Went to Galicia, in the North West, with its rugged Atlantic coastline, the food, the wine, the people. What a treat!
Our first stop was in Sanxenxo, overlooking the Ria de Pontevedra, where, from the hotel, we were able to watch the dolphins disporting in the water.
The Rias Biaxas are home to one of Spain’s iconic white wines, albariño. We visited Pazo Rubiales to sample the wine. Even after many visits to wine producers, there are new details to learn. The vines this area of Galicia are grown high to protect from the damp.
This Pazo also has an important botanical collection, and we learned many interesting facts about the collection and the history of the estate.
We spent a bit of time in Combardos, the centre of Albariño production. With a small unspoilt centre, this town was a pleasant place for a stroll and a glass of wine or a coffee.
Another unspoilt coastal villa is Combarro. This was a small fishing village and still has a large collection of horreos and cruceiros.
From here, we took a cruise around the Ria, accompanied by mussels and albariño.
We were shown the platforms where mussels, scallops, and oysters are farmed.
The high point of this boat trip was almost certainly the dolphins swimming around the boat. The boat crew was proud that we enjoyed the trip in the full glory of Galician weather, rain!
The afternoon was dedicated to swimming in the sea and pool for the brave few, with a session in the spa to warm up again.
We now looked inland and, going via Ribadavia, where we visited a thermal bath, we relocated to Ourense, our gate to the Ribera Sacra. Here, we spent a day exploring this town founded by the Romans due to the hot springs and gold to be mined nearby. Crossing the Miño river are both the old and new; the Puente de Velas and the Puente Milleneo.
With better weather, we ventured to the cañon de Sil, heart of the Ribera Sacra. A boat cruise took us up an impressive gorge, equally spectacular from above.
From the boat, we were able to see the small patches of vineyards on the steep slopes. known as viñeras stoicas, all the work, including carrying the harvest, is done by hand. Having sampled the wine from the rias baixas, we had to do the same for this spectacular region. After a hair-raising drive along narrow mountain roads, we arrived at the Bodega Alma das Donas, one of the viñeras stiocas. The owner showed us how to reach the vines on the narrow terraces before we sampled the wines on a veranda overlooking the river Sil, a view so spectacular it almost distracted from the wines!
Our last day saw us being “peregrinos” as we visited Santiago de Compostela. First stop was Monte del Gozo. This is the point where the various pilgrim routes all meet for a view of the city before the final walk to the cathedral. After the pause here, we went on to the cathedral, where we went to see el Portico de La Gloria, having a view of el botafumeiro swinging during the mass.
Having completed our religious duties, we separated to find lunch. Some of us found ourselves at el mercado de abastos, where we could have some delicious tapas. The traditional drinking cup in this part of Galicia is the cunca. Our last work was to track down bars that serve in these dishes.
Having successfully achieved our pilgrimage through the rias and cañones of Galicia, it seemed only right to award ourselves the vieira of the pilgrimage!
