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

Lenox Napier gives us a nice review of Spain’s political parties here.

Europe/The EU

Trying to maintain the pressure on Putin . . .

The USA/Trump

John Crace of the Guardian makes some nice points: Even by his recent standards, Tuesday night’s stream of unconsciousness from Donald Trump took some beating. Hot on the tail of excluding Ukraine from the first round of peace talks with Russia and in effect threatening to withdraw the US from Nato, the Donald has now suggested it was Kyiv who started the war with Moscow. More than that, he declared President Zelenskyy’s popularity ratings had slid to just 4% in his own country and that he had assumed the role of dictator by not holding elections. He ended by claiming that the US had given more than 3 times as much aid to Ukraine than the rest of Europe combined. You could almost hear Vladimir Putin cheering from the sidelines. He couldn’t have written the script any better. It was perfection. It goes without saying that everything the US president had said was complete doggy-bollox. Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014 and seized Crimea. There was then a pause in hostilities before Putin invaded a second time almost exactly three years ago. Claiming Ukraine started the war was like believing that Poland invaded Germany to trigger the second world war. Or maybe the Poles were just suffering from false consciousness and were yet to understand they wanted to be subjugated by the Germans. Hell, maybe Trump thinks “no means no” is just some politically correct wokery and that when the Ukrainians said they would rather not become Russian what they were really saying was: “Yes, please. Do what you like.” Much like the Americans were gagging for the Japanese to bomb Pearl Harbor in 1941. That was just the start. Trump’s claim that Zelenskyy’s approval ratings were 4% were just his delusional, senescent fantasies. The real figure is 57%: about 10% higher than the Donald’s own. And no one in their right mind is suggesting Ukraine holds elections while the war is ongoing. There again, Trump is clearly not in his right mind. His aid figures are also way off. Collectively, Europe has given Ukraine £132bn since the start of the war. America has given £114bn. While a shrink would have a field day trying to untangle the workings of the Trump psyche – is he a narcissist or solipsist? Does he actually believe what he says or do his words have an independent existence to his brain? – it’s left to the rest of us to pick up the pieces. Much as they might like not to, other world leaders have to find a way of engaging with him. The Donald is the most powerful man on the planet and whatever he says counts for something.

Some nice opening comments here.

If he is still with us – sane or not – but can’t serve a 3rd term, will Trump succeed Vladimir Putin as autocratic president of Russia? He certainly must be very popular there right now And he might well have substantial funds already banked in Moscow.

Russia v Ukraine

Clearly going very much Moscow’s way at the moment. It had to end badly for Ukraine but never this badly.

Quotes of the Day

• It might be unlucky for Trump that it is European nations who are in control of nominations for the Nobel Peace prize: Poland’s foreign minister
• Zelensky badmouthing President Trump will be counterproductive: Vice President Vance, a true sycophant of a man who badmouths just about everyone. Including Vance in the past.
• Only the President or the Attorney General can speak for the United States when stating an opinion on how the law works. Arrant bullshit.
• It’s off-the-chart bonkers – Trump is suing a Brazilian judge in a US court. For not being nice to the ex dictator there.
• We know that Zelensky isn’t the dictator that Trump claims he is because Trump isn’t humping his leg, as he does with Putin.

You Have to Laugh

Finally . . .

I read that David Bowie once said that Bob Dylan’s voice was like sand and glue. This is ridiculous. His voice was far worse than that.

Travel News

By accident, we discovered yesterday that – in the rural wilds of Portugal’s Peneda-Gerés national park – there’s a place of pilgrimage which sees an astonishing 2.5m visitors a year. This is in the village of Sao Bento da Porta Aberta (pop. 750), where there’s both a 19th century basilica and a huge 21st century crypt. Both very impressive.

The ‘sanctuary’ there is dedicated to St Benedict but, in the hotel opposite, the first sentence of the receptionist I asked about the 2 churches was: There’s no evidence that St Benedict ever came here. Not a huge surprise, of course. After all, there’s no evidence that St James ever preached in Spain or that the bones in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela are really his. Neither of which facts is any bar to pilgrimage on a vast scale over a thousand years. People believe what they want to believe. The very definition of ‘faith’, I guess. And a profitable reality for the Catholic Church. Whose indoctrination dominated my childhood, by the way. And of which I’m still officially a member – like every other lapsed Catholic who hasn’t got a certificate from a bishop confirming they’ve left the Church. But I digress . . .

As I do with every cathedral or large church, I visited the 2 buildings this morning and found them to be very impressive, in their own – very different – ways. Particularly the tiling of the basilica both inside it and on its exterior wall. I’m always an admirer of human craftsmanship, whatever cause its displayed in.

The crypt is very large and is mostly below ground level – hence the name, I guess. This model gives a good idea of the complex of buildings around it. Out hotel is in the background:-

The interior is decidedly modern, seen here from one end and then from the other:-

Behind the altar is a statue of St Benedict and behind him – outside – is a terrace which faces a gorge and an impressive sierra.

The statue has stairs and a small lift so that you can get face to face with the saint, though I doubt(hope) that you’re (not) invited to kiss him. Behind him is a bin for gifts of fresh flowers and in front of him there’s a slot which could well be for donations. There are, of course, several of these dotted around the complex.

There’s also a machine at the back of church where you can get a special medal for 2 euros.

Around the crypt are 10 large murals, made of tiles. The first one:-

The next door basilica is more traditional but also impressive in its way:-

Tonight we are in Chaves, Portuguese for Keys. No idea why. More on this tomorrow.

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.