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

Spain’s economic model is overrated and the PM’s approach to immigration is harmful. So says a columnist on the NY Times here. Time will tell.

The Civil Guard is investigates the mysterious sinking of a “phantom ship” in the sea near Pontevedra. It was loaded with 11 drums of diesel oil, all of which had been recorded as expired. The main theory is that it was standing by to re-fuel a narcosub. Strangely, it was one of the vessels used to ferry folk to and from the rafts in our bays where mussels are cultivated. Diesel oil is not part of their diet, apparently. So definitely something (shell)fishy . .

What with rain-induced disruptions and a strike of personnel, it’s not surprising that folk have eschewed trains and taken to flying from Galicia to Madrid. Perhaps more surprising is the ticket price of 1,123 euros. Ten times more than usual.

It’s official, we’ve had the Biblical 40 days of rain, double the average amount for January and early February. Depressingly, the models predict continued storms, torrential rain and flooding for Spain way into March. Though the storm set to hit us this weekend is said to be the last of the current ‘train’ of them, Eight in all since November, I believe. Let’s hope it doesn’t wreck plans for pre-Lent events.

Fellow blogger Noémi is still on a roll, after coming out of hibernation . . . A guide to Barcelona’s food markets.

The well-dressed -if slightly bedraggled – Caminoer this month . . .

The USA

See my earlier Trumplandia post. A Pam Bondi special.

The minimum wage in the USA in 1969 was worth c.15 dollars an hour in today’s money. The actual rate now is 7.25 dollars (un-raised since 2009), and so is over 50% less than its 1969 value. And much, much less than the minimum wage in, for example, the UK, where it’s over 12 pounds an hour. In other words, the poorest stratum of US society is a lot poorer now than in 1969. While the richest stratum is a an awful lot richer. The middle class also has suffered but not as much as the lowest class. Not a society anyone would want to emulate, with or without Trump.

Spanish

• Sacar los colores: To make someone blush or feel embarrassed, often by putting them on the spot publicly.
• Pringado: Fool, sucker, loser
• Amanerado: Mannered, foppish, affected

Finally . . .

Much of my afternoon was lost dealing with a totally flat tyre, destroyed – most probably – by one of the potholes I’ve mentioned, hidden by water in this make-do, rock-strewn parking lot, now disguised as a lake.

I would mind less if it hadn’t bought it only last December. Mind you, my plight doesn’t compare with that of the young man who was sitting in this car when a huge tree crashed through the roof a few centimetres behind his head. Good luck on the heels of bad fortune.

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.

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.

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