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

There are 4 bottlenecks on the AVE high-speed route between Galicia and Madrid, usually because of single-track stretches. These obviously add time to the journey, so it’s good news that one of these will be removed – by doubling the track – over the next 26 months. But, of course, this estimate is far too exact to be accurate. So, vamos a ver.

There was report this week of 2 camino pilgrims getting lost on top of a nearby mountain, after resorting to their GPS/satnav to find their way to Combarro. The text, to me, was ambiguous and seemed to suggest they were in a car and had left the tarmac road for forest tracks. I asked 2 Spanish friends for their interpretation and they agreed the lost souls had been in a car. But, given that it’s unheard of to do the camino in a car, I still harbour a suspicion we’re all wrong and that the car referred to was that of their rescuers.

Talking of ‘pilgrims’. . . It’s no secret that they aren’t what they were even 10 years ago. I read something about irritated locals in the DdP a few days ago but here’s an article from today’s Times on the subject. The camino, it’s claimed, has been desecrated by mass tourism, becoming a playground for unholy walkers. I’m not sure I’d go that far but I certainly wouldn’t walk on any of the major routes these days. After all, there are now more than 40 to choose from.

At the Lérez end of O Burgo bridge, there’s a pair of terraced houses, one or both of which would be ideal for a pilgrims’ hostel. One is said to be owned by the council and the other by someone who has repeatedly ignored demands that something be done about the fact it’s falling down and dropping masonry onto pedestrians. Over the years, I’ve seen other examples of the authorities being not dealing with eyesores around the city. In one case, a café in the main square which lay semi-derelict for several years. In another, a small, abandoned, run-down house stuck to the side of a beautiful mansion. About which nothing has been done for at least 25 years. Quite why it can’t be compulsively possessed and restored, I have no idea. Perhaps no one knows who owns it, preventing bureaucratic measures.

I’ve written of Spain’s ability to absorb immigrants better than, say, the UK. A Christian web page tells me that: The Christian migrant population jumped from fewer than 500,000 in 2000 to almost 4.2m in 2020. Most came from Latin America and the Caribbean, Ecuador and Venezuela Spain became a top destination for migrants from this region due to a shared language and Spain’s newfound economic success as a fledgling member of the EU. However, the single most-common source of migrants in 2020 was Romania, with the stock of Romanian Christian migrants surging from 2,000 in 1990 to 550,000 in 2020. Not all of these will be pickpockets on the Madrid metro, of course. Or operating fraudulent charitable donation schemes. . . .

Following the very severe fires here of 2006, very strong laws were put in place, obliging landowners to clear the undergrowth between their trees. Trouble is, as with this year’s vendimia, there aren’t enough people to do this and there are long waiting lists for companies who provide this service. And yet I read there are more than 40,000 Gallegos aged 30 or less who are neither in work nor studying – 12% of the total in this category. One reason for this is said to be precariedad laboral juvenil. Short-term contracts, I guess, in the ‘gig economy’. [An economy that relies heavily on temporary and part-time positions filled by independent contractors and freelancers rather than full-time permanent employees.]

The USA

Is there anyone surprised at the claim that Trump calls his supporters ‘basement dwellers’ and has no empathy, no moral and no fidelity to the truth.

But maybe it won’t be all plain sailing for Harris. This writer believes that: The coalition behind Kamala Harris is about to split.

Complicated stuff, US politics. Too many ‘intersections’?

Russia

It’s propaganda machine is said to be failing.

The Way of the World

• Eco-madness . . . In the UK, a council orders households to to sort their waste for 10 different bins . . .

• The pursuit of ‘health’ made life worse for teenage girls. No wonder eating disorders have doubled.

Quote of the Day

Censorship – aside from anything else – can often be a displacement activity. A kind of authoritarian gesture politics, numbing the symptoms without ever addressing the underlying issue.

English

• Misogynoir: “The combined force of anti-Black racism and misogyny directed towards black women. The term was coined in 2008 to address misogyny directed towards black transgender and cisgender women in US visual and popular culture”.
• The 15 most confusing British slang words of Gen Z:-

• Mon G P – Monaco Grand Prix
• Panny D – Pandemic
• Jackie P – Jacket Potato
• Corrie Nash – King’s Coronation
• Parrie Limps – Paris Olympics
• Notty Carns – Notting Hill Carnival
• Genny Lec – General Election
• Menty B – Mental Breakdown
• Banny Hols – Bank Holiday
• Savvy B – Sauvignon Blanc
• Holijobs – Holiday Job
• Cozzie Livs – Cost of Living
• Platty Joobs – Platinum Jubilee
• Spenny – Expensive
• Holibobs – Holiday

I don’t suppose they’ll be crossing the Atlantic. Unless used by Peppa Pig.

Spanish

Un Ni-Ni: Someone who is neither in work or studying

Finally . .

Finally, Finally . .

Reading this in an article on ‘sophisticated’ white wines – plenty of fresh citrus, orchard fruit and hints of white flowers, peach and almond – I got to wondering just how many folk can taste all or even any of these elements. I mean, you have to have an exquisite palate to become a wine taster and how many of us have one of those. As opposed to a palate which ‘knows what it likes’?

Modern miseries . . . I’m used to having to prove I’m real via reCAPTCHA but my preferred AI engine now asks me to do this 4 times, via CloudFlare. Which is annoying. My guess is that my using a VPN is a factor in this.

To amuse . . .

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. If you do this but don’t read the posts, I will delete your subscription. So perhaps don’t bother if you have other reasons for subscribing . . .
• 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.