Dawn

Dawn

Wednesday, October 03, 2018

Thoughts from Portugal: 3.10.18

Spanish life is not always likeable but it is compellingly loveable.
- Christopher Howse: A Pilgrim in Spain. 

If you've arrived here because of an interest in Galicia or Pontevedra, see my web page here. Garish but informative.

Matters Spanish
  • This news got me thinking . . . Can I now report all the women who touch me on the arm – or even the leg – when talking to me? But I suspect not, as there needs to be sexual intentions.
Matters Portuguese
  • What a quieter, cheaper place this is. As if I didn't already know.
  • And Viseu seems to be as charming as people say it is.
Matters Galician and Pontevedran
  • Back in 2006, when I was advising some Brits wanting to buy a house in the hills, one of the key issues was how close a proposed AVE high-speed train branch might pass near the place. But this was part of the larger question of whether there would ever be such a line. Without it, the train would only reach Pontevedra and Vigo after first going further north as far as La Coruña, before turning south to run along the coast. Back then, the most frequent response I got to my enquiries was Who the hell knows. Followed by It might be the 12th of Never. Suffice to say, the issue of the branch line will be discussed today – more than 12 years later – by the Minister of Development and local politicians. I'm not expecting clarity. Just some vague 'commitments' on the part of the former.
  • Meanwhile, we're being told that final tests on the line from Madrid will still be done by end 2019. But, as regards the more important question of when the commercial service will actually begin, the officials response seems to be Who the hell knows. After all, it's only 25 pus years late already. So, it can't be that important to a government very strapped for cash. And Galicia has never been a region of importance to anyone. Even to Franco, who was born in it.
  • The Minister et al will also be talking about our coastal autopista – the AP9. Which is so profitable that various foreign companies/funds seem to be on the verge of fisticuffs - or at least skulduggery - in their attempts to get hold of it. Our local politicians want to take it into regional public ownership/management. I think. It's all a bit confusing. But one thing's clear – At least bits of Galicia are important to some folk.
© [David] Colin Davies: 3.10.18

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