Husa Center Hotel La Coruña

... kids asleep except Dami who is a night owl) after midnight. Oops the campground closes (and is locked) at 11. A tour of town found a parking lot by the beach. We joined a pair of vw busses and bedded down for the night. Classy. We ARE trailer trash.

             

... sunrise yoga. We later planned to go into a caruna for a day trip but thought better of it when we learned of the "end of summer" fiesta being held at the campground from 10-3am. And when I say, held at the campground I mean, held directly in front of our camper ...

Our day went very much according to plan. Nice!! A morning enjoying Sao Joao de P. with pastries and coffee and strolling the tiny streets. An on time depature had us in Santiago de Compostela by 3:30 after enjoying the amazing country side. A quick tour of the amazing ...

... and magic, and standing there in the dark, watching the bright orange liquid burn a bright blue fire, chanting in Gallego... I felt it! We were each given a cup of the queimada, which smelled approximately like the rubbing alcohol you put on cuts, and then were taken in to the rec room, where we were given a lesson in Galician song and dance. No surprises that after a coffee mug full of queimada, everyone was quite enthusiastic about the whole experience!

... plagued by pirates, and Maria Pita led the women in an attack on the pirates, driving them out and restoring order to the city. Badass.

We got back on the bus to drive to Betanzos, a small Galician city/village a little ways inland (and also the home of our Maria's). In Betanzos, we got a walking tour of the old part of the city, which still looked pretty medieval to me. We then went to El Parque del Pasatiempo (the park of passing ...

We left Bilbao Spain yesterday for a 19 hour cruise along the Spanish coast of the Bay of Biscayne. This rugged coast is scattered with cliffs, small beaches, fishing villages and many hills. Being aboard was a great chance to catch up with my grandmother and to hear how my family was doing back in California.

We arrived in A Coruña in the mid-afternoon and went to ...

... girl, for example) give off a vibe of "Are you stupid? Why aren't you understanding what I'm saying?" They'd probably be more forgiving if I still bumbled through the language like I did my first time in Spain.

So when I figured out what to do, I went up to the till, where the girl asked me for the cell number. "Uh ... I don't know?" Again, a look of "Are you an idiot? How do you not know your own number?" Give ...

... could have also visited from this port - however we chose to stay and see the city - We did some window shopping and everything looked so nice here so what a disappointment - fortunately the restaurants and cafes were open so after doing a bit of sightseeing in the city - checking out the churches and government buildings - we found ...

Today we visited A Coruna, it is most famous for the Torre de Hercules.  It is the world's oldest functioning lighthouse, it was built in the 2nd century.  Legend has it that Hercules slew the giant Gerion here and buried his head where the tower now stands.  When we got there they were closing up and the first man we spoke with did not want to let us in, but the second man talked to Eric & I who do no speak Spanish and he took pity on us and let us go up quickly.  We ...

... excited fans (its very popular with the woman for the guapo matadors!) round a ring in which anouther living being is tormented and beaten - in a very unfairly weighted fight - untill death. The matador does his final flourish with the red flag, swiftly sinks his sword into the bull which then stumbles and crumples to the ground as the studium erupts with the cheers of the spectators who stand up waving white hankercheifs and the matador proudly struts round the blood-stained ...