by Curt Frisbie

Neither Gena' nor I had ever been to Spain but we had heard so much about the friendly people, beautiful countryside and abundant game that we were eager to go. We were put in contact with Francisco Rosich and his brother, Bruno, the owners of Hunt Trip Spain, which is headquartered in the gorgeous city of Barcelona. Francisco is an internationally known pigeon shooter with more trophies than you can count. He and Bruno are gracious hosts and, most importantly, they know how to find game. We arrived in Barcelona on November 11, 1999, and were met by Francisco. Getting through customs was a snap. There was a two-hour drive to Carrascal de Bastaras, a 16th Century, small "village" where we stayed. Bastaras is a partially restored village where the remains of the old mill and its Romanesque church and cemetery are still there. The buildings have been restored to houseguests in comfortable bedrooms, and to provide a living room with fireplace, a dining room and other amenities. The next morning, after sighting in my .300 Sako Win. Mag. rifle, we were off to search for the animals. Red stag and fallow deer and mouflon sheep are abundant on this huge private hunting estate. The trick is to exercise restraint and not shoot the first animals you see, but to wait and listen to Francisco who will let you know when he finds one suitable for your trophy room. Within the week we had a nice big boar, a fallow deer, a mouflon sheep and two feral goats. The feral goat will measure no. 2 in the SCI Edition IX book. Then we traveled south of Barcelona to Tortosa where we hunted for Beceite Ibex in extremely hilly and rocky country. I had to take quite a hike to get mine, but I suppose that made the trip all the more memorable and worthwhile. At the conclusion of the trip we said good-by to Bruno and Francisco and started on a road trip to see sights recommended by Bruno. We traveled up the Costa Brava, went to Figueres where we visited the Dali Museum, visited Barcelona and Madrid, and took a day trip to Toledo. It was a trip we highly recommend to anyone. The hunting is not difficult (except perhaps the Ibex hunting can be difficult if you are not ready for some climbing), the profusion of fruit and nut and olive trees are a wonderful sight, the Costa Brava and the beaches are quite scenic, and you will enjoy marveling over the construction of the terraces on all the hills everywhere you look.

You can contact Francisco & Bruno Rosich at
contact@hunttripspain.com by email,
or write them at Hunt Trip Spain,
Casanova, 79 3º 1ª - 08011 Barcelona - Spain.