Feira Franca

Pontevedra, like almost all Galician cities, has its own historical festival. Feira Franca is a Medieval fair celebrated every September. The name comes from the Middle Ages when Pontevedra was granted permission for a month-long market free of taxes. For the past two decades, this one-day blast from the past has completely transformed the city.

The first time I went, last year, I was amazed by the fact that everyone was dressed up. I love festivals that require costumes, so Lugo's Roman/Celtic fair Arde Lucus is another one of my favorites. But there its reputation has made it blow up, attracting visitors who come as tourists without costumes. Pontevedra, on the other hand, seemed to have kept it a secret. Requiring vendors to dress with the theme helps. But this year, there were a few more people dressed in modern clothes. I guess the cat's out of the bag!

Friday night, several knights ride into town on horses, to read the proclamation. That the next day commences Feira Franca! Saturday is full of activities for the whole family: an obstacle course and theatrical performance for kids; Medieval stands to peruse; jousting tournaments; Medieval dance class; spectacles and roving bands. Once again we rented a table in the old town for lunch and to rest our weary feet throughout the day. Some restaurants go all out for their lunch guests on the terrazas. It's fun to see decked out banquets, fit for the Medieval nobility seated at them. Groups of friends can also set up their own Medieval lunch under tents in the tree-lined promenade of the city center.


This year my favorite part of Feira Franca was the Medieval dance. First the professionals danced. Then, with A Peregrina church for a background, a few dozen of us (mostly commoners, some nobles) pranced around in wide skirts or breeches. The most intimate contact was grasping of hands as we danced. Scandalous! Maybe next year we'll choreograph something to the sound of lutes and harpsichords-- something to amaze the troubadours.

The fun continued on to the wee hours of the night. It ended in a bar with a movie screen which was showing none other than ¨Monty Python and the Holy Grail.¨ Relevant.

More Pyrenees: Hiking in Aigüestortes National Park

A few minutes by car from the Vall de Boi is the Spanish National Park Aigüestortes i Estany Sant Maurici, the fourth national park I've been too (after Picos de Europa, The Galician Islands, and Ordesa y Monte Perdido). It's name is Catalan for Twisting Waters and Lake St. Maurice. Again, to get into this park you park outside and from there can take park transportation inside. But due to the winding trails, it's a van instead of a bus, and therefore much more expensive.

This time we opted to hike the entrance trail. It took a few hours, almost always uphill, and often following a river. The trail sometimes opened up to grassy, mossy pastures with pine trees and the ever-present mountain backgrounds. On our way into the park we passed one of the hundreds of lakes.

When we arrived to where the transportation would have dropped us off, we had lunch in the shade. Then we decided to continue towards Estany Llong, the closest lake on the map.On this hike we came across a herd of cattle grazing. Further on, there were so many streams crisscrossing, that they had built a wooden platform to cross the very alpine valley. Near the end of this trail was one of the shelters and then the rocky path got really steep really fast. Whew! I needed a rest before I could really take in the lake.

Estany Llong

For the first leg of the hike, we passed many other hikers. Then on the second leg, towards the second lake, we only passed people going the opposite direction. So finally, on the way back from Estany Llong it was just us. And it started to drizzle. We took a final walk around the deck they have set up near the starting off point, and hopped in a group taxi back to the car.

The Pyrenees Cont'd: Romanesque Churches in Catalunya

Sant Feliu de Barruera

On to the Catalan Pyrenees we went. The star of this region's Pyrenees has to be the Vall de Boi, a valley that blends beautiful mountain backgrounds with UNESCO World Heritage sites. Within the valley, there are nine Romanesque churches. Again, thinking back to the time it was built, it's amazing to imagine that they had such a need for so many churches within such a small territory. Granted, with the hills trekking to mass couldn't have been easy. But several are within 30 minutes walking distance of each other. There must have been a lot more hillside dwellers than nowadays.

Sant Climent de Taüll

For 8€ we went in 3 churches and the Romanesque museum (which honestly wasn't that beneficial). Most of the churches have the characteristic bell tower that you can climb up. At Santa Eulàlia I went all the way up, but in Sant Climent de Taüll I got too nervous and had to go back down. And all of those bell towers still have very active bells. I guess if it were my job to ring them, I could've brought myself to regularly climbing up all the way. But not my cup of tea. In Sant Climent, perhaps the most famous one, they have a really neat audiovisual projection. The Romanesque art behind the altar is very colorful, although after nearly a milllenium it's quite faded. So the projection of how it would have looked made it more real.

Santa Eulàlia d'Erill al Vall

Our campsite in the Vall de Boi was on the edge of an open field, with only one or two fellow campers. From the tent door we could see one of the Romanesque churches up on a hill about 500 meters away. The first night there was a bad storm. I cursed the fact that we had sought shade, imagining that the tree behind us could be struck by lightening and come crashing down. Obviously, that didn't happen. We survived! And barely any water got in.

Sant Joan de Boí 

Santa María de Taüll

I really enjoyed the Vall de Boi. Nature and history: what's not to love? Lots of tourists, yes, but when we went down to one of the villages to have a beer, we heard a lot of Catalan being spoken. Also, when we had a nice dinner, it seemed the majority of diners were speaking Catalan. There the waiter pegged us for Galicians right away because of the accent. I didn't correct him. :p