I drove today through areas outside Pontevedra devastated by the fires in August. After 3 weeks of solid rain and 3 days of hot sun, I guess it wasn’t surprising the charred ground was already covered by young ferns. What did throw me, though, was a thick, vine-like growth covering the trunks of those eucalyptus trees whose upper foliage had not been destroyed. On close inspection, this turned out to be neither vines nor creeper but numerous leaves sprouting straight out of the trunk. Leaf growth on eucalyptus is usually sparse even on branches so I guess this is testament to the famous recovery properties of this remarkable but unwelcome foreign invader. On the plus side, the trees are so close together, the aggregation of the green mantles on each of the trunks will make the forests pretty vivid places before long.

Galicia Facts

The Voz de Galicia reported today that house prices up near Ourense have tripled in the last 5 years because of the demand from Brits in search of the new Tuscany.

The reduction in fatal car accidents since the introduction of a points-based licence in June is forecast to bring us reduced insurance premiums. But since Galicia’s reduction has been less than elsewhere, my guess is it will still be more expensive here.