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 Galician seafood group Nueva Pescanova, has ended a 5 year fight to get a licence for an octopus farm on Gran Canaria by withdrawing its application. This would have been the world’s first commercial octopus farm.

The incomplete Hotel El Algarrobico in Almeria looms over an otherwise unspoilt stretch of coastline, its vast white concrete structure cascading down the barren hillside towards the beach. Built in stark contrast to the rugged mountains, deserted beach and Mediterranean waves, the massive building dominates the landscape, appearing almost like a stranded cruise ship. To say it it’s an eyesore would be an understatement. Environmentalists are celebrating the fact that, after a decades-long struggle, the way is now open to demolition. The would-be hotel is symbolic of the corruption that was the essence of the crazy construction boom of 2002-7.

Here in Galicia, we have a 5-star spa hotel along our coast which was also built illegally and has a demolition order over it. One day this might actually take place. [The hotel is still operating, but as of March–April 2026 it is under a judicial demolition order. The latest reporting says it remains standing while the legal process and appeals continue].

The hostelry industry is not as happy as I am about the planned ban on smoking on terrazas, claiming it will force 30,000 places to close. And that Spain will become uncompetitive compared with other European destinations. Hmm. Brussels can easily solve that problem.

Portugal

One man’s view of the best places to live.

The Middle East War

No invasion yet? Time to play golf.

The United States of Trump America

Trump: The Make Spain Great Again of a Spanish footballer was ‘a nice homage to me’. But isn’t everything?

• He might well be 80 but he still has that old magic . . . Trump’s rambling gala address included insults, potshots and quip about a third presidential term. As good an example as you might want of US politics as show biz.
• The word that sums up 10 years of Trump – Breakage. And how Mrs Trump is trying to ruin Michael Wolff. For linking her to Epstein.
• A mad king rants about the White House being a sieve. And about other things, of course.
• And rages at the Republicans for not rigging the November elections
• And threatens to sue Canada for a billion billion dollars to compensate for the smoke from wildfires. Or something like that.

The Way of the World

How technology is re-writing the way we write.

Spanish

• Coartada: Cover story, alibi.
• Tardanza: Lateness
• Dar con: To find, hit upon.

Did you know about?

The German submarine sunk by its own toilet.

You Have to Laugh

Finally . . .

Who’d have guessed? . . . In 2017, 2 psychologists asked 270 subjects to evaluate both themselves and the average person as to traits describing morality (honest, trustworthy, fair), agency (hard-working, knowledgeable, competent), and sociability (cooperative, warm, family-orientated). They found that nearly all the subjects inflated – irrationally – their own desirable moral qualities. The more desirable a moral trait appeared to the subjects, the more likely they were to ascribe it to themselves. “The belief that one is morally superior to the average person appears robust and widespread,” they wrote. “We find that moral superiority represents a uniquely strong and prevalent instance of ‘positive illusion.’”

Finally . . . Finally . . .

Not just one but four phishing emails this morning re Federal Benefits. Or, rather FederalBenefits.

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. And this, on the annual costs of owning property here.