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

Another narcosub has been detained, en route from Brazil to Portugal or Galicia. The biggest yet. The Times reports on it here and this is a foto from the DdP.

This a foto of the Spanish VP who was rather cruelly featured in the cartoon re NATO I recently posted:

And this is her alongside the other VP and the PM:-

I confess it made me wonder if a large nose is a requirement for the post of VP . . .

As I’ve said, this week Vigo celebrates La Reconquista. Perhaps by coincidence, the estimable Autodidact Professor has just published this account of the events which kicked this off. Key to these was a place called Covadonga, which some say witnessed a huge battle and some say a little skirmish, way back in 722. Either way, it seem to have convinced the Moors not to bother with (rainy, mountainous) Asturias – providing the Christians with an opportunity to get their act together under a chap called Pelagius(or Pelayo) and his Visigothic successors. Needless to say, the words ‘divine intervention’, ‘legend’ and ‘myth’ feature in the AP’s account but what can’t be denied is that the little shrine originally built in Covadonga is now a huge church. Which is, naturally, an important pilgrimage site. Of course, it would take another 760 years for the Reconquista to be completed, in Granada by the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabela. These, by the way, were the parents of Catherine of Aragón, who married not one but 2 English kings, only to be widowed by the first and ‘divorced’ by the second. F and I were also the parents of her sister, the unfortunate Juana La Loca. More accurately, perhaps, Joanna The Locked-Up. In Tordesillas, to be exact.

By the way . . .The annual Spanish awards for outstanding achievement in various fields are named after the Prince or Princess of Asturias. As with England’s Prince of Wales, these are the monarchs’ first born child.

I was pleased to read an article which shared my opinion of the most and least spoilt places in Spain, compared with 20 years ago. The former is the barrio de Santa Cruz in Sevilla but I’m keeping the latter to myself.

Portugal

Doesn’t come out well from that Times article on the narcosub. That said, 2024 saw a haul of 23 tons of cocaine, the highest annual total in 20 years. This probably reflects one of the factors mentioned in the article – things are easier for the traffickers south of Galicia.

The EU

Back around 2004, the Spanish government encouraged major corporate investment in solar energy. Not long after – allegedly because of pressure from traditional energy companies – it reversed its policy, causing major financial losses for the companies which had taken it at its word. Law suits followed and these may lie behind this news, 20 years later: Brussels prohibits Spain from paying the 101m euros awarded by an arbitration court to a fund harmed by the cut in renewable energy compensation.

Ambrose Evens Pritchard is rarely impressed by anything coming out of Brussels. Here he claims that Europe’s half-baked rearmament boom is already turning into a fiasco. Record debt and hard-nosed protectionism are derailing plans to counter Putin. [In this case, ’Europe’ includes the UK, of course].

The USA

More (constantly repeated) words and phrases from the driver and navigator of the clown car:-

• Rigged
• Wouldn’t have happened If I’d have been president
• Most people know it
• Evil
• Somebody said
• Saved by god
• Ripped off
• Like nothing before
• Liars
• Peaceful patriots[=criminals]
• Waste, fraud and abuse
• I know nothing about it
• Nothing to do with me.

But one thing’s for sure – no one can blame Trump for becoming president. He never remotely hid what he is and how he thinks. Though there’s also the outrageous lies and promises, I suppose. But, that said, did anyone with 2 brain cells believe these?

Trump has fingered a ‘low-level employee’ of Mike Waltz, the National Security Adviser, as the person responsible for including a reporter in that Signal chat group. Walz himself is reported to be regarded by everyone in the White House as ‘a fucking idiot’. The last thing you need in that position. Perhaps he’ll fall out of window quite soon. Or under a bus.

The USA

An apposite quote from Douglas Adams’ “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”: To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem.

A Republican judge has opined that: President Trump has wasted no time in his second term in declaring war on the nation’s federal judiciary, the country’s legal profession and the rule of law. He has provoked a constitutional crisis with his stunning frontal assault on the third branch of government and the American system of justice. The casualty could well be the constitutional democracy Americans fought for 250 years ago. Trump has yearned for this war since his first term. He promised to exact retribution against America’s justice system for what he has long mistakenly believed is the federal government’s partisan ‘weaponization’ against him…. But unless Trump immediately turns an about-face and beats a fast retreat, not only will he plunge the nation deeper into constitutional crisis, which he appears fully willing to do, he will also find himself increasingly hobbled even before his already-vanishing political honeymoon is over. Well, let’s hope so.

Meanwhile, his Press Secretary who said the French would be speaking German if it weren’t for the Americans, needs to be reminded that, if it weren’t for French and Spanish help against the British 250 years ago, the USA might now have Charles III as their head of state. . . By the way, Spain is still owed all the money it lent to the USA back then. Which, with interest, amounts now to quite a tidy sum.

Russia v Ukraine

Putin is beaten in the Black Sea. Of course he wants a ceasefire there. And Trump certainly wants to give him one. For whatever reason.

Spanish

• Crack: Star/top player, rock star, ace, crank, hotshot, champ.
• Té matcha: Matcha tea, a variety of green tea. Presumably fashionable these days.
• Gayumbos: Underwear, knickers/panties, tighty-whities[US? Oz?]
• Plegar: To fold, bend
• Pliego: Sheet, document
• Cinegética: Related to hunting.

Did You Know?

This is a statue in a small square in Plasencia, in Extremadura:-

There’s no indication of what it represents, so I did an AI search . . . The statue Escena 3ª by Antonio Morán is an open-ended work of art that intentionally leaves its interpretation to the viewer. The artist deliberately avoids providing a fixed explanation for its meaning. Instead, he encourages viewers to interpret the work freely, making it a thought-provoking and curious piece that often leaves them perplexed and absorbed in their thoughts, as they try to decipher its significance. The open-ended nature of Escena 3ª allows for various interpretations, which may reflect contemporary issues or personal experiences, depending on the viewer’s perspective. I confess that, while admiring the workmanship, I could make no sense of it.

Finally . . . You Have to Laugh

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 . . .
• I can also be read on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/colin.davies.752861 or on Substack at https://doncolin.substack.com/
• 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. But see here on this. 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.
• Getting a mortgage in Spain: Some advice on this challenge.