Awake, for morning in the bowl of night has flung the stone that puts the stars to flight.

And, lo, has caught the sultan’s turret In a noose of light!

Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable

– Christopher Howse: ‘A Pilgrim in Spain’ 

Cosas de España/Galiza

Here’s the – possibly accurate – lowdown on the Spanish property market for next year and beyond.

Every year for at least the last 22, there’s been at least one article a year on prostitution here in Spain. Truth to tell, this is not only big business but also an obvious one. Most town and cities here have – on their outskirts – at least one brothel. These days the (garishly lit) place are usually called ‘Clubs’. Then there are the pisos de relax/alternes in the town/city centres. I believe the legal situation is the same as in the UK. Prostitution itself is not illegal  – otherwise, I guess – there wouldn’t be the several ladies standing near the police station in Madrid’s Calle Montera, up from Sol. But living off exploitation is illegal. As is the trafficking of the women, who are said to come mainly from Africa and to be here in much larger numbers than in Germany or France. Which you might think a tad strange for a traditionally Catholic country. Anyway, this year’s article suggests that the law needs to change, possibly involving an outright ban on prostitution. But it’s reported that, understandably, Spain’s sex workers are divided on this issue. I’m not sure any of them should be worried. If the normal pattern is followed, nothing will change.

The updated marks required for degree courses in Galicia’s universities have been published. These relate to the Selectividad exam, taken at the end of secondary school. The highest demanded – 96%(!) – are for IT+Maths courses, followed by those for Medicine. As ever, I’m impressed by the very high marks required for nursing and physiotherapy courses. In contrast, you don’t need to get a good mark to study Law, a poor relation in Spain, where notaries have much greater status and earn a lot more money. But possibly have a less exciting life.

You can board a bus bound for Pv city from 2 places in Vigo – either the bus station or a bus-stop down near the port and one of the city’s 2 train stations. The (very) odd thing is that there’s no sign at the latter place telling you the bus stops there. If you’re new to the city, you might be lucky enough to see a few people milling around the location.

With camino ‘pilgrims’ passing through Pv city having increased in 12 years from 5k a year to 120k a year. ie by 24 – there’s naturally been an explosion in facilities catering for them. Apart from the albergues and ‘tourist flats’, these include self-service food and drink machines on the outskirts of the city. 10 years ago there were none of these. 5 years ago there was just one. Now there are 2 or 3, competing – like petrol stations – to be the first one you come to as you approach the city. But for the self-service machine outside the sex-shop, you have to enter Pv via a non-camino route. I don’t know if it figures in any of the guides.

This is an unusual-looking property off Poio’s main street:

And this is what must be/have been its lodge:

And its garage

Sad to say, a block of flats has been built behind them.

The UK 

The ultimate in pessimistic views of the country’s woeful future?

The key problem, of course, is that neither of the 2 main parties is up to the immense challenges. Accordingly, ‘centre-voters’ are in despair. Hence all the negativity from the commentariat. Just a phase???

The USA

Good news from across The Pond . . Ron DeSantis leaves Donald Trump trailing in the race for the White House.

The World Cup

If they play like they did for the first 45 minutes last night, I’m looking forward to Brazil beating France in the final.

The Way of the World

The Guardian is hiding the truth about trans, says one of their (sacked)ex-employees here.

English

The th sound in English might be difficult for some foreigners but – listening to the English world cup commentators – I wonder whether they should bother. Most of these use f instead of th. The East London accent, I believe.

Finally . . .

Welcome to new subscriber: The mysteriously named SecretSheller. Her own blog is here. And her goal, she says, is to quantify, in a very basic way, the equality between men and women in the world.  A fine aim. I’m hoping to achieve equality with my 2 daughters one day.

For new readers:-

1. If you’ve landed here looking for info on Galicia or Pontevedra, try here. If you’re passing through Pontevedra on the Camino, you’ll find a guide to the city there.

2. Should you want to, the easiest way to to get my post routinely is to sign up for email subscription. As opposed to using a Favourite/Bookmark or entering the URL in your browser.