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

It’s reported that: The number of international tourists arriving in Spain reached its highest figure in the first seven months of 2024, touching 53.4 million, an increase of 12% over the previous year. And spending by these tourists has increased by almost 20% up to July, reaching 71.1 bn euros.

Reports The Corner here. The end of August leaves in unemployment the effects of an economy that continues to rely on tourism as its main source of growth. Thus, unemployment rose by 21,884, in almost all communities, led by the Basque Country and the Mediterranean area. This is an advance in an upward curve that tends to increase in September.

I went shopping in Mercadona today and placed 3 pineapples in my trolley, to cover all the bases – one the right way up, one upside down and one on its side. But no lovely lady – or even an ugly one – bumped my trolley. But this was surely only because it was the wrong time of day. If you’ve no idea what I’m talking about, click here.

A consequence of olive oil being more valuable than printer ink . .

These are said to be 8 of Spain’s most underrated cities. I’m pleased to say I’ve visited them all, with the exception of Murcia. Am waiting for Lenox Napier to invite me . . . By the way, when I visited Vitoria-Gasteiz many years ago, I thought that was the city’s (complicated) name. Turns out they are alternatives, one is Spanish and the other is Basque.

Apart from the one about St James’ bones in SdC, there’s another Galician myth which is far less known. That of the magical power of a church on the edge La Lanzada beach. If a woman enters the waters below it, she’s guaranteed to become pregnant. This owes its origin to a priest there who somehow managed to get women pregnant, with cynics being less willing to accept that the sea there has magical properties.

Reader David’s comment on the fires involving contenadores and rubbish trucks uo in La Coruna: In simple terms. . . The “old” clean up company eventually got fired. The “new” clean up company have been “under attack” ever since. The local Coruña government and the lollipop-men and women (sorry, I mean the local police), allegedly know who is behind it and yet no arrests. Whilst this conflict has gone on for months, the new company (now short of 6 trucks) has struggled to empty the bins. Until yesterday, all “they” did was burn the big communal street bins. That alone has led to dozens of cars being destroyed and many buildings needing their facades re-painted or sand blasted. I’m reminded of the burning down of a Pv driving school that tried to charge prices lower than those enforced by a cartel. Competition can be tough here.

I wondered why there were suddenly so many large guiris wandering around Pv city. And then I read we have an international wrestling competition this week.

As I’ve said, Pv city’s old quarter is much quieter now that the Spanish tourists – the jodechinchos – have all gone home. But it’s not quite like the old September of only 10 years ago, when the place wasn’t teeming with ‘pilgrims’ who’ve discovered it’s the best month to walk through Galicia.

We’ve had a couple ‘regular’ news items this week so far . . . A kamikaze driver going the wrong way on the AP9, and a chap in my barrio arrested and found to be 7 times over the drink limit. Sad to say, the former killed 3 innocent folk going the right way.

The UK

Despite attempts by the tabloid press to persuade Brits to take their money elsewhere . . . So far this year, the main countries of origin of tourists to Spain have been the UK, at more than 10.5m, an increase of 9%. Followed by France (c.7.1m, an increase of 11%) and Germany (almost 7m, an increase of 10%).

The harsh truth is that the Brits are less welcome that other nationalities.

The USA

• A bad week for Trump
• Lara Trump is trying for a career in pop music. Rick Wilson, the author of “Everything Trump Touches Dies: A Republican Strategist Gets Real About the Worst President Ever”, might be expected to take a dim view, and doesn’t disappoint. “Her single sounded like a wild hog and a sack of rusty cans being thrown into an industrial wood chipper”, he said.

Russia

Putin: A troubled man, both mentally and physically . .

• A nutty approach to history
• Seeking eternal life . . . Putin ally orders scientists to unlock the secrets of eternal life: The Russian president, who turns 72 on October 7, is said to want to live for ever but is rumoured to be suffering from health problems.

Russia v Ukraine

The order to develop remedies to combat ageing while hundreds of thousands of young and middle-aged Russians are dying or being seriously injured in Ukraine was described as “cynicism” by one research centre employee.  “We have to drop everything even now [during wartime].”

Quote of the Day

Why Tony Blair is a genius, by Tony Blair

Net Zero/AGW/The Climate Crisis

The madness of the UK electricity market. This is not ‘leading the world’. It’s economic suicide

Spanish

• Chupar los dedos: To lick one’s lips in anticipation. I think,
• Lucha: Fight, struggle. And competitive wrestling. Loita in Gallego, I guess.

Did you know?

Stranger things happen at sea, they say. But you’d hardly expect that a Japanese Japanese dancer would win Spain’s most prestigious Flamenco competition. Not everyone was thrilled about this and it provoked an angry reaction that ‘borders on the racist’.

Finally . .

Thanks to his mother, my 5 year old grandson has long been fluent in English. As he becomes more fluent in Spanish, it’s interesting to hear him use Spanish-isms in English. So, for example, he’ll forgo the English possessive form in favour of the Spanish ‘de [alguien]’.

Finally, Finally . .

I’ve recently learnt how to see who Likes my posts. Of the 4 kind folk who did so yesterday, 3 are people I know but the 4th was a lovely lady who, sadly, I don’t know. She is an Influencer in respect of cosmetics and I can’t think why she would be interested in my blog. Nor can I believe she’ll ever read this comment.

My thanks to those readers who take the trouble to Like my posts.

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.