Miño (not the River)

Recently I learned that half of Lugo capital heads to the beach in Miño in summer, while the other half heads to Foz (in Lugo province's coastal region A Mariña). That's why some people jokingly call Miño ¨Lugo's beach,¨ despite it being in the province of A Coruña. Since I've already been to Foz a few times, now was my turn to check out Miño--the town, not to be confused with the Miño River which separates Galicia from Portugal.

After a straight-shot hourlong highway drive, we arrived in Miño early Friday afternoon. We quickly settled into the apartment --with views of the Ría on one side!-- and headed straight for the beach. At that time there weren't many people around, perhaps because at 4 PM people were still having their dessert, coffee, and post-lunch chats, or perhaps because it was kind of cloudy and barely 80º F. Nonetheless, I decided to test the waters. And it was actually bearable!  Compared to the dozens of afternoons spent at numerous beaches of the Rías Baixas (Galician's southern sea inlets) with people who are used to the water temperature and consistently tell you ¨Está boa¨ (it's nice!) even though it's so cold you can barely get in past your waist, the water in Miño was so warm! During our 48-hour stay I got in all the way 6 or 7 times. That's unheard of for me! I probably got in as many times during two years at Rías Baixas beaches. Logic would say that the further south, the warmer the water. So why are the Rías Baixas in the south colder than the Rías Altas in the north? Something to do with currents. I don't have all the answers

Friday evening we stayed around the beach to see the sunset and a folk-punk concert. We dined with a friend at a food truck serving up American treats. I thought the apartment buildings, and handful of bars/restaurants near the beach were all there is to Miño. But Saturday morning I discovered that the town is bigger than I thought. There are around 6,000 year-round inhabitants, and what I thought was the town was actually just the beach district. Miño has a city center with multiple bakeries, butchers, and banks. You know a town is ¨big¨ here when it has two or more banks. First we strolled around the port where a smattering of people were fishing. Then we passed Miño's second beach, less appreciated because once you get in it's swampy rather than sandy. Once in the city center, there wasn't much to see, but there were plenty of people enjoying a lovely, warm day on the terrazas.

 In addition to it being a Saturday, it was also Galicia's national holiday, the day of Santiago the Apostle. That would explain why the beach got quite crowded early on: daytrippers from Lugo and A Coruña. The beach is long though, and there was still enough room to maintain a 2-meter distance in between towel groups. I was also happy to see most people abiding by the mask rule-- wear it when walking around the beach, but not necessarily when swimming or sitting on your socially-distant towel.

For dinner we ate out with some more friends, once again on a terraza. Hopefully any potential viruses wafted away in the fresh air. I never was a huge fan of seafood or fish, but when in Rome! Now I'm starting to actually enjoy typical dishes here such as clams (almeixas), mussels (mexillóns), (there's a difference in English--who knew?!), and fried big and small calamari (in Galician/Spanish they have two different words-- chipirón and calamar-- but apparently the only difference is size). On the other hand, in spite of numerous Galicians' attempts to convert me to fish, I still only like tuna and smoked salmon.

Flat Earthers (Lugo's Terra Chá)

To round off a perfect summer weekend, on Sunday we decided to spice things up and explore the waters of A Terra Chá-- a region in Lugo which literally means ¨flat Earth.¨ A Terra Chá includes nine municipalities, flat and fertile thanks to its many rivers and streams. And all of those grassy pastures mean a lot of cows. This region is one of the biggest producers of milk in the European Union.

View from the observation deck

Because the day started off cool and covered in clouds, we first checked out A Lagoa de Cospeito. This little lake is a nature preserve home to all sorts of wildlife. The trail surrounding it is about 2 miles, to give you an idea of its size. It used to be even bigger, but in the last century it was slowly conquered to make more of that aforementioned fertile farmland. On the trail around the lake we identified honeysuckle, birch, European alder, chestnuts, oak, and what I swear were olive trees (I am currently working on my plant-identification skills that I learned as a Girl Scout but have since forgotten.)! Along the way there were also few cabins on stilts to observe the lake and birdwatch. We didn't see any of the park's resident mammals or birds, but I did hear an unidentified bird we don't typically hear closer to the city.

Dam and non-existent ¨waterfall¨
in the background

Our next stop was Caneiro do Piago. For those of you keeping track at home, it technically isn't in A Terra Chá, since Outeiro de Rei is part of Lugo's capital region, but close enough. Caneiro basically means dam and piago means pool (It's also the name of the nearby village. Funny how toponymy works). Attached to the dam is an old  hydro-electric plant which still works. In summertime the waterfall produced by the dam was a trickle compared to what it must be in winter. But more exciting than the dam and virtually non-existent waterfall were the rock formations carved out by the river. We hopped along the riverside boulders until we found the perfect place for a picnic. By the time we had taken a quick post-lunch sesta, the sun had come out! We didn't go swimming like other people, but I did stick my legs in. We could see trout as well as some tiny fish that will nibble dead skin off your feet. Just like at the spa! I definitely hope to return here to cool off on another hot summer day. Can't resist those amazing rock formations!

Lastly we went to another swimming hole, this time in Guitiriz. Sete Muiños is the name of the recreational area of this village because it has several abandoned mills. They made the river into a pool by putting cement borders and ladders to get in and out easily. It gets progressively deeper: on one end you can wade, and on the opposite end you have to tread water. The nice thing about river swimming is that there is usually plenty of shade on both sides. We got their later in the afternoon, at which point less than half of the river was in the sun. I went for a dip in a sunny section and then dried off in the shade. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of this peaceful river pool.

After living in Lugo for four years, discovering these great ¨flat earth¨ spots reminded me that there is still a lot to be seen nearby. I've started making a detailed list of places in Galicia to visit. With Coronavirus still looming, travelling by plane just isn't in the cards. The plus side: it's the perfect excuse for everyone to finally explore places close to home!