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What a momentous post. I’m leaving Spain this week, this is my 100
thblog entry, AND it's the 10 year anniversary of my semester in West Africa (the experience that got me started on all this living-abroad stuff).
This time, leaving feels easier in some ways. I don’t have a lot of people I’m close to, which makes goodbyes infinitely less traumatic. I’m also headed to travel/work in Europe a bit more, which softens the blow of moving back to the US. My main concern this week is leaving my room in a pristine state so that my OCD roomie won’t be upset. That explains why I’m sitting here writing this (procrastination . . . ).
Scattered through this post are pictures I took last weekend on the Camino Inglés (see my previous post about the Camino Portugués). I did a bit of a detour from the normal route, going from Perbes to Betanzos. The normal route is longer, from Pontedeume, but I’d already been there and was feeling a bit lazy.
It was overall an easy stretch. Because I started near Perbes, I walked down along the coast to go to the
beach (Praia Grande) near Miños, which was beautiful and natural. Another highlight of the walk was the village of ‘Pig Bridge’ (Ponte do Porco). The name itself is just fabulous, and there is also an old statue of a pig next to a small kids park.
But I was happiest to get to visit Betanzos, which is supposed to be one of the cutest Galician towns near Coruña. It was great! First, it’s along a river, which makes it more scenic. If you enter via the Camino, you enter through an old city gate in part of the remaining medieval wall. It’s kept a lot of well-maintained, older architecture. I had a train, so unfortunately I couldn’t spend a lot of time in the old center. I also didn’t have a chance to try their potato tortilla, which is supposed to be the best in the country . . .
I also definitely wanted to see the Parque del Pasatiempo (Pastime Park), slightly outside the center (15 minutes on foot). On my way there, I passed through the newer center of town (near the Concello or City Hall), and they happened to be having
a retro food truck festival! Ahhh, great atmosphere!
I entered a park, and thought it was nice, but it wasn’t what I expected. After 10 minutes of strolling around, I realized it was a park next to the Parque del Pasatiempo. Once I realized where I needed to be, I quickly crossed the street, but couldn’t find the entrance—it was surrounded by gates and walls. I suspected, but didn’t want to believe, that I had to re-enter the other park and ascend an overhead footpath. Of course, there were no signs anywhere to indicate how to enter.
But I’m glad I did take the time to retrace my steps and go up the overhead pedestrian walk, because it was like a jump to the past. The park, created in 1914, seems stuck in that era. Elaborate painted concrete statues line the walls. A terraced staircase descends to a pond with a gazebo. Higher up, after passing through tree-lined paths, you enter a man-made cave with lots of tiny rooms open to the sky. It is a great place for kids and adults, once you know how to get inside. Much of it is disintegrating,
but that adds to its charm. There seems to be work in progress in some places to restore it, too.
That day was a nice opportunity to reflect on my time in Galicia. I’ve met some really great people here, but the loneliness has generally made me realize the value of good friends. It’s relatively easy to make acquaintances, but the older I get, I know I value spending time doing community service and being outdoors more, and drinking and dancing all night less.
I appreciate Galicians for their greetings. It’s not that common in the US (as far as I know) to greet apartment building neighbors that you don’t know, but here, when you cross paths, it’s common courtesy to say hi, and people generally are friendly. This holds true for students too. Students will often greet me in the hallway or in public (in Spanish and sometimes in English)—in fact, I realized that I automatically respond if I hear ‘Hi’ in English these days, without worrying about who it is, because it’s always directed at me.
I don’t love La Coruña, but there is something magical about seeing the
ocean every day, about the ability to walk along or sit on rocks near the coast, about strolling along the beach path at night with the city lights reflecting on the water. It’s also been my luck to be in a gym class where the gym teacher lets the kids go to the beach for class. They have to run first, then they can play on the sand or go in the water. Yes, during the school day! I’ve been to the beach with those classes 5 times in the last 2 weeks!
My coworkers have also just been so friendly to me. Not everybody, but it really just takes a couple kind people to feel more welcome. One music teacher regularly invites me to see the symphony orchestra (she gets free tickets) or take a walk. Another invites me to have coffee and chat weekly during a morning break between classes. Others occasionally ask me how life is here, and it really feels like they are concerned. Although I’m leaving this week, last week they surprised me (well two different teachers told me ahead of time and ruined the surprise) by having a little meeting with
my direct co-teachers, and they gave me a necklace made by the locally-famous Sargadelos ceramics factory. Their kindness has given me a model for how to integrate newcomers to a workplace.
And, I’ve probably mentioned it over the past two years, but the quality of life here is good. This year I pay around $230 a month for my shared, ocean-view apartment and all of the utilities, including cell phone. I spend probably less than $80 a month on food (I should mention that of course it’s cheaper because I don’t buy meat). My health insurance is included through my job. A bottle of decent beer (like Yuengling) at a bar is around $2, no tip necessary.
Another great factor is that I’ve lived in two cities here without a car, and it’s been perfectly easy. There are times I wish I could go visit a small town or hiking trail, but really, it’s possible to get by without a car. I also just feel healthier. I walk a lot. I mean, I walk around an hour every day, just going about life tasks. And I carry my groceries--all of my groceries. In the
US, it's so much more difficult to survive without a car, due to the layout of cities and the cost and lack of convenient public transportation options.
Not having to drive (in the snow) has been great too! Even if I had a car and license here, the weather in Galicia is temperate (very rarely snow, very rarely below freezing) with rain. I am perfectly happy to deal with rain and grey skies if that means I can avoid winter.
My last point isn’t necessarily about Galicia, but about living abroad. I’ve learned to be a lot more selective about what I buy, because eventually it will have to come back with me. I’ve never been crazy into consumerism, but the past couple of years, I’ve simplified even more. Summers in Italy mean I’m just carrying a traveling backpack. I'm just taking a bar of soap and shampoo for in the shower. In the past, I used to have bar soap, gel soap, shampoo, conditioner, and face wash. I've realized I don’t need as much as I thought.
It will probably be July or August when I write again (about my
adventures in Porto, Manchester, Wales, Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy . . . I know, it’s a lot, especially because most of that is in the next two weeks). Until then!
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
Ten seems to be your lucky number...
That's great your were able to walk a portion of the Camino Ingles. If I do another Camino in Spain it will likely be the Ingles based upon your brief description. I look forward to your continued travels and work in Europe. I see you are going to Wales. My son got his law degree at Bangor University. Take care!