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

Spain’s (astonishing) late-night eating habits come in for some criticism from a government minister rightly concerned about the (mostly South American) employees. Good to read Ayuso’s non sequiturs and populists nonsense. Not.

O, so predictable, sadly. Spanish soldiers and policemen are changing their gender in order to access benefits intended for women.

This is said to be the classic Camino snack. Can’t recall ever having it on any of my 15 walks. Possibly because I’m not a cheese-lover.

The USA

Fusionism is dead, it seems. And I’ve only just learned what it is! Nikki Haley, backed by Never-Trump Republicans and some Democratic donors, represent the last gasp of the dying Goldwater-Reagan-Bush coalition. And she’s clearly going nowhere. Except Vermont, which is quite nice. Meanwhile . . . Trump and Biden represent radical departures from the past of their parties – and symbolise the partisan future. And more drift, I guess.

On a lower plane . . . Doritos reacts quickly to the reaction to their inexplicably stupid action. The loss of money talks.

The Way of the World

Back in the early 1970s, Lebanon – more specifically, Beirut – was known as the Paris of the Middle East. Says Perplexity AI: This was because of its fusion of East and West, tradition and modernity, making it a cultural and financial hub reminiscent of Paris. In 1974, a visitor I had in Tehran told me that the streets there featured thugs being driven around on the back of trucks, armed with machine guns. He feared imminent war. And he was right to do so; for the Civil War began in 1975 and lasted until 1990. Perplexity says: This was caused by a combination of factors, including socioeconomic disparities, the presence of fighters from the Palestine Liberation Organization in Lebanon, and the deterioration of the Lebanese state leading to the coalescence of militias. Additionally, conflicts like the Israeli invasion in 1982, aimed at attacking the PLO, further fueled the violence and instability in the region These days, it’s something of a hell hole, I believe. Not everywhere progresses in a straight line.

English, Spanish, Gallego, etc.

The only words which are roughly the same in all major languages – including Chinese – are ‘coffee’ and ‘chocolate’.

Did you know? . . .

Killer whales – really big dolphins – enjoy feasting on the livers of white sharks. Their hunting of them has coincided with an exodus of great whites from a region – off South Africa – once renowned for its shark population. The effects have rippled through the broader ecosystem. With fewer great white sharks to eat them, cape fur seals in the region have found it easier to prey on critically endangered African penguins. Video here.

Finally . . .

The aphorisms of 18th-century German physicist Georg Christoph Lichtenberg: I would often rather read what a famous author has cut from one of his works than what he has let stand

The Usual Links . . .

You can get my posts by email as soon as they’re published. With the added bonus that they’ll contain the typos I’ll discover later. I believe there’s a box for this at the bottom of each post. I guess it’s logical that this doesn’t appear on the version given to me . . .

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.