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/Galicia

Politics:

• Pedro Sánchez is back … now Spain’s PM must make his daring gamble pay off. See here

• Harsh criticism of Sánchez from the Left.

We’re off to Salamanca next week, for my 8th visit. So, nice to see this in my feed this morning. I think I went there 15 years ago but my friend and my cousin might be as interested in it as one of my daughters was back then.

Coisas de Portugal

In the Turismo office in Guimaraes I had the unusual experience of being asked whether my signet ring indicated I had ‘blue blood’. This was, I was told – all in Portuguese – because the nobility of Portugal had a habit of wearing rings bearing their family crests. Mistakenly, I assured my interrogator that I didn’t – after assuring him that his question hadn’t been ‘indiscreet’ because a wise friend had once told me that There’s no such thing as indiscreet questions; only indiscreet answers.

I hope more than one reader – Aleksandras – realised that Aveiro is the Venice of Portugal, not Spain . . .

We lucked into an excellent restaurant there Maré Cheia – where the seafood soup and the fish course were superb. Sorry to say, but they greatly outclassed anything I’ve had in Pv city. And, of course, were cheaper.

Portuguese underground carparks seem to specialise in not telling you where the pay station/machines are . . .

In our equivalent of the (North American) 5-day tour of all the capitals of (Western)Europe, today we’re in the pretty city of Viseu – regularly voted the best place to live in Portugal – and then down to Coimbra – The Cambridge of Portugal. Interrupted in our sight-seeing only by fine eating and drinking.

The EU

France and Germany’s relationship is at the heart of the EU. Why has it gone sour?: From energy to defence, tensions are growing. More here.

The Netherlands/The Way of the World

A “game changer” poll in the Dutch elections has shown a surge in support for the far-right leader Geert Wilders after he toned down his anti-Muslim rhetoric. Polling indicates that he will be kingmaker.

Finally . . .

Older hotels can be great in that they have a bath as well as a shower – especially welcome after a day on the camino. On the other hand, like this one in Viseu, they tend to be seriously lacking in plug sockets. And can have poor wifi as well.

The Usual Links . . .

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.