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

The Tourism Scene

Restaurant owners in Majorca are said to be panicking after a drop in tourist bookings thought to be caused by a mix of higher fees, stricter regulations and anti-visitor sentiment. The first half of May has been “very bad” for the Spanish island’s hospitality sector. The fall in holidaymaker business – around 45% of the island’s GDP – comes as visitors face increased red tape, new rules and fees and an onslaught of anti-tourism demonstrations.

And in the Canaries, Anti-tourism protests could bring the islands to a standstill, it’s claimed here.

July will see the introduction of mandatory registration for short-term lets. TBH, I thought this was already in place – albeit widely ignored – but this might have been on a regional basis. Whereas this looks like a national measure.

The property Scene

Another article on the now excessive costs of buying and keeping property here in Spain. As I’ve said, very different from 25 years ago, when Americans were being told how low the ‘carrying cost’ was.

The nearby city of Vigo featured twice in Spanish Property Insight reports yesterday:-

• On forecasts of rental price reductions in various cities, and
• On soaring property prices in parts of Spain.

But still they/we come . . . Foreign demand for property in Spain hit a new high in early 2025.

If you’re among those thinking of coming, here’s somewhere which might be tempting.

Otras Cosas

A feature on Barcelona’s sinagoga major.

Cousas de Galicia

What a weird month, weather-wise. Even more changeable than usual. Yesterday, it was 29 in Pv city but tomorrow’s temperature will be 12 degrees lower. With rain. Cursed Atlantic.

The UK

Why it ain’t the USA.

The Latest Insane Pronouncements of the Jester

Almost impossible to believe . . .

• [When asked why he wasn’t fulfilling his threat to pressure Putin] Look, I made 12 times more money in the Middle East than what we’ve given Ukraine. And they’ve pissed it away.
• I’m not a great fan of stealth planes because you have to make them ugly

Trumpworld/LA LA Land

A familiar theme . . . How Trump turned the White House into a cash machine. Naked profiteering by the US president and his family has triggered alarm bells in the Maga movement. Horrific reading but all perfectly legit, says the execrable White House Press Secretary.

Quotes of the Day

• I wonder when we will begin to see a scintilla of evidence of Trump’s famous deal-making.
• The insane Laura Loomer: I would take a bullet for Trump. [If only this would go straight through her into her hero’s heart.]
• It’s open season for corruption in Washington.
• An unanswered/unanswerable question: Beyond pure greed, why does Trump and his family need more billions? [They are reported to be 2 billion dollars richer than at the time of the election.]

Russia v. Ukraine

As I can’t make head nor tail of Trump’s attitude/strategy in respect of peace talks – other than he thinks everything depends on him and his monumental deal-making capability – I don’t know whether this Sky News headline is accurate or not: A chilling moment in Russia-Ukraine peace talks – as Putin makes a mockery of Trump’s efforts to end the war. Putin appears scornful of Western efforts to end the war through a ceasefire and negotiations – and Trump seems happy to let him get away with it. I think I can be excused for being confused, as: Even Fox News, normally slavishly subservient to Trump, is wondering what gives.

Spanish

• Elucubración: Lucubration, speculation, musing, wild imagining, rumination, rambling, flight of fancy.
• Estulticia: Stupidity.

English

A hedgehog country: One bristling with defensive weapons, eg Ukraine.

Did You Know?

Seeing the Economist headline – The Language that Changed the World. I wondered if this was English. But it wasn’t/isn’t . . . Read on.

You Have to Laugh

Finally . . .

Just in case you want to know . . . Austria won the Eurovision Song Contest, with a cinematically epic ditty ‘Wasted Love’. It is a peculiar kind of song, of a type that really only exists in the context of this ridiculous contest: a pop-operatic techno-electro ballad. It offers a technically impressive, histrionically emotional style of performance that suits the over emphatic, super colourful, gaudily camp nature of the televisual musical competition. It works in the moment it is present before you, which is all that television demands. I didn’t hear a single song that was genuinely special. The contest is bombastic, silly and hilarious but why doesn’t it deliver good pop music? Well, I guess the answer to that it is that it long ago ceased to have that as its objective.

In contrast, here’s some good music I ‘lucked into’ on YouTube yesterday. As someone commented: Good music makes you glad to be alive. If I watched 3-4 hours of Eurovision, I’d surely want to top myself.

I’ll sign off with the comment from the same article: In 69 years, Eurovision has only ever given us one gold standard act: ABBA.

Tomorrow, more lists from The Pillow Book. Meanwhile . . .

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

The Usual Links . . .

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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.
• This post of mine contains several relevant articles from ThinkSpain.
• 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.