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

Ceuta: The residents are naturally protesting against the ‘invasion’ and against the rise in criminal offences.

From fellow bloggers in Spain:-

• Lenox Naper writes here on a storm that never was.
• And Noémi writes here on accommodation options in Barcelona.

Yesterday was Day 1 of a 10-day heat wave here in Galicia. Today it peaked at 33, which is why it was possibly unwise to arrange with friends a Camino walk of 22km. Much of it uphill. But broken by a large lunch half way. As for the year as a whole, I think I’ve read we now have 30 more summer days than we used to. Which explains why September is now ‘peak season’ and why October might also merit higher accommodation prices quite soon.

The United States of Trump America

It’s a fact that the most evil people in the world have an awful lot of money. And it’s a fact that what Trump wants most of all is an awful lot of money. Joining the dots:-

• US billionaires line up to bankroll the Republicans’ election push: The ultra-wealthy overwhelmingly back Trump’s party over Democrats, as money floods into the midterms race. . . At a time of populist revolt against perceived elites, political money has become more concentrated among the ultra-rich.
• Crypto giants flood the Republican Party with money despite failure of the Clarity Act. The industry is the top donor in the midterm elections, with tens of millions for various candidates in the expectation Trump will maintain his support for the sector

Relevant Books

• To be published in October. Can be pre-ordered now: Wtf America?!: The Way Out of This Hell and Back to Democracy. On Amazon or here.
• The final pages of Kurt Andersen’s fascinating run through the USA’s history – Fantasyland: How America went haywire. A 500 year history.
• Profiles in Cowardice, by Jacob Weisberg. Cited in this podcast.

Spanish

• Desmoronarse: To fall apart
• Irrespirable: Unliveable
• Conducción: Driving, handling, steering. Leading.

Did you know?

Back in the day, the Dutch controlled virtually all the immensely profitable spice trade, just lacking a little island called Run, which was owned by Britain. In one of the worst deals ever, this was exchanged for New Amsterdam, which became New York. Interestingly, the Dutch thought they’d got one over on the Brits. Maybe they knew the locals were revolting types . . .

You Have to Laugh

This is from a humorous article by Mark Twain – The Awful German Language – that I always send to folk who tell me they want to learn our fellow Teutonic language: In German, a young lady has no sex [gender], while a turnip has. Think what overwrought reverence that shows for the turnip, and what callous disrespect for the girl. See how it looks in print — I translate this from a conversation in one of the best of the German Sunday-school books:

Gretchen. Wilhelm, where is the turnip?

Wilhelm. She has gone to the kitchen.

Gretchen. Where is the accomplished and beautiful English maiden?

Wilhelm. It has gone to the opera.

… A tree is male, its buds are female, its leaves are neuter; horses are sexless, dogs are male, cats are female — tomcats included, of course; a person’s mouth, neck, bosom, elbows, fingers, nails, feet, and body are of the male sex, and his head is male or neuter according to the word selected to signify it, and not according to the sex of the individual who wears it — for in Germany all the women wear either male heads or sexless ones; a person’s nose, lips, shoulders, breast, hands, and toes are of the female sex; and his hair, ears, eyes, chin, legs, knees, heart, and conscience haven’t any sex at all. The inventor of the language probably got what he knew about a conscience from hearsay.

Finally . . .

Just in case you don’t know what a bougainvillea sucker looks like, here’s a foto of some.

The largest one grew more than a metre in less than a week, along with 6 or 7 other shorter brethren.

Finally . . . Finally . . .

In case you’re wondering if my legs ache . . . Yes, they do. Even after a hot bath.

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.

This – from veteran blogger Lenox Napier – is an excellent weekly newsletter (Business Over Tapas) on all matters Spanish. Indispensable for those who needs insights on how and why things happen here.

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.