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

Politics

• After a complaint from the far-right Vox party, the Andalucian government has closed a webpage showing a map marking out Gibraltar’s territorial waters – recognised by the UK but not by Spain.
• Vox is, of course, as tainted by corruption as any other Spanish political party. A former ‘high-ranking’ member has accused party leaders of misappropriating €11m. As is customary, a party spokesperson has dismissed the accusations as ‘science fiction’. Which hardly anyone will believe. Even if it is.

Tourism: HT to Lenox Napier of Business Over Tapas for this article on price increases in room rates over the last 2 years. Galicia’s are at the bottom of the list, though with a big difference between the Rías Altas and the – always more expensive – Rías Baixas. Quite why it’s now so much more expensive to stay along the Costa da Morte. I have no idea. Possibly all those ‘pilgrims’ who believe the myth about burning one’s clothes at Finisterra.

Camino News: The albergue in Caldas de Reis – the next stop for most folk after Pv city – has gained such a reputation for bed bugs(chinches) that it’s being avoided en masse by ‘pilgrims’. This might not be fair but, if it is true, they do have the entire winter to get rid of the little blighters before the flood begins next spring. And an extra hour today, of course.

Greco is not only Spanish for ‘Greek’ but also the acronym for the force fighting organised crime. Which can lead too momentary confusion when glancing at headlines.

More reasons to be angry about the astronomical cost of tickets for trains to and from Madrid . . . Renfe is offering one-way tickets from Malaga to Barcelona from as little as €30. The sale will begin tomorrow and will be applied to journeys throughout 2024

The UK

More here on the causes of national pessimism and despair re the future. I wonder if the suicide rate has risen significantly this year . . .

China

This columnist believes fears about China’s influence in Africa are unfounded. Hope he’s right.

The Way of the World

A British comedian writes amusingly here about the shock finding that women aren’t really attracted to funny men. Well, not when it comes to the dreadful institution of speed-dating, at least. Nor on the first date, when would-be comedians would be well advised to go against the male grain and pretend to be only interested in the lady and her life. Being funny, along with kindness, competence, reliability, etc, – says the writer – may be a welcome bonus should things develop. But it’s not a first-order requirement in kindling sexual attraction. I now see where I went wrong for all those years. Pretty academic now . . .

Spanish

Papel higiénico: Toilet paper. When you (are forced to) think about how it ends up, perhaps the Spanish term is somewhat less accurate than the English one.

Gallego

María advises that chuvasqueiro from chuvasco, a shower. From chuva, one of the ‘rain’ variations. Google prefers choiva. And the RAG dictionary accepts both choiva and chuvia. But, despite accepting chuvasco, chuvascada and chuvasqueiro, it rejects chuva. Confused as to which word to use for ‘rain’? Join the club. For what it’s worth, I think the overhead warnings on the motorways use choiva(s). Pretty often at the moment.

Spanglish

El sector de handling: Luggage handling at airports.

Did you know? . . .

Talking of dating . . . The prudish Gen Z aren’t looking for love – and they’re definitely not looking for sex, it says here,

Finally . . .

Neither French nor English cheeses did very well in a recent international competition. And Spanish cheeses were nowhere at all, it seems. Which will probably surprise some. Not me, as I don’t eat the stuff, so I can’t assess different offerings.

Tomorrow I will attend my 4^th funeral service in a year. When you get to my age, this might be normal. But not when – as tomorrow and last April – the departed is 25+ years younger than me. I’m hoping 2024 will bring a lot less sadness than 2023. Meanwhile, as María often says, life goes on for those mourning their loss. As a friend has written, expanding on carpe diem:-

Aférrate al día.
Disfruta de la vida
La muerte está detrás de la esquina.
Y a ti espera.

For new readers:– 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 – updated a bit in early July 2023.

For those thinking of moving to Spain:- This is an extremely comprehensive and accurate guide to the challenge, written by a Brit who lives in both the North and the South and who’s very involved in helping Camino walkers.