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

The Times here sets out to explain why tourism rage is sweeping through Europe. [Even in the UK?]

Spaniards have been demonstrating about Gibraltar in the last week or so. This was, of course, ceded to the UK in the 1713 treaty of Utrecht. As recently noted, the US invaded and colonised 3 Spanish possessions at the Treaty of Paris in 1898, as well as effectively commandeering Cuba. These rather-more-recent losses, don’t seem to hurt quite as much. But, then, none were actually attached to Spain. So, maybe protest will be also be muted when Morocco invades and takes over Ceuta and Melilla in North Africa. Just sayin’.

In recent years, rich emigrant Venezuelans have bought up large chunks of the wealthy quarter of Madrid – Salamanca. Will some of them shortly be going home? And capitalising on their gains? And will prices then fall in Salamanca?

Here’s Lenox Napier on those – increasingly frequent – irritating calls, messages and emails.

It has to happen from time to time . . . A tourist along our coast in Ortigueira has died after falling onto rocks when taking a selfie of himself on a cliff edge. In the Alhambra 6 years ago, I nurtured a hope this would happen en masse.

The Camino de Santiago 1: As I’ve said, spectacular growth in the Portuguese variant:-

• 2003: 3,500 ‘pilgrims’ [At least, those who signed in on arrival in SdC, Real total higher]
• 2010: 5,000
• 2023: 150,000

There’s little chance of solitude nowadays. You’re on a sort of packed conveyor belt but with the power supplied by you.

The Camino de Santiago 2: . . . Below, there’s some advice for pilgrims leaving Pv city across O Burgo bridge.

The USA

Where’s Melania been in recent months? From the fotos accompanying that article, I’d say – perhaps a tad ungallantly – that she’s been spending time with her favourite cosmetic surgeon.

Doubtless one of many amusing modifications on the web . . .

Quotes of the Day

• If you look at any extremist — any political headbanger, any messiah-like ruler — there’s one thing they all have. A complete, psychotic inability to understand what it is like to be another person, or even care. They may preach good for society, but they don’t take any interest in it, or even understand what it is. It is why they often prefer animals. [Hitler and his German Shepherd spring to mind].
• Cybernetic modernity is less a castle built upon sand than a castle built on the thinnest of ice, or suspended in vapour. The biggest global outage in history won’t be the biggest global outage in history for very long.. There will be a bigger one, some day soon. [Better store some cash].

Technology

How that global outage happened. Honest! Shades of the Manchester airport chaos last year when an incoming pilot on Air France did something wrong on his dashboard. I think.

English

‘Paste up: As a verb, a technical term in newspaper editing but it now seems to be modern Spanish for ‘poster’.

Spanish

• Machango: Parasite. As in the placard in the above Times article on protests against excessive tourism.
• Machado: Crushed. As in: Un verano machado por la climatología. A headline in a local paper today.

Did you know?

Rather to my surprise, reader and fellow-blogger María advises that there will indeed be colder weather for some of us in the future: High and low pressures systems in the North Atlantic, as well as the continued melting of the Greenland glaciers, will contribute to slowing down the Gulf Stream, and cutting off most of Europe from its warm waters. Citations here and here.

Finally . .

Judging from the number of birds which have flown past the feeders and crashed into a window – or, in one case, through the open door – the greenfinches lost awareness during my 6 months’ absence and are only slowly re-learning about said window and door. I say ‘greenfinches’ as these seem to be the only birds on the feeders right now, leading me to ponder once again what’s happened to the 40+ sparrows that used to nest and breed in the roof.

Finally, Finally . . .

The bird feeders hang below my carefully trained bougainvillea, of which this is my annual foto:-

You can’t see this but, as ever, it’s both blooming and dying at the same time, as evidenced by the dead leaves at the very top of it. That said, even in the depths of winter, when completely denuded elsewhere, it has some new leaves at that same spot. A strange – and possibly confused – creature.

Finally, Finally, Finally . . .

I’ve added below a Like button to my posts, I think. For everyone except Mark. It shows 3 rather lovely ladies who might or might not be the three I cited yesterday. But, as they aren’t identified, I can’t thank the 3rd one and give you her blog page. Unless she does it again . . .

Advice for pilgrims leaving Pv city via O Burgo bridge.

At the moment, the main route up through the barrio of Lérez is closed and you’re advised to turn left and take the first right, just after the petrol/gas station. My advice is not to do this but to keep walking a minute or two until you arrive at a zebra crossing, where you’ll see a path to your right, alongside a tributary of the main river. This is flat and far more shaded. After a few hundred metres, you’ll arrive at a tarmac road, with a small, narrow bridge to your left. Here you can either carry straight on across the road or turn right onto the road and then join the main route after 200m. If you take the first option – my recommendation – you’ll follow a path as it bends to the right and comes out on the main route, further along than with the 2nd option.

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.
• 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. And this is something on the so-called Beckham Rule, which is beneficial – tax-wise – for folk who want to work here. Finally, some advice on getting a mortgage.