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

I speculated recently that a global-warming-inspired flow northwards of both homeowners and holidaymakers might well mean increased property values up here – a sentiment endorsed by the report that bookings are already flooding into the region for holiday periods throughout next year. The highest price cited was €40,000 a month for a nice place along the coast. Maybe I should move out of my house and rent a one-bedroom flat down in Pv city. Assuming I could find one that isn’t cursed by the nocturnal racket of rude revellers. At my age, sleep is more important than money.

The VdG today, on something that surely should have happened a long time ago:- Grass in pill form: It’s not like cows are going into space. At least for now. Scientists have realized that in Galicia the grass, which grows in abundance, is not used well. Researchers are looking for a way to manufacture pills with the proteins of this plant for livestock feed, instead of importing soybeans or sunflowers. The research is part of the Go-Grass project, in which 20 European countries participate in the use of grasslands.

France

I suggested that, unlike the rest of us, the French hero-worship Napoleon because his successes, on and off the battlefield, compensate for all that’s gone wrong for La France at the hands of the Anglo-Saxons since 1815. Here’s the latest: France is facing national culinary humiliation at the hands of the US.

The conquistador Hernán Cortés was not, in any way, a nice chap. More on him tomorrow. Suffice to say for now to record that it’s been said of him: Not many individuals can be said to have destroyed an entire civilisation singlehandedly. In his case, that of the Aztecs.

The USA

This is a Times headline this morning: Voters back Donald Trump for 2024 as support for Joe Biden hits new low: A poll shows that the probable Republican nominee would be the likely winner of the presidential election. I was instantaneously transported back to the 1966 show. Stop the world; I want to get off.

AI

This is an article on the AI companies aiming to put Google out of business by providing answers to natural language questions – answers embedded with links to its sources, so you can easily check whether they’re likely to be true or not. Which portends a fundamental shift in how we interact with technology. As: We will be able to talk to computers, and they will talk back. In that world, a static list of ads and [sponsored] website links [a la Google] feels suddenly less useful. I’ve tried Perplexity this morning and found it lives up to the billing. And, unlike Bing’s ChatGP, didn’t tell me Ávila’s walls are in Vitoria.

Did you know? . . .

As you’d expect, fraudsters are ever more inventive. I received a message this morning from one ‘Cole Simpkins’ offering – for a fee – to stop a Chinese company registering my blog’s domain and causing me enormous financial damage. Given that I don’t make a red sou from this blog, I’m struggling to put a number on this.

Finally . . .

Yesterday, I spent quite some time finding on the net the English instructions for my (still quiescent) new boiler. When I finally got them, I clicked the Print button and patiently waited for the 16 pages to emerge from the machine. Stapling them together, I noticed – belatedly – that, to print, the language had been switched to Spanish. Meaning I then had to download and print off each page in English. Lesson learned.

Am I being severe/churlish to think that the writers of messages such as this one could easily do far more research on the internet – especially via an AI bot – in lieu of seeking advice from others. Even if they are ‘oldies’? . . Can anyone advise us of a suitable area for a winter break on our tandem (in late February)? We like the look of the area around Ronda but are concerned it may be too mountainous for a pair of oldies.  Well, it ain’t once you get there but . . .

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.