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

If your a foreign resident in Spain, here’s The Olive News’ view on whether or not you’ll be affected by the Vox party’s drive for ‘national preference’ in the provision of public services. Essentially ‘Maybe’.

Rather more worrying is the claim that Spain is at risk of becoming a narco state. If it does, will be there be more violence here in the Rías Baixas, where there was a fatal shoot-out only last week? TBH. we’ve long had ‘drug traffickers who ‘invest in sectors like tourism, leisure, and restaurants – as a way to launder drug money’ but without much violence so far. If this changes for the worse, will we see fewer Caminoers? Just wondering . . . .

Noémi gives good advice here on selecting a restaurant in Barcelona. But her advice is surely nationally – even internationally – applicable. Mutatis mutandis, as lawyers say. [A Medieval Latin phrase meaning “the necessary changes having been made”].

Of course, I do have to stress that, in cities hosting large numbers of wandering Caminoers, the absence of locals in decent places might well be because all the locals have been beaten to the tables by early-dining Caminoers. Just sayin’.

A thought . . . If you’re staying in a Parador or another 4 or 5 star hotel and get your luggage transported for you, you’re not on a pilgrimage, or even a Camino. You’re on a walking tour. And never alone, or with just your small group of friends, but with thousands. If you want a traditional Camino, options exist but none of them pass through Pv city any more. Don’t let your tour company fool you, as with the Oz lady who lost her handbag to a thief 2 weeks ago. I guess that, for the ever-increasing number of thieves, the better-off Caminoers are careless, low-hanging fruit. Unless they’ve been to Madrid or Barcelona.

A reader has pointed out a typo – Galicia’s pedestrian deaths were over the last 25 years, not 5. Rather less but still high. And the majority have still taken place on zebra crossings, which was my main point, of course. As for comparisons, Perplexity says that: Galicia is not especially bad for road deaths compared with Spain’s other regions, but its pedestrian deaths are a real and recurring problem. Spain now performs well in European comparisons, but pedestrian safety remains a weaker point, in Galicia in particular. So, maybe don’t come here if you’re going to do a lot of walking . . .

Portugal

Portugal’s forgotten language.

The UK

Can anyone survive as PM in today’s Britain?

The World Cup

The fairy story continues . . . Cabo Verde drew last night with Uruguay and, remarkably, have a chance of advancing from the group stage.

The Middle East War

The latest update from Naked Capitalism.

The United States of Trump America

Quotes

• Paul Krugman: Why did we let this happen? It’s shocking that we have put up with Trump’s worsening megalomania and non-stop desecration of our republic. It signals a nation in decline.
• Trump: Do you know who’s responsible for the reflecting pool disaster? Barrack Hussein Obama. He put river water in it. This turned out to be putrid and destroyed the whole thing. [This was before vandals came along and poured caustic chemicals into it, of course.]
• From this podcast – Trump rages over the reflecting pool fiasco as arrests over it grow darker . . . . This whole sorry tale has taken on much broader significance than you might expect. It’s displaying many of the pathologies of this whole presidency and this broader moment in [US] America – from the megalomania to the incompetence, to the corruption, to the sheer tinpot banana republic vibe that’s settled on our nation’s capital.
• Vandalism at the reflecting Pool? Yes – It was committed by Donald Trump.
• At least our bad president is an incompetent buffoon.

Query: Is there a bigger yet more insecure ego in the world?

You do have to wonder in how many countries around the world 30% of the population would believe insane inventions like this one:-

On a wider front . . . Trump’s war on Europe backfires massively – no way back?   Podcast Video

Promise: If the Democrats don’t win at least the House in November, I will never write another word re Trump. And possibly even the USA.

Spanish

• Hoguera: Fire. Bonfire. [Cacharela or Lumerada in Galician.]
• Conciliación familiar work-life balance
• La Patronal: The employers

Did you know?

Circassian dancing. The ever-informative Perry introduces us to ‘Irish dancing with arm movements’. And – inter alia – some impressive twirling.

You Have to Laugh

Another Finnish daydream . . .

I think we have to conclude that the Finns are not Spaniards . . .

Finally . . .

Back to an earlier subject . . . I ask everyone new to Pc city what they think is the main source of wealth along this coast. You can imagine the range of answers that come up. But no one has ever pointed to the real one – drug smuggling. Cocaine and heroin mainly. A much unpublicised activity around here. Until someone is arrested. Or trialled. Or – as last week – killed by the police in a drug bust.

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 X at Thoughts from Galicia. And on Substack here. I no longer post 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.