Echamos un vistazo por Portugal, and more goodbyes

• Mattador's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Vigo

Trip Start Jun 05, 2006 Previous
Entry Trip End Aug 01, 2006 Next
Entry

  Vigo, Spain
Saturday, July 22, 2006

Today is our last day in Vigo. On Thursday we went to O Castro, where there is a park among the ruins of an old castle atop a hill overlooking the harbor, on the otherside of the Park Guía, where we had been the previous day. It was quite beautiful, and across the ría we could see the village (Cangas) where Anton's girlfriend Jasmine lives, and its beach, where we would spend a few hours lounging around after lunch. So, when we returned to Anton's grandparents' house, la abuela already had a feast of vegetable soup, spaghetti, chicken breasts, and chocolate crepes prepared for the three of us, in addition to the delicious fish empanada left over from the day before. And so, somewhat engorged, we got our things together to make the twenty minute trip over the bridge to Cangas, where we were once again greeted enthusiastically by Jasmine's parents, who showed us around their pretty little house, filled with gnome statues and bird baths, while they complained affably about how their overactive cocker spaniel kept getting in the goldfish pond and stirring up all the sediment on this hot, sunny day in Spain. And we were then ushered to the kitchen, where we were introduced to Jasmine and forced to try some incredibly succulent, fresh peaches and to wash it down with a cold local brew.

After that we spent about three hours hanging out at the beach, which was somewhat dampened by the fact that some presumptious soul had taken it upon himself to play "the worst music available in Spain" over the loud speakers all along the beach. And so it was a great relief of sorts (though the fine sand, sunshine, and invitingly cold water were quite appealing) when we left and headed back to Anton's place to shower, pick up Anton's sister and go to the outdoor theater where we would watch Franz Ferdinand from a pretty good vantage, behind the paid seating area. The show was great, though Jon and I seemed to be the only ones screaming the lyrics around us, and we pretty much went straight to bed when we got home.
---------

Yesterday we got up late, as usual, to complaints by Anton's grandma that we were lazy bums and not using our time in Vigo wisely, and then went to the train station to head to Santiago de Compostela to see the famous cathedral that pilgrims flock to from around the world to glimpse the supposed tomb of St. James. We spent most of the day in Santiago--the Cathedral was quite beautiful, and much older than most of the ones we've seen in Europe, parts of it dating from the 1100s. We also wandered around the winding streets, listening to local gaita (Galician bagpipe) musicians at street corners and buying churros and rosquillas (these delicious, flakey doughnuts) at a carnival to walk around the alameda park. The day went by quite idylically, and we were pleased to find a homemade pizza waiting for us when we got back to Vigo around 11, and had a long walk to the apartment from the train station, now that the buses were closed.
---------

This morning--Surprise!--we woke up late, and had a hasty breakfast before heading down to the port to meet one of Anton's childhood friends, Xosé, and buy some souvenirs. When we got back, we had a wonderful send-off lunch with Anton's uncle and grandparents, and now we're about to meet Xosé to head for a short day trip into northern Portugal. At 10 tonight, Jon and I will be boarding a train back to Madrid, where we'll have to part ways. Jon's going to Toledo for a day by himself, and I fly out tomorrow afternoon for Mallorca, to stay in my buddy Miguel's place for a week and revisit some old friends. I'm really looking forward to this, but it's going to be hard to say goodbye to Galicia, and the Anton and his family's incredible hospitality. We've had a pretty easy four days here, and gotten to see some great sights without a lot of the hectic scheduling of much of our trip to this point. And also, as Jon pointed out "A beach with no bugs! Man, that's awesome!" So there's that, too. Well, we're off to Portugal for a few hours.

Ciao,
Matt

Print this entry Share Vigo hotels

Previous Entry Next Entry