Galicia

Hola todos,

Just got back from Galicia, the Northwest corner of Spain (right above Portugal). This area is beautiful and many Spaniards and Europeans get to see it but not many Americans, so I went in not exactly knowing what to expect. You can think of this area like Spain's equivalent to Maine or somewhere along those lines, but with it's own language and with pulpo (octopus) instead of lobster (although I was told the lobster in Galicia is better. I'll have to disagree for now because I never found a place to try it.)

Duke in Madrid explored together in this area from Wednesday to Friday, starting in A Coruna, exploring some of the small coastal towns, and ending up in Santiago. Some of the highlights:

1. Taking a bus to the highest cliff in Europe (right outside of San Andres). There was almost no view of the ocean from this cliff because we were completely covered by a cloud, but the wind was blowing very intensely. If you jumped straight up in the air you would land a foot or so from where you had started from the sheer force of it. (picture 4)

2. Climbing to the top of the Catedral in Santiago. Santiago = St. James. His remains were found here a Cathedral was constructed above them. It's the third largest Catholic pilgrimage location in the world. Even now there are hundreds of "peregrinos" = pilgrims that come in daily to the city on the Camino de Santiago, a trail starting in France. This massive cathedral (picture 6) is very impressive and you can walk on the roof with a tour and see the whole city and country side (a la Duomo in Florence). (Picture 7)

Sigue

Over the weekend half to group stayed in Santiago (well worth it). Galicia is know for its great food. We went to the same restaurant to nights in a row ( O Diezasies) and had amazing pulpo and other great seafood. On Saturday we hiked through on the extension of the Camino de Santiago (pilgrim's road to Santiago), but didn't make it very far. The route is very because it goes along roads, through villages, and through woods. Sadly my camera died so I couldn't take pictures, but the scenery was beautiful and we picked grapes and figs as we were walking.

Santiago also has other attractions like a very cool permanent farmer's market and the best candy store in the world ("Pecados" = sins) (Picture 8). Also in the church at 12:00 mass the have the biggest incense dispenser (don't know the technical word), which swings at a good five miles per hour (maybe) in the rafters. Also the is a inclination towards fine art in the streets. We saw a mini orchestra (picture 9) performing today and my friends say two Opera singer outside the other day.

Spanish Lesson:

Callajear = meandar around streets getting lost in a city.

The perfect tourist word. Calle = street, so this word is basically just street in a verb form. Very cool the way Spanish can do this I think.

Gallego ( Language they speak in Galicia) - for you spanish speaker to alleviate some confusion if you ever go to Galicia.

A = La ("the" feminine)

O = El ("the" masculine)

All in all a very cool trip ... stay tuned for more about Madrid soon