Awake, for morning in the bowl of night has flung the stone that puts
the stars to flight.
And, lo, the hunter of the east 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

Here’s Lenox Napier on his Spanish Shilling blog, on the start of the year.

Some practical advice for would-be tourists to Spain – places to avoid. I would add a few more. Indeed, I think I’ve cited them here over the years.

Cousas de Galicia

A tad belatedly, the Xunta has decided that, such are the numbers and the increasingly tough challenge/lottery of getting a room in a public albergue, they’re going to introduce a reservation system. Probably 5 years later than they should have done, as folk are getting up at 4am – still very dark here even in summer – so they can race to be in the queue for the midday opening of their target overnight stay. Private albergues, of course, have long been more sensible about this. (There were 3 ‘pilgrims in one of our public albergues over New Year.’None of them Spanish, of course.)

A reader – presumed to be Galician – has written to say that foreigners have ruined Galicia. But I’m not sure he means only real foreigners or if he extends this word – as is often done – to include folk from other Spanish regions. Either way, I don’t see any evidence of this and he/she didn’t adduce any. Perhaps we’re regarded as being responsible for the feismo. And even the wonderful highways financed by North European taxpayers.

Portugal

A couple of places in this lovely country would also be on my To Avoid list. But, TBH, not really because they’re as crowded as Spanish places but because they ain’t remotely like how they were 25 years ago. Or because they are – and always have been – too full of Brits . . . I guess Sintra is the best/worst example of the former. Pure DisneyWorld now

The USA

So, now the Orange Clown is refusing to rule out military intervention in Panama, Greenland and possibly even Canada. Does anyone in the US still think he is sane? Will he ever be allowed to press any buttons​? Or even get anywhere near them?

Meta is doing something on verification that is designed to please Trump but I’m not clear what it involves, even – especially? – after reading this amusing article kindly sent to me by reader David in La Coruña. Perhaps this will help, at minute 9.05.

Anyway, I think we need a label for things which happen as a result of The Impact of Trump. How about TIT? There was a TIT decision taken today by Mark Zuckerberg, for example.

English

• Organ recital: The practice of older folk of talking about the parts to their bodies which ail them.
• Tadah! List: Jobs you’ve already done but which you write down and then immediately cross out, as completed. As they would have been on your To Do List, if you’d remembered to put them there.

Spanish

• Escarnio: Derision, scorn, mockery, ridicule, taunt, reproach, sneer, vilification, scoffing, mocking.
• Injerencia. Interference, meddling. Think Musk
• Cociente intelectual: IQ
• Abander: To spearhead champion

Finally . . . .Did you know?

Drinking black coffee has 8 health benefits, it’s claimed here. I hope so, as I’ve been drinking the stuff – some of it quite horrible – since I was 20.

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.