What to do in a beach town when the weather just does not cooperate? Hop in the car and do some sightseeing! And that's precisely what we did one summer Saturday when ONCE AGAIN it was cloudy and looked like it was going to rain on our beach weekend. It's a risk you take in Galicia. Especially in the upper regions rather than the Rías Baixas.
The Windmill of Boucelo
Relatively ¨young¨ as far as the Old Continent is concerned, this windmill dates to 1840. Apparently there used to be over 100 windmills in Galicia, but now they are few and far between. This one in particular is in decent condition, about 20 feet high an 10 in diameter. Can you believe the walls are about a yard thick?! Holy cow!
The Church of St. Michael of Breamo
This Romanesque church is all that remains of a Benedictine monastery built nearly a thousand ago. Love me some románica architecture! Nowadays the small church is famous for its romarías. (I really need to thoroughly explain Galician festival vocabulary some day). Twice a year people make the hike up the hill to the church, stopping repeatedly to catch their breath and probably take a swig of something potent. Behind the church are some picnic tables and stone grills used only on these days.
I (sort of) hope to be able to update this post in the future with two more architectural treasures in the area: the Castle of Andrade and the Pazo of Mariñán. They are definitely on my list, but going to them means that it will have been another dreary day at the beach.
