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 Spanish government claims to be forcing digital platforms to remove more than 53,000 holiday rental listings that fail to meet legal requirements, with Pedro Sánchez insisting the homes will “become permanent rentals for young people and families.” But . . . Critics doubt this will actually happen.

The description of the Costa del Sol as “A sunny place for shady people” has long been used to capture the area’s mixture of sun-soaked glamour and its shadowy reputation. I was reminded of it by this article: What you’ve always wanted to know about the various mafia groups operating in Spain.

Not a huge surprise to read that Sevilla is the city with the highest number of tourist flats, at 2,289 units. I guess the owners think they can still get away with it, despite all attention in the media.

Cousas de Galiza

Our grape harvest this year will be abundant, which has the local cartel worried that prices for our wines will be forced down, despite their efforts to keep them up.

I was surprised to read that Galicians do more international travel than any other Spaniards. Until I saw that the country they visited most – by far! – this year was next-door Portugal. Into which many of them could drive, or even just walk. As in Tui, here in Galicia. And other towns along the Miño river. Quite possibly most of us were travelling to Oporto airport.

Pontevedra province is said to be the worst in Galicia for illegal tourist flats. Well, we do have a long coast line and seaside resorts. Dealing with the owners seems to be beyond the local councils’ capability. Perhaps they should give the challenge to the police or El Tráfico, both of whom are pretty good at issuing fines, in my experiemce..

Which reminds me . . . These 3 cars – near my house – continue to park facing the wrong way every night, with total impunity. Which really does annoy me, given that I was fined for the only time I’ve ever done it in 25 years. I’m tempted to dox them.

During July and August, I regularly passed a tour guide on O Burgo bridge, discoursing to as many as 35 visitors. So, when I saw him last evening talking to only 2, I felt rather sorry for him. His ‘high season’ has obviously not been extended as it has for those in the ‘hospitality’’ business, who benefit from an influx of foreigners in September. But at least the rain had stopped a few hours earlier.

I saw this this morning that I’d missed the Poio tripe festival, again.

Very disappointed, of course . .

THE USA

Trump: 300 million people died from drugs last year. [In fact, a total of 62 million people died from all causes worldwide in 2024.]

At this time, Trump should be reassuring the country. Instead he is sowing fear. The president has shown no interest in uniting the US, nor in defending free speech – he is weaponizing this time for his gain.

One thing the denizens of the MAGA world are superb at is inventing conspiracy theories. And the fact is their heroes give them every incentive to do so, assisted – of course – by social media. A relevant article. Incidentally, the first paragraph echoed my recent reading of the rise of the Nazis in 1933.

Quotes of the Day

Keir Starmer said that he’d never have appointed Peter Mandelson had he known he was a morally dubious character. If only there’d been some clue…

Spanish

• Colegiado: Referee. Registered, Chartered, Collegiate.
• Acechar: To stalk, lurk, haunt
• Chalado: Crazy, nuts, lunatic
• Rodado: Filmed, shot. Road (traffic)

English

I read that legacy Americans and heritage Americans are terms which have replaced WASP in the USA. By which token, I must be a heritage Brit. Though – having English, Irish, Welsh and Scottish grandparents – I’ve always thought the correct term was ‘mongrel’ . . .

You Have to Laugh

Finally . . .

September has always been my favourite month and I had hoped that, once again, it would be different from this year’s tourist-heavy months of July and August. And, indeed, it really is. But not in the way I was hoping. Truth to tell, it’s not better but worse than those 2 months, when there were lots of Spaniards here. Not only is it now still difficult to get a table on my favourite terrace even at 6 of an evening but, with the exception of me and the waiters, absolutely no one at the tables is speaking Spanish now. For 2 hours last night, there was only English all around me, in a variety of accents, of course. This is the exact opposite of 25 – or even 10 – years ago, when hearing anything other than Spanish was rare indeed. Of course, I’ve said that there are places as yet undiscovered by the richer, Google-consulting Caminoers and – until the winter rains and cold thin out the hungry ‘pilgrim’ hordes – I will have to patronise these. It’s a shame but, as María often says in her blog, life goes on. Albeit not as it used to.

I should add that one large compensation is that the waiters and waitresses at my favourite watering holes are even nicer to me than they’ve always been. Assuming here’s a place for me to sit. I think they sense my disquiet.

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 . . .

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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.

If you´re thinking of moving to Spain, this link should be useful to you.