It is also a beautiful region to walk through, with hills, rivers, farmlands and woodlands. It can be tempestuous weatherwise though, as it juts out into the Atlantic Ocean and bears the brunt of all the pent-up rain and wind gathered over the ocean voyage, which is then dumped over green Galicia. If we see bad autumnal weather, it will be here in Galicia! So far though, Galicia has been amazingly sunny and warm for late October.
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| entering Galicia looking west |
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| entering Galicia looking east |
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| typical farmland |
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| pasture fences made with upright slabs of slate |
It's a region known for its seafood, especially octopus, and for its wines. The high rainfall combined with 2000 hours of sunshine a year means a warm, humid climate, which influences the wines to a positive degree. Albarino white and Mencia reds are particularly well known, and deservedly so!
There are more animals here than crops, so farming is more about providing for the animals instead of cultivation. Corn and hay predominate. Also subsistence farming. So there are lots of grassy slopes full of cows and sheep and goats. We have seen shepherds and cowherds for the first time, moving their herds along lanes to the next field, helped with a smart and happy dog.
Cheese is a big deal here. O Cebreiro cheese is gorgeous. White and fresh in taste, it looks dry and crumbly but it is soft, and tastes delicious with a slice of quince paste. Another variety is Arzuo, which is slightly firmer and creamier in colour.
Manufacturing has traditionally leaned on shipbuilding and fish processing, but lately it has become a source of wind turbine technology, and Galicia's winds now provide one third of Spain's total energy output. These lovely white poles with their three spears languidly moving over the hill ridges are so lovely and graceful.
Galicia grew up separated from other parts of Spain, and was more aligned with Portugal, with which it shares its southern border, linguistically and culturally. There was also a huge Celtic influence, sparked soon after the Romans took over, about 150 BC. There are still vestiges of this influence with dolmen and pallozas.
A palloza is a circular or mostly circular building made of rocks and slate, with a roof of thatch shaped like a cone. A family lived on one side of the palloza, and their animals lived on the other side, although they all entered from the same door. This kept thing warm, and also safe during bad weather. There was no vent for the fire smoke from indoor cooking, but meats were hung above head to smoke and cure as the smoke rose. There are still a few of these around.
We have seen lots of dolmen in Ireland, which were tombs, identified above ground with two vertical stones and one long, large horizontal stone, so it looks like a ginormous stone table.
Another Celtic influence in Galicia is a sort of bagpipe that is played here.
Galicia is a little less touristy than other parts of Spain, despite the vast numbers who walk the Camino each year. We will cover the entire region, east to west, focussed on its capital, Santiago.
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| at Galician border on the Camino |
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| by the St. Roch statue where he passed as a pilgrim |
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| one of our more picturesque coffee stops |
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