Altaïr Barcelona, 60,000 references to travel
In this report Yorokobu analyzed the difficult survival of specialized bookstores and our spirits fell a little to the feet. But in the face of VAT increases, the bad data on unemployment with which we have woken up and other terrible stories, there is something that at least, for the moment, remains.
We like small bookstores with eight thousand books per shelf, with that ordered chaos of unequal edges and similar themes. we love those instagrammable book towers than being able to eat on a threadbare sofa or divan dressed only in a monocle. And for that, we have searched for the travel bookstores that are still there, on the edge of the impossible, demonstrating that can you survive in the world of touch screen and GPS.
Perhaps the best known is ** Altaïr ** with physical bookstores in Madrid and Barcelona and with an order (and delivery) service through its website. But Altaïr goes beyond his flashy “60,000 references in his documentary collection”. It's a blog is a forum , is a travel and travel literature news aggregator and generator in itself. Come on, it's a commune of inveterate travelers that grows thanks to the forms of online communication.
From the luggage to the route: the whole mountain in Muntanya de Llibres
“If you can't beat them, join them”, could be the motto. It is also the case of the Muntanya de Llibres , located in Vic. Xevi Cortacans He explains that being in a small city “forces us to promote ourselves throughout the region and in surrounding regions (…) Like all specialized companies, we seek to solve all the demands of our clients. We try not to have a NO . We always look for alternatives.” In fact, faced with the new electronic maps, they try to to be a benchmark in mountain GPS and digital cartography , “we also have mountain and travel accessories, mosquito nets, repellents, trekking poles...; we have even entered the climbing equipment”. In other words, for a mountain lover, Muntanya de Llibres not only advises you literary but also prepares you from head to toe to leave the bookstore ready. It's a real pit stop.
Also in the north and in a more than significant enclave, is ** Iguazú , a bookstore in the Barrio Húmedo de León**. Between taverns and inns at this strategic point on the Camino de Santiago, the first travel bookstore in the city is located and, of course, specialized in the route of the Apostle.
On the northern fringe we continue to **A Coruña and Sete Mares** greets us, a rare bird, since this bookstore was born in 2007, knowing no other time than that of the crisis . Your owner, Joseph Castrillo , affirms that "the precarious economic situation is more determining than the appearance of the electronic book". For this reason, they took measures shortly after birth, "we decided to change the premises and we located ourselves in a pedestrian street with a lot of people, giving up square meters (...) sales have risen ". They have also taken other measures such as "preparing a travel literature newsletter for our customers and send it by mail. It may seem very easy but it has its job". It is the way they have to differentiate themselves "offering what they are really looking for beyond a general list of titles".
Cultural activities and direct advice, the strengths of Laextra Vagante in Seville
And what about travel gadgets? There is nothing more representative than a globe or a map on which to trace Hemingway's route through Spain, for example. In Malaga we find Maps and Company , the perfect example of product diversification as a means of survival : Tintin is the ubiquitous symbol of a place specialized in maps and with a more than appetizing collection of globes. Puzzles, figures, t-shirts... but also advice on preparing for trips or even storytelling. The you to you is fundamental.
In the hottest Andalusia we find the Sevillian Laextra Vagante , whose main quote is "To travel far, there is no better ship than a book" by Emily Dickinson. Although it was born as a travel bookstore, we can find editorials dedicated to specialized themes such as fantastic, queer, police. .. Without forgetting objects as curious as “ astrolabes, hourglasses, telescopes, world games, planispheres... ”. "Better safe than sorry" goes the saying. And their owners tell us, Maite Aragon and Claudio Gomez , who still do not notice the competition with the digital world "our regular travelers are still anchored to paper" but "we are already getting down to work to to be able to offer our clients the download of guides on their mobile devices so that they can be done from our website". Your strengths? "The specialization, the close relationship with the bookseller and the high level of commitment in their recommendations and cultural activities."
Cálamo: since 1983 vindicating the "book spirit"
Until Saragossa we go is the calamus bookstore , born in 1983 with a philosophy that "reclaims the old bookseller spirit" . Direct contact and recommendation is the foundation of this lair of narrative, philosophy and, of course, travel books. The formula is not bad for them since two years ago they opened Infant Calamus , spacious bookstore where cultural activities revitalize reading.
We finished our trip in **Valencia, with Regolf ** (don't be fooled by the name, please) which is more than a travel bookstore, it is a " traveler's bookstore ". Topographic maps, road maps, photography books, hiking, hiking, mountain biking... Specialization within the travel specialty and, above all, adventure. Where to make a good route in 4x4? The best walls for climbing? Regolf has the answer without forgetting the narrative or, of course, the globes.
* This article was published on September 4, 2012 and updated on November 13, 2015
The specialization within the specialty of the trip, that is, EVERYTHING, in Regolf