Blogs from Galicia, Spain, Europe - page 2

Day 2 - El Ferrol Ferrol or El Ferrol is a city in the province of A Coruña in Galicia, located on the Atlantic coast in north-western Spain. The city was the birthplace of the Spanish General Francisco Franco in 1892. Situated deep within one of Europe’s most strategic natural harbours, Ferrol’s economy has historically been linked to the sea, from trading and fishing to naval installations. Starting from the 1700s Ferrol has held some of the largest installations of the Spanish navy. We took a coach tour, leaving the port through the town with lovely balconied buildings along the coast to Pontedeume, a small but pretty town located at the mouth of the Eume River. We only had a short stop but it still maintained a medieval feel with the 18m-high Andrade Tower which was ... read more

We were now in the Spanish province of Glaicia, which has many historic and linguistic ties to Portugal. Motoring north along Autopista AP-9, we passed Vigo at 3:00 p.m. Catching a glimpse of Vigo was interesting. It has a large Atlantic-facing port and is Spain's most important fishing port. Cruise ships call at Vigo for shore excursions to Santiago de Compostela. The city and port are situated on the Ria de Vigo estuary, which we crossed on the Ponte de Rande highway bridge. A number of raft-looking objects were floating in the estuary. These were Bateas, used for Galician mussel farming. Between Vigo and Pontevedra, the coach made a stop at Área de Servicio San Simón for an afternoon break. Arriving in Santiago de Compostela, the coach boldly drove right up into the historic district and ... read more

Vilaboa to Santiago de Compostela 86 km ARRIVED!! For the time being a brief note. After a challenging day on the road, at 6.30 PM, we arrived in Santiago de Compostela. I feel blessed to be in the position and state of health to complete this bike ride. As it turns out, entering the cathedral square, we exactly clocked the distance from Faro to Santiago at 1,000 km or 625 miles. I will write more about today and our stay here in Santiago tomorrow. Now I feel too tired. Before clocking off, one thing I need to get off my chest: I COULD HAVE NEVER COMPLETED THIS TRIP IF IT WEREN’T FOR MARK AND JAAP. MANY THANKS, I OWE YOU GUYS A LOT.... read more

After spending the last few weeks in the mountains, it is time to head to the beach. We had initially thought of finding a place somewhere in the north of Portugal, but nowhere stood out so we opted for somewhere in northwest Spain instead. The holiday season has begun so availability is limited and cheap places in the popular beach resorts which generally are in the area close to San Sebastian are hard to find. So we opt for the road less travelled and take a chance on a small place right on the NW tip of Spain – a small town called O Barqueiro. Here we are in Galicia an autonomous region of Spain that has its own language. As the capital of the region is Santiago de Compostela it has a strong Christian history. ... read more

Today was the day we traveled to the end of the world, not quite literally. We are going to Finisterre, which means the "end of the world" in Spanish. Back in the old days, about 500 years ago or so, the western coast of Spain was the most western spot in the known world. Columbus hadn't found North and South America yet. The lighthouse, and town on this peninsula was named Finisterre, or Fisteria in Galician. Camino pilgrims sometimes continue there hike to the lighthouse at Finisterre and do things like throw there shoes in the ocean, or as in the movie The Way, dump the ashes of their loved ones there. We had little or no desire to walk to Finisterre, so we took a bus. We got up early, packed our backpacks, which we ... read more