Awake, for morning in the bowl of night has flung the stone that puts the stars to flight./*9

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

The Israeli president has accused the Spanish president of supporting terrorism, generating a crisis between the 2 countries, claims the VdG this morning. This was after the Spanish and Belgian leaders had called for some sort of permanent ceasefire, I believe.

Portugal

I forgot to say that the 2nd room I was given in the Lisbon hotel had a hair-drier that looked as if had been steeped in a nicotine solution and put on the wall during the Spanish Civil War. And what I yesterday called the ‘bath’ was actually no more than a large tray below the shower head. On the wall there was a lever which had 3 positions – left, centre and right. One of these produced a powerful vertical jet of water from a tap on one edge of the tray. So, a bidet as well as a (sort of) bath. The first time I’d ever seen such a space-saving combination, in a bathroom where it’d be hard to swing just half a cat. And where the door, on opening, came up against the toilet pedestal . . .

Being more positive . . . The Time Out food hall down near the sea in Lisbon is well worth a visit, though prices are high, eg a glass of vinho verde at €6, the cost of a bottle further north. And your biggest challenge might not be what to eat but where to find a place to eat it at. We enjoyed the lamb kebabs at the Asian stall.

The small town of Elvas – near the Spanish border and Badajoz – has not just one but 2 highly impressive fortifications. Well worth a look-see. It also has a small, well-kept cemetery for just a few of the many thousands of British soldiers killed at the nearby Battle of Albuera and the Siege of Badajoz in the Peninsula War, 1811 and 1812.

Ireland

Anger boils over at the [high] rate of immigration.

The Netherlands

The possible consequences for Europe of the recent surprise ‘ and worrying – election results. Also a reflection of concerns about the high rate of immigration into a small country.

This is how the Dutch are misunderstood, at least by the Brits. [Correct link later]

Germany

My old friend in Hamburg says the situation is much, much worse than described by AEP in yesterday’s article. To quote him: The listed Thyssen-Krupp Stahl Group has just announced a loss for 2023 of over €2.5bn. The traffic-light government is hopelessly divided, all blaming each other. Many observers believe that the government will be smashed. Here’s the front cover of Der Spiegel: ‘The fall of a know-it-all.’

Russia

So, who was the spy who gave the plans for Concorde to Russia? Click here to find out.

Did you know? . . .

If you ask booking.com for 3 separate rooms for 3 separate people, it will throw up lots of places offering 1 single and 1 double room, or 2 doubles, or even 1 triple. To find out what you really want to know, you have to identify the places in your price range and click Check availability for each one, to find out if they really have 3 separate rooms free. Very frustrating.

Finally . . .

As we checked into our Elvas hotel last evening, we were sort of accosted by an odd English woman, who claimed she and her husband had been beaten up by the police. She clearly thought we would know about this and, therefore, who she was. We had no idea and, of course, wondered how true this tale was. Later, she asked us – as we sat taking a drink – to seize the chance to be good Samaritans and take her to the supermarket, to buy food for her sick husband. We declined. And managed to avoid her at breakfast this morning. Travels broadens the mind, as they say.

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.