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.

Travel Notes

After yesterday’s ups and downs – literally – a quiet day today, under a blue sky and a warming Castilian sun. See here if you haven’t read of these.

This morning we learnt of one reason for last night’s difficulties in navigating the narrow streets of Ciudad Rodrigo’s old quarter – one or two of them are closed off while an immense amount work goes into preparing the city for next Friday’s bull-running (encierro).

This will be followed by Saturday’s bullfight in the converted main square, featuring these unlucky toros bravos, it seems . . .

A foto or two of previous events:-

After a walk round the walls of the Ciudad Rodrigo, we left for Plasencia, stopping only for an excellent light lunch in a bar attached to a residencia for seniors. We were, of course, the youngest people there. And the wine was only 1.50 a glass . . .

Today’s scenery was very different from yesterday’s – though still beautiful – and the drive could not have been different – empty, straight-as-a-die roads, with minimal traffic. A joy to do. And my old friend finally saw some birds to add to the storks of Ciudad Rodrigo. In Portugal, he’d been very disappointed to clock none in the Peneda-Gerés national park. Which had left us wondering if all the reported vultures, owls and eagles had been eaten. Along with the deer and the wolves. Now we had the excitement of kites, kestrels, and possibly even an eagle. But still no wolves or deer, despite warning signs about the latter.

Palencia has a wealth of medieval buildings, some of them glorious and some of them quite bizarre. I predict that, as tourism grows in Spain’s ‘secret gem’ of Extremadura, it’ll become very much more popular and well-regarded than it is at the moment. Especially as the gastronomic offerings seem excellent. But will that change/spoil the local people? Of course it will.

Like other Spanish cities, Palencia had discovered its Jewish quarter. Twenty year old maps of the old quarter don’t show a Jewish barrio but newer maps do. And there are now in Palencia the sort of brass plates that one sees on the floor of Segovia’s judería. And even plaques giving the names of Jewish folk you used to live in houses there back in the 15th century. Good for tourism, I guess. I rather doubt it betokens a feeling of guilt about the expulsion of 1492. Not to mention the Spanish Inquisition. Which nobody expects.

We really did enjoy the city. But maybe mostly because we ate and drank so well here. And because we were the only tourists there.

Cosas de España

• We seem to have escaped this today.
• Some images from Galicia that recall Tolkien’s advice ‘Beware of the sea!‘

Portugal

I neglected to give sufficient praise for the wonderful Roman baths in Chaves, discovered – as happens regularly in Pv city – when somewhere was being dug up for some public works. In this case- back in 2006 – an underground carpark. Which is un parking in Spanish, by the way.

Germany

An alarming headline, if I ever saw one . . . It may be too late to save Germany from the economic abyss

The USA, Russia and The World

The West needs sane leadership in perilous times, not Donald Trump. Russia is led by a dictator who wants to destroy what is decent – and the US President is either fine with it or does not care. . . . In the very same pronouncements in which they proclaim Putin’s benign intentions, the Trump-Vance team excoriate European leaders for failing to increase their defence spending and properly arm themselves again threats to NATO. But, if Russia is an innocent victim and Putin is not an aggressor, where does the danger to Europe come from? Either Putin is a peace-loving, reasonable interlocutor with whom we (which is to say, Trump) can do business – in which case Europe need not worry about increasing its defences – or he is determined to reclaim as much of Eastern Europe as he can seize – in which case the complicity of the Trump government is shameful.

The USA

What did Trump and his MAGA acolytes expect?. . . The Kennedy Center is reeling from a stunning collapse in ticket sales.

Quote of the Day/The Way of the World

Trump’s coldly mercantile view of global affairs means the UK and Europe need to be prepared to stand without America.

English

• The origin of the phrase ‘as straight as a die’.
• To clock something/someone: To notice. Origins.

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.