands, people were working for themselves and they were satisfied.  It was very confusing to me.  Finally, one day during sightseeing, I entered in a dingy little eatery looking for the men's room. I founded it but it was filthy and stinky; it was just like the public toilets in Eastern Europe.  Eureka, I said, I found socialism.
   I found a cheap hostel close to Gran Via for 3,200 a night, with the bathroom and shower at the end of the hall but the location was convenient.  I stayed there two nights.
   In a restaurant a patron is complaining that the meat is very small.  The waiter tells him:
   “You will be surprised to see how long it takes to chew it!”
   Once I asked a man wearing dark glasses and carrying a white stick, selling lottery tickets, a job usually performed by people with handicaps, in which direction is Porta del Sol.  The man not only indicated the direction but gave me very detailed instructions how to get there.  I wonder if he really was sightless?
   Juan from U.R.E. arranged a meeting with Isi EA4DO whom I did not see for 29 years, and with Alan GW3INW, who was doing research on the communications equipment used in Spain during the Civil War.  I already saw some of his article on this subject published in the Spanish CQ magazine.
   We went to Majadahonda; about 10 miles from Madrid, to see Isi’s station EA4DO.  Licensed in 1964, Isi is a pharmacist testing additives for the food industry.  Both his parents were radio amateurs; his father Isidoro EA4DO was president of U.R.E. from 1960 to 1965.
   Isi’s tower is a 70 footer; it carries a 7 element Yagi for 10-15-20 meters, and a 3 element Yagi for 40 meters, both from KLM.  He works the WARC band with the antenna tuner.  Isi also has two inverted V antennas, one for 40, the other for 80 meters.  He is On Honor Roll #1, has the 7BDXCC, 5BWAS, 5BWAZ, 5BEUROPA, 5BASIA, etc.
   His most important activity started in 1991 by doing research on the history of amateur radio in Spain.  He even works on his doctoral dissertation on this very same subject.  He published several articles in the Spanish CQ; U.R.E.’s Radioaficionados and the R.C.A. of Argentina.  Isi has compiled a rich archive with data on the pioneers of Spanish hams, photographs, QSL cards, magazines, diplomas, awards, various documents and created a display of these items and old communications equipment, tubes, parts, test instruments, all related to early amateur radio activity in Spain.  Seeing his display that occupies a large room in his house was quite interesting and educational; meeting Isi EA4DO after 29 years was a pleasure.  I believe we should not wait another 29 years till the next meeting so I penciled him in my calendar for the year 2025.
   Madrid, the capital city, is full of bureaucrats employed in various offices.  A foreigner found a government building closed in the afternoon and asked the watchman:
   “Here the employees don’t work in the afternoon?”
   “They don’t work too much in the morning either but in the afternoon they just don’t come in!”
   Another story.  The national pastime in Spain is soccer, called football.  Devoted fans will do anything to attend the games.  In some government offices notes are posted:
   “The employees planing to attend funerals of their closest and beloved family members are required to inform their superiors at least one day before the championship game.  Thank you.”
   I met Leopoldo EA4GT, a retired electronics specialist, in front of my hostel; I was wearing my cap with name and callsign.  He took me to his house in Pozuelo de Alarcon, 6 miles from Madrid.  He has a 33 foot tower with a 3 element TH3-MK3 Yagi for 10-15-20 meters, a trapped inverted V for 40 and 80 meters, and a double dipole for 12 and 17 meters.  For rig Leopoldo is using a TS-870, a TS-930S with a 1 kW homemade amplifier and a homemade transmatch, both with vacuum variable condensers.  For 2 meters he has a TM-221A.  Leo is a builder, his shack is full of his projects.  He has many awards like the 7BDXCC, 5BWAS, 5BWAZ, etc. is on Honor Roll #1.  His photo was featured on the cover of the Spanish CQ magazine.  He is a hunter and his house is full of trophies.  Leo is doing computer logging as well as paper logging required by regulations.  He has a nice QSL card.
   Leopoldo drove me to U.R.E. where I met Angel EA1QF the General Secretary, and Gonzalo EA1RF, U.R.E.’s President, both serving as volunteers, and several amateurs operating the headquarters’ station EA4URE.
   One of the hams I met there, Delfino EA4BOD, had an interesting life; in 1937 he was taken from an orphanage to the Soviet Union where he went to school, grew up, got married, had children, and stayed till 1975 when he returned to Spain.  He operated from Antarctica as ED0BOD when he worked there with a scientific research team.
   At the radio station I also met Jose EA4BPJ, a computer specialist licensed in 1981.  Jose is DXer, with about 300 entities worked for his DXCC; he is the chief operator at EA4URE and the president of the radio club at U.R.E.’s Madrid branch.  His wife Susana is EB4FSE, and his brother Sergio is EB4FRS.
   I saw Felipe EA4UR at one of the four operating positions of the station.  He was working them like in a contest; fast and many.
   I also operated the station on 20-meter SSB using the special call EG50URE, commemorating the 50th anniversary of U.R.E.  In 1949, after World War II, amateur radio in Spain was again authorized.  Even with an unusually bad propagation I worked about two dozen stations.  The highlight was working my friend Leo YO2BM from my hometown of Timisoara, with Shalom 4Z4BS and Ludwig DL5MHQ, both originally from Romania.  So there were four stations in four countries, on two continents, all talking Romanian.
   At U.R.E. I met Francisco EA4AHK, president of Radio Amateurs Without Frontiers, a non-governmental organization, founded in Madrid in 1995.  The organization is running 40 telecommunications projects with team of doctors and missionaries in Chad, Western Sahara, Cameroon, Tanzania, Congo, Congo Brazzaville, Ruanda, Togo, Mali, Honduras, Nicaragua, Albania, etc. with calls used S01RSF, TJ2RSF, EA4RSF, TT8FC, 5H3FH, TZ6ASN, etc.  For emergencies they used the 14.128 MHz frequency, at 15.00 UTC.
   I heard about Jose, the brave DXpeditioner, who went on a safari in an African country with a local hunter.
   “These are marks made by a big lion; I will follow them to see where did he go” said the hunter.
   “I will go in the opposite direction – said Jose the brave DXpeditioner – to see from where he came from!”
   Another one: a traveling salesman is offering a very poor man some luggage.
   “What should I do with them?”
   “Well, you should pack your clothes when you travel.”
   “And I should sit naked on the train?” is asking the very poor man.
   I visited Luis EA4OX, a retired airline pilot for Iberian Airlines, and his wife Ana, EA4RO, a former stewardess, both licensed in 1974.  They have a Cushcraft R5 vertical antenna and a TS-440S.  In their second home in El Escorial, about 30 miles from Madrid, for low frequencies they use a Cushcraft R7 with a Heathkit HW-101, and for 2 meters and 70 cm they have a vertical Ringo and a TM-231A.  Both have nice QSL cards and work only on SSB, mostly with Spanish stations. They have a family of hams: son Luis Jr. Is EA4AID, and daughter Carmen EA4YV.
   I went to see Xavier EA4AV, a computer engineer licensed in 1980.  On his 48 foot tower installed on the roof at 64 feet from the ground, Xavier has a Hy-Gain Explorer 14 type of 3 element Yagi for 10-15-20 meters, a trapped inverted V for 40 and 80 meters, another dipole for 80 and 160 meters, and a vertical for 2 meters.  Xavier has two identical TS-930S transceivers and an Ameritron AL-80B amplifier.  On 2 meters he is using an IC-251.  Xavier EA4AV is a DXer, sometimes contester, he is DXCC Honor Roll, has 7BDXCC, 5BWAS, 5BWAZ, 5BEADX100 and many more prestigious awards.  He has QSL cards and he worked EA0JC with the first operator, HM Juan-Carlos, the King.
   I visited Julio EA4BM, a retired translator for the military, licensed in 1935.  He is using a W3DZZ antenna for 10 to 80 meters, an FT-767GX and an IC-751.  He is a DXer, worked over 200 entities on CW and SSB.  Julio used to build his equipment but know prefers factory made gear.  He has QSL cards just the kind I like it; with big, wide letters for the callsign.  He had a QSO with EA0JC, the second operator, not the King.  His apartment is like a museum, full of paintings; his father Lopez Mezquita, was a much-appreciated painter whose works are in many museums.
   I went to see Jose EA4JL, a mechanical engineer licensed in 1966.  Jose likes vintage equipment and he has quite a little collection.  He uses Collins, with an Alpha 374 amplifier.  His antenna farm has 3 element Yagi for 10-15-20 meters from Hy-Gain, a vertical for 10-15-20-40-80 meters, an inverted V for 40 and 80 meters, and wire dipole for 12 and 17 meters.  Like every respectable well to do Spaniard, Jose has a second house in Navacerrada, 25 miles from Madrid.  There he has another station with a Signal One, and having more room he has installed a homemade 4 element Quad for 10-15-20 meters, a 4 element monobander Yagi for 20 meters from Wilson, a 5 element tribander Yagi for 10-15-20 meters from Hy-Gain, inverted Vs for 40, 80, and 160 meters, and 3 Beverages, each 640 feet long, and in different direction.  Jose EA4JL is on Honor Roll #1, has the 5BDXCC, WAZ and many other awards.  His son Jorge EA4LH, a mechanical engineer, made DXCC on satellites.
   Next I visited the radio club of U.R.E.’s Madrid section where the president is Jose EA4BPJ.  They have a small station but with an enthusiastic group of amateurs.  They usually come there in the evening to leave and pickup their QSLs and talk about what they worked and what they missed.  I met there Javier EA4TK, an electrician who has over 300 entities for his DXCC working only SSB, Jose EC4WZ, a security guard, works some contests and has over 100 entities, Carlos EA4BDO, a DXer and an award chaser with over 250 entities, he works SSB and SSTV, Jose EA4ECF, a building administrator, operating SSB and CW, Placido EA4KU, a retired building constructor with 225 DX entities worked mainly on CW, and Pablo EA4JW, a product manager in a clothing factory, worked over 200 entities for his DXCC mainly on SSB.
  The last one visited in Madrid was Jorge EA4EO, a very unusual amateur.  Licensed in 1953, and retired from NASA’s Madrid Deep Space Tracking Station where he was a supervisor in the test equipment laboratory.  Everything he has and uses, and I counted 20 pieces of equipment, with more on the workbench, was designed and build by him.  He published several technical articles in ham magazines and one of the gears he built was featured on the cover of the Spanish CQ magazine.  His antenna is an original variation of the Comudipole antenna which is a coaxial, multiband dipole working on 10-12-15-17-20-40 meter bands.  George has a nice QSL card.  His uncle Enrique is EA4EP, one cousin is Carlos EA4KC, another cousin is Kike EA4ASA.
   Not having too much to do in Madrid, I decided to go to Valencia what was highly recommended by Eddie EA4NY.  I learned my lesson, I bought a second class ticket on the cheapest train I found leaving early morning, it stopped in many places but I got to Valencia in the same time the first class passengers did.