64-8: ora ... ora: either ... or.
64-9: guerra de España: cf. note Guerra de la Independencia, p. 55, 3.
64-10: Varsovia: Warsaw, the largest city and former capital of Poland.
64-11: sin perjuicio de que ... saliese: without preventing his setting out.
64-12: a las pocas horas de haber echado a andar: a few hours after starting. Cf. note a la media hora, p. 59, 4. Echar a, followed by an infinitive, means to begin, to set about. Hence echar a andar, to begin to march or go, etc.