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Epilogue on the Locations of Spain

As I write this it is almost April of 2014, nearly 6 months after my trip to Spain.  I have greatly enjoyed being able to share these locations with all of you, and it is a touch bittersweet now that it is over.

What's next?  A bit of a break.  The blog will move to doing only weekly postings (Saturdays), and I am going to focus some attention to porting over some of the buried blog materials onto the website.  Of course any breaking news won't wait until Saturday.

I may have a few additional LVC locations to add (from the US), but the plan is to go back to Spain in one year to visit (and revisit) many more locations.

Meanwhile, here are a few more personal type pics from my trip.  Yes, this is the post where you have to look at me (I tried to spare you before!)


Below are a few pics from my trip that I think fully emphasize what it was actually like to "be there". 

sharing my pocket watch with some other Spanish tourists at the For a Few Dollars More duel ring.

 

 

Me being a tourist on a horse in "El Paso"

 

"Agua Caliente" is full of cats!

 

 

 Hanging out on the streets of "Agua Caliente"

 

 

  

"I'll write the name on the bottom of this stone"

 

 

Doing my best "Angel Eyes"

The various "location rocks" I collected by the last night.

 

I hope everyone enjoyed the location features.  It was a lifelong dream of mine to be able to experience these places, and often times it was like stepping into the movie.  If you ever get a chance to go, don't pass it up!

You can revisit the entire series here

 



Location: Sad Hill - The Trio

 

Part 3 of 3 on Sad Hill from The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

 

The great Sad Hill standoff ring is no longer presently visible for the most part as vegetation has grown over the rocks of the once great stone circle.  however, the rocks that do remain shine brightly in the sun, a reminder that they are not natural to this environment.

 

Click photos below to enlarge.

 

The remains of the inner ring

 

 Tuco and Blondie standoff locations

Angel Eyes standoff location

 

 

The barren landscape of the circle indicates that many of the rocks are still buried beneath the grass.

 



Of course the most famous scene in the movie is the showdown between the three men as they compete for the gold.  It was quite an experience to be able to stand at these locations, nearly 50 years after Eli, Lee, and Clint were there!

Showdown below.  Click to enlarge!

 The Good



The Bad

 

 

 The Ugly
 

This is the spot where Angel Eyes goes down (rocks mark the edge of the ring)

 



And with that I have concluded the tour of Spain.  Next week, I'll do a wrap up with a few more photos, and close the book on this incredible journey!

 

 

 

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly - Black and White Press Photos

Click to enlarge.



Location: Sad Hill - The Ecstasy of Gold

 

Part 2 of 3 on my coverage of Sad Hill.

 

Once arriving into Sad Hill, the walk towards the center of the fictitious cemetery is actually the same path that Tuco arrives at upon discovering the graves

Tuco begins his journey in search of the grave of Arch Stanton

I will admit that once I got to this location I cranked up Ennio Morricone's "Ecstasy of Gold", and proceeded to run around the entire area same as Tuco (no photos or video of that will be posted here!). 

I was SHOCKED to see someone had erected perfect replicas of the grave markers of Arch Stanton and "the grave marked Unknown".  CRAZY!

 

 

This is truly an awe inspiring location from arguably one of the greatest scenes in motion picture history, and as it was the last location I visited in Spain, it was the perfect end to the trip!

"The Ecstasy of Gold"

 

 

Additional pictures of the "graves" below.  Click to enlarge!

 



 a sea of red graves

the graves

panoramic

 

 

"Two can dig a lot quicker than one"

 

 

Next week- The Trio!

 



The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly - Color Press Stills

Click to enlarge.

 

 

Location: Sad Hill - Entrance to the Cemetery

Roughly a 500 mile drive north of Almeria, is Burgos, and it is within this area Sergio Leone filmed much of the last half of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.  The locations included the prisoner war camp, the battle of Langstone Bridge, and of course Sad Hill Cemetery.

While sadly I did not get to the prisoner war camp or Langstone Bridge locations (although I probably drove by them), my main objective was to get to Sad Hill, the fictitious cemetery which is the location of the gold and center of the final shootout.

As this is such an important location, this will be a multipart series.

There are a few ways to get the Sad Hill.  My first attempt via my GPS was not successful as I did not an all terrain vehicle on the trip!  After doubling back and getting lost in Conterras, I found my way there by just using satellite images.

Once leaving Conterras and taking the dirt rode to the location I came across the remains of the cart below.  Possibly something left over from filming? 

cart on the road to Sad Hill

Once arriving (finally!) at the location, the site is marked by two signs.  One that marks the entrance to the location of Sad Hill (put up by Tuco Tours I believe), and a cement sculpture of Clint near the base.  No LVC sculpture, but at least he is mentioned on the sign!

 

 

 

Once parked I could see the road I just traveled on was the same path that Blondie and Tuco arrived at Sad Hill on.

1966 and 2013

 

Before we go in, let's take a look at Sad Hill from above.  Below are a few pics of Sad Hill from the road above.  While the grave markers are all long gone, the mounds have grown over with a reddish brush, which makes the original circular shape of the cemetery unmistakable. 

Click to enlarge.

Sad Hill from space!

 

Next week, The Ecstasy of Gold!