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

• Cataluña 1: I came, I saw. I escaped – a headline above one of the many articles on the Puigdemont show in Barcelona. And here, again, is the FT on it. The Guardian says here that Sr P is Spain’s Donald Trump. Albeit in real wig. The Guardian – stretching things a tad – labels his Junts party right-wing but others say its ideological positioning is “somewhat complex, as it has been described as both centre-right and right-wing, particularly in recent years”. But, then, who can understand Catalan politics? Certainly not I]
• Cataluña 2: So, how are those new-ish rent-control measures working out? Click here for one answer. An old lesson about the market re-learned?

One of Spain’s highest – and coldest in summer – villages.

This article claims that Spain’s little-known ‘coast of death’ is the perfect beach destination. So, yes, if you really need to move northwards from the traditional costas, why not continue up the Galician coast – from the Rías Baixas towards the Rías Altas – until you get there? [An extract: Dining on Galician classics like polbo á feira (octopus flavoured with paprika) and percebes (goose barnacles) is a highlight of any trip here.  Well, never for me. Especially the percebes, which used to be only animal food in Galicia. A triumph of modern marketing . . .]

Well, at the 5th attempt, I finally paid my parking fine. In a bank. But not entirely without problems. The clerk told me to insert my ID card into the machine, when she really meant a bank card. But we got there on the end and I’m now well prepared to follow María’s advice and go straight to a bank machine when my 22nd fine inevitably arrives.

All very efficient in the end but I felt a degree of discomfort about my bank card connecting me to the police and the municipality. And probably to the Hacienda. Presumably because my ID number is available via the card. As in other countries with an ID system, the Spanish state is increasingly able to follow your every move. BTW . . . It comes as a shock to Spaniards to be told that UK citizens don’t have an ID card. It’s even more surprising to them that hardly anyone in the UK knows what a notary is, as these dominate one’s life in Spain. And have a far higher status than lawyers, who dominate one’s life in the Anglosphere.

Portugal

In the border town of Valença, my daughter had a very bad experience last night with a local taxi driver. When I asked her if he was Portuguese or Spanish, she replied that, as he spoke English and was called Mohammed, she didn’t know but assumed neither. She was only certain that he was ‘an arsehole’. So, I’m guessing not Portuguese. Or Spanish, of course.

Argentina

Beat the All Blacks at rugby. In Wellington. Wow! First ever victory. Highlights here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GyvwL32ods

The Way of the World/Quotes of the Day

• We die only once, and for such a long time! – Molière
• Imane Khelif wins gold and now the IOC must hang their heads in shame
• You know who else should be on trial for the UK’s far-right riots? Elon Musk .

English

These are words new(ish) to me that have cropped up in a novel by a [North] American writer:

• To brisk: To make animated, energetic, or marked by much activity
• To fenagle: To obtain something by indirect or involved means. or by trickery
• Ort: a morsel left at a meal; a scrap [Old German and English, of course]

Spanish

When one sits down in my favourite tapas restaurant, the waiter will ask you, if you don’t volunteer the information: ?Para tomar algo o para comer/cenar? If you say you only want a drink, you’ll be told you only have a limited time in which to enjoy it. I don’t recall this always being the case in the last 20 years. Likewise the little reservation notices that these days are commonplace on the tables these days, telling you how long you’ve got. But maybe my memory is faulty. If not, Spain is changing.

Did you know?

8767122²+ 3287682² = 876712328768

Finally . .

Gardening note: Another thing I’m no longer doing – apart from stripping out the rhizomes of the awful gramón grass from my lawns – is trying to get grass to grow down the side of my house, where only moss and weeds thrive. Instead, I’ve planted this pretty, ground-covering ‘weed’ that grows in the street, between the blocks of granite walls.

It is said by my app to be pink-headed knotweed but is also known as Japanese knotweed, which it certainly ain’t.

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. And this article ‘debunks claims re wealth and residency taxes’. Probably only relevant if you’re a HNWI. In which case, you’ll surely know what that stands for.