Walking in a Winter Wonderland

It hasn't snowed again since last Friday, but I've still got snow on the brain. Reminded me of my last encounter (not including the beginning of this year when we went to Pedrafita looking for snow and were disappointed) with the white stuff in Galicia. I got an unexpected taste of snow when I went hiking in mid-November last year with the youth of the city. In Galicia at least, the major cities dedicate part of the budget to youth. There are a variety of free or dirt-cheap activities and classes throughout the year. This was one of them: a fantastic option especially for people who want to hike but don't have a car. Transportation is included and it's a free, fun way to socialize. Before COVID-19, of course.

This particular hiking trip was to O Bierzo, right over Galicia's eastern border. While O Bierzo is no longer technically in Galicia, a lot of the population speaks Galician and they can study it in school. That's because traditionally it was part of the Kingdom of Galicia (Europe's first kingdom, by the way). It is a mountainous region, part of the Ancares. On the way we passed by my beloved Becerreá as well as Pedrafita do Cebreiro. We were headed to a trail within a beech forest for our hike. When I had signed up for the hike, I thought to myself, 'Pretty fall colors! Changing leaves!' Um, wrong.

The night before, they warned us that it was supposed to be 1º C. Brrr! Since I don't have snow pants here (I'm always tempted to bring them back from home, but since I normally visit in the middle of summer, it just seems ridiculous), I instead wore normal sweatpants with a pair of tights underneath. My normal waterproof hiking boots were at the cobbler's getting fixed so I borrowed a friend's. Important detail because I assumed hers were also waterproof. They were not. I also was ready to go with a newly acquired thermos that really kept my infusion scalding for hours.

OMG, snowshoes!

As our minibus chugged up the sinuous hills, getting closer to the town near our beech forest destination, the snow started falling. The town mayor himself came to plow a path for us! Once we got to the hamlet, they opened the snowed-in bar just for us to get a coffee before hitting the trails. At this point our guides were unsure about how much snow we would find out there. And at this point one of them indicated to me that me shoes were definitely not waterproof. Luckily for me, he had a spare pair of snow shoes! Apparently not being prepared sometimes has it advantages. I was the only one in the group who got to snowshoe. At first it was weird to walk in them, since I wanted to keep picking up my feet. But it's more like a glide. Despite falling a few times, I had a blast! The hardest part for me was not crossing the shoes in front of me, and a few stairs which were obviously more narrow than the snowshoes so I had to sidestep them. 

On the hike the snow slowed us down. It took us two hours to walk just two kilometers! That was partly due to waiting time-- we had to stop and wait for someone to go ahead and see if the path was clear enough. And we ended up turning around in the middle anyways. But we did get to see a small cave, used during the Civil War as a hideout. I could hardly imagine spending a night there, let alone an extended period of time. We also came across a beautiful, snow-capped waterfall. The majority of our hike was through the woods, but at one point we came to a clearing. A field of snow! There we broke out into a mini-snowball fight. Others fell onto the ground to make snow angels. Afterwards we headed back to our café starting-point to get warm and have lunch.

Fervencia do Beiro

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

When you're looking for snow in Galicia, your best bet is the hills (mountains?) on the east side. When I worked as a language assistant in a town in the Ancares, close to the eastern border, it snowed there quite regularly. In the southeast corner of the province of Ourense there is even a small ski resort. Or so I've heard. As far as Galicia's cities go, seeing snow is a rarity. In the city of Lugo it used to snow once a year, but with global warming, it's no longer guaranteed. Last year I don't recall any snow in town. Meanwhile in my hometown they've already had the first major snow of the season; several inches!

Therefore when this morning I awoke to massive, fluffy flakes, you can imagine my delight! I skipped breakfast to throw on some warm and weatherproof attire and get out there. After all, the few times I've seen snow it had lasted barely an hour, and who knows how long the snow was going to stay. A walk around town in the snow really seals the deal in terms of Christmas spirit. Perhaps I would be less enthusiastic if I had to drive in it, but luckily for me in the city there's no need for a car. My snow-white walk coincided with kids going to school. What a treat for them, in this bizarre and unfortunate year. At least they got to enjoy the snow on their trek to class. An excellent start to what is going to be a 4-day weekend with no travel (we are still unable to leave the city).

Aside from the snow (which to my surprise is still falling --albeit not as intensely-- hours later) those working in bars and restaurants are having their own holly, jolly day. Today after about a month of mandatory closure throughout Galicia's cities, bars and cafés can open their doors once more. There are limits on capacity, but for them something is better than nothing, I'm sure. We are also allowed to see people who aren't from the same household as us. This whole time schools and classes continued, and shops were still open. But you couldn't meet up with your colleagues outside of work. Here's hoping the snow sticks but the Coronavirus does not.