In Vigo.

My panadera was somewhat disgruntled this morning. This was because the day began very grey and damp. It had clearly rained in the night. Or else there had been a very heavy dew. The pavements were wet, well, damp anyway, and the grey clouds hung low in the sky. "This is not what they promised us," she complained. That's life! What can you do about it? 

The day improved later. The skies may not be as delightfully blue as they have been recently but at least some of the cloud shifted and the sun came out. Even when it is out, it doesn't warm the streets of Vigo quite as well as it did the streets of Figueira da Foz. No doubt, the banks of high rise buildings here make the streets into gullies that the low winter sun doesn't quite reach and where the cold air lingers. But it is December after all. Vigo has the street decorations to prove it. 

We are frustratingly without internet at the moment. We had hoped that there might be a few days left on our mobile internet dingle. We charged it up on a three month deal just before we headed back to the UK in September so there was an outside chance that we could still be within that period. But nothing is working and it is hardly worth trekking down to the Vodaphone shop to set up something for just a few days. So we are relying on wifi connections in the chess club and in the various cafes we frequent. 

Last night we called into Mid Century, not just to check our mail but to say hello to the friendly María who runs the place. Normally we connect automatically when we go there but last night this was not happening. It turned out that María had had to change the password because her internet bill had been spiralling out of control. Her partner checked in their building and discovered that he could connect to internet as far up as the third floor. Clearly someone in the building was using María's wifi to download films, music, all sorts of games and programmes. She could even predict certain times of day when the demand for access surged. Someone was coming home from work or school and getting entertainment at her expense. So a new password and an extra vigilant check from now on! 

María usually plays very good music in her little cafe. Last night it was all very schmaltzy Christmas songs, old ones but still over-sentimental. Personally, I don't think any artist should ever record "Rudolf, the red-nosed reindeer". It should be the preserve of small children and playgroups. Definitely not for adult consumption, no matter how clever or jazzy the accompaniment! No doubt María will tire of the gooey songs before long and begin to intersperse them with other stuff! 

Like all establishments, María's cafe has to display the Christmas spirit, I suppose. And we still have a good few weeks of humbug left! I say all this tongue in cheek as one of the first things I will do when we get back to Blighty will undoubtedly be to purchase a small Christmas tree! So it goes!