Down in Pontevedra’s new Plaza de España, there are several words engraved in gold letters in three stretches of polished granite. One tells you you’re looking at the ruins of the church of San Domingo; another advises that you’re standing in front of the town hall of the Concello de Pontevedra.


And the third simply says Circunvalación.



This means ‘by-pass’ or ‘ring road’. Which is tad odd as the square is supposed to be traffic-free. Indeed, there are stainless steel barriers on one side of it to make sure it is.

Which reminds me, we were told no short-term parking would be allowed on the square; so I suppose the driver of this one hasn’t just popped into the shops and is there for an hour or two.


Finally . . . Today I got graphic evidence of the validity of my suspicion that the yet-to-be-snapped wandering dog from the gypsy encampment really is responsible for the dirt on the bridge into town. However, I didn’t think you’d want to see a foto of this incident. So here, as a metaphor, is a picture of someone else that has been covered in a lot of shit recently.