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’

Travel Note

After a long drive from Pontevedra, through varied weather spells, I’m aboard Brittany Ferries’ boat, Salamanca. Worryingly, I couldn’t see it from the check-in car park. But the boarding configuration has changed there and it was hiding around a corner.

Gone are the days when you had free (intermittent) wifi on these boats; now it’s only 90 minutes free.

Cosas de España

I confess to being surprised at this article on child poverty in Spain. Can it really be the worst in Europe? Worse than, say, Albania? If so, how and why??

Just one retrospective view on the Spanish conquest of South, Central and (a bit of) North America, from Michael Wood’s Conquistadors . . .The conquest opened up the world, marking the beginnings of a globalization which was not only commercial, but also ideological and philosophical; a remaking of mental horizons no less than a redrawing of physical geography. For the first time in history, we find people speaking of one world, whose peoples are seen as subject to the same natural laws, the same process of history. And in that light the Spanish conquest of the Americas raised a profound moral dilemma for the conquistadors, for the imperial government of Spain and for European people in general. Was the conquest of the New World in any sense just? Did the Indians possess human rights? Should they be converted to Christianity – and if so, how were they to be converted? Could conversion be forcible? By war? And how could such a war be just? Did their practice of human sacrifice and cannibalism show they were morally degenerate, or unevolved? Or were the Indians no less fully human? In grappling with these questions,16th century people made the first moves towards evolving a conception of universal rights. But, boy, did they kill a lot of people and destroy so much along the way.

The UK

I have 2 close relatives being treated by the NHS right now. Some of the treatment is excellent and some is shambolic and a disgrace to a developed country. I’ve never believed that inadequate funding was the root cause of the institution’s deficiencies and this article suggests that the Labour party has finally accepted this. But they won’t come up with a solution, of course; they’ll simply do some more well-intentioned tinkering and, very probably, throw a lot more money at the problem. After decades of of reading about the NHS, I’ve reluctantly decided the only way to make it fit for purpose would be the drastic step of privatising it completely. A practical/political impossibility, of course. I’ll still be reading about its deficiencies on my deathbed. And possibly popping my clogs earlier than necessary because of them.

Quote of the Day

Just heard in the boat’s bar, sung by Boney M . . . Man will live for ever more because of Christmas Day. Surely wrong, if you’re a Christian. It was the crucifixion of Good Friday which did this. Though, admittedly, one event lead to the other. The point of life, I often say, is death.

The Way of the World

Someone’s amusing view of the things others do that maker her clench her buttocks.

Did you know? . . .

Possibly the most pointless videogame ever made. But still around, after nearly 30 years

Finally . . .

Short of material today, I’m copying here the comments of 2 readers on the multi-faceted tourism issue. As they’ve posted these in Comments, I’m sure they won’t mind:-

David (in La Coruña): Just read the anti tourist article. Gave me mixed feelings. Tourism is out of control in some areas, but is it really the fault of the tourist? Maybe our esteemed Catalan friends should work harder to stop speculators buying 20 apartments in a block to then put on Airbnb. Could be that the Greeks need to do the same. Councils put taxes on visitors, yet they all work their socks off to encourage visitors, encouraging cruise ships, promoting huge music festivals, competing to have the best Christmas lights. Amsterdam, talk about hypocrisy. Drunk Brits on Stag & Hen parties is worth tens millions in earnings, and loads of jobs.
Maybe just maybe if European countries had a realistic immigration plan, more flats would become available.
And maybe if councils stopped paying RyanAir to use their airports, tourism might not saturate places like Oporto.
And with that money councils maybe, just maybe could build realistic programs which don’t just house immigrants or send them “back”, but give them practical education and skills to enter the workforce, language learning etc. I could go on, but in summary – blaming tourists, immigrants for our ills is small picture. Big picture is root cause analysis. Why are there so many tourists? Why do immigrants look at Europe as a solution? And so on and on and on.

Richard (in Ferrol): Hi David, from my perspective, one possible method to reduce immigration into Europe would be for the different European countries to encourage companies to actively invest in the countries from which the immigrants come. Create jobs in those countries and perhaps not so many would want to leave for economic reasons. People fleeing war zones and similar are a different matter with different considerations. Bottom line and in either case, remove the reasons for people wanting to leave their home country and you will seriously reduce unwanted immigration.

David: Yes very good point Richard. It’s common sense. Unfortunately, many of those countries are in such poor shape, I imagine it would be difficult to make this happen. There are success stories I think such as Poland, which is on the up. Then we have the mess that is Syria or Iraq, and of course there situation is hopeless. I think Portugal in the last 12 years has done an incredible job in creating opportunities and encourgaing outside investment. While in Spain, we bicker and rarely agree at political level, ultimately holding back the countrys progress. A shame considering the level of talent to be found here.

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.