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/Galiza

The long lunch that’s become a symbol of Spanish corruption. . . . For many Spaniards, corruption has stopped looking like the exception; instead it looks systemic. Hmm. These must be the folk who are slow on the uptake.

Thousands rally in Madrid to demand a snap election over corruption allegations. The pressure grows on the PM, amid a series of claims involving his family, the PSOE party and his administration.

Last weekend’s far-right antics in Spain, on the 50th anniversary of Franco’s death.

How to be a good (US) tourist.

The mad, bad world of MAGA

All the president’s millions: how the Trumps are turning the presidency into riches.

Russia v Ukraine

The atrocities in Ukraine are rooted in a uniquely brutal mindset that can be traced back centuries.

The Way of the World

“Where wokeness went wrong” . . . As well as sensible, the book is highly entertaining. Because it contains a story that gloriously encapsulates the madness of identity politics in the early 2020s. Indeed, it may well be the single funniest episode of that entire preposterous era.

Spanish

• Una DANA: A “cold drop” depression, a violent Mediterranean weather event known for triggering sudden and destructive flooding.
• Hacer gala: To boast, show off, display, demonstrate.
• Predicar en el desierto: To preach to deaf ears, whistle in the wind, talk to a brick wall.
• Estar a piques de: To be about to . . .
• Tocomocho: A confidence trick involving the sale of a worthless lottery ticket.
• Estampitas: Prayer card, holy picture.

Did you know?

The estafa de estampitas is a confidence trick where a scammer approaches the victim showing a bag which he/she pretends is full of (paper) money, saying they want to sell it cheaply. A second person, called un gancho(a hook), acts as if they want to buy the bag but doesn’t have enough money, encouraging the victim to buy it instead. The latter receives a bag of worthless papers [the estampitas?]. The targets are vulnerable people, including elderly individuals, tourists, and those with financial needs. The scammers often study their victims to identify who might fall for the trick. The crime is punishable as fraud, with penalties depending on the amount of money involved, including fines or imprisonment for larger sums.

Finally . . . A short gallery of fotos taken during our tour of the Maestrazgo area of Castellón.

A Ronda-type gorge in Molinos.

This is an unusual place in Molinos – a washhouse and a museum. Unfortunately closed.

After 3 fruitless trips to the Moroccan restaurant in Pv city, I finally got a (local) lamb dish in our hotel in Morella.

This a bit of the castle above Morella. The plaque said it had been the cell for a woman who’d later been executed. I was impressed that 2 of the 3 slots had plastic sheeting in front of them but I felt that it would still be possible to shove an unwanted child through the 3rd one – on the left.

And this is Morella itself, on its promontory. (Where Google Maps proved useless.

This is 9am in a small market town. The table – for men only – features bottles of liqueur and brandy, to wash down the tripe and onions.

At the top left of this one you can see what I thought was a local antisocial breakfaster but it turned out to be my my old friend, heading as far away as he could from the cacophony near the bar.

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

The Usual Links . . .

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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.