Galicia on Fire

Last month the local and national news barely talked about anything else. Galicia was on fire, along with neighboring Castilla y León. This summer, the biggest wildfires on record in Galicia engulfed the land. Dozens of forest fires burned rampant, mostly in nearly-vacant southern Ourense.  In August alone 270,000 acres burned in Galicia. And these official estimates provided by the Galician government are perhaps exceedingly optimistic, as Coppernicus (the EU's observation of Earth) calculates a number closer to 341,000 acres. That's half the state of Rhode Island! When you put it that way, it doesn't sound very big seeing as Rhode Island is such a tiny state. But imagine all of that ablaze and destroyed for years to come. Alarming!

Uncontrolled wildfires leave a trail of helplessness and destruction. I can only imagine what it's like to see your house threatened by mile-high flames. In addition to helplessness, rage. The wildfires have many causes, the most unthinkable being thoughtless people who intentionally start them themselves, either pyromaniacs or people who think it's easier to burn the brush than clean it up with machinery. Rural abandonment doesn't help, either. With the countryside ¨emptied out¨ in some places, highly flammable brush plus the thousands of Eucalyptus trees planted far and wide to make a buck make the land a matchbox. Call it an indirect result of Galician policy. There are direct political causes, too. As this is a recurring problem in Galicia, there are protocols to prepare for wildfire season. The Galician government (known as the Xunta) dropped the ball on this one. One example: vacant public positions were left unfilled so that in the middle of the chaos caused by the flames, the Xunta desperately sought to hire 300 forest fire fighters. Too little, too late. 

Luckily the end of August brought a drop in temperatures and that typical Galician rain. The good news is all of the wildfires have been put out. The bad news is, as they are no longer making headlines, soon they will be forgotten. No changes will be made nor blame accepted until next year's wildfire season. Here's hoping I'm wrong on that. 

It's Chestnut Time!

Chestnuts are a big deal here in Galicia. You can tell by the sheer amount of words en galego associated with them. There's a verb for specifically picking up fallen chestnuts, soutar. There are also several words to describe chestnuts that leave the spiky burr on their own, restrelo, baguto, degaro. Words to describe chestnuts that didn't quite reach their peak (also valid for potatoes), bolerca. Words for chestnuts that have been boiled with their shell, zonco, mamota. Plus Galicia's favorite autumnal event: magosto. And with such an abundance of chestnuts in the provinces of Lugo and Ourense for centuries, structures were built specifically for them. Two-storey shacks (sequeiros) can be found near some forests, used expressly for drying chestnuts. Ouriceiras are small, circular stone structures without a roof, and a narrow opening just wide enough for a person to fit in. They were used to store the chestnuts in their burrs while safeguarding them from animals such as wild boars. On a visit to Marronda Forest which has a trail lined with chestnut trees, we noticed several of these ouriceiras. If I hadn't just recently read about them, I would have thought they were some sort of castro. 

Inside an out-of-use ouriceira

Pumpkin dip and wine bowl

This year for the first time, I've spent sunny fall afternoons collecting chestnuts myself. Sixteen pounds in three days! And there are still more to be collected. Needless to say that is a lot of chestnuts for one (or even two) person. One way to eat chestnuts is boiled with milk and cinnamon. I had never tried it like that until now, and it's delicious! Like eating a bowl of cereal. Chestnuts are actually more like a grain than a nut. That's why before America was discovered, Galicians basically lived off of chestnuts. Now potatoes have become a staple, and chestnuts are reserved for autumn snacking.

With so many pounds of chestnuts collected this year, we just had to celebrate a mini-magosto of our own. I'm not even sure it could be considered a real magosto since that is traditionally saved for the first 11 days of November. We did, however, have all the necessary foods. Aside from chestnuts roasted on an open fire, we also roasted chorizo and sweet potatoes (a tradition imported by our Catalan friend) and sipped red wine. And a very festive kuri pumpkin spread, if I do say so myself. With COVID-19 looming, that may have been our only magosto for the year. 

Some of the harvest drying, but alas, not in a sequeiro

Western Towns of Asturies

This weekend to keep our quarantined spirits up, we had an Asturian themed afternoon. Asturies, party of two! It was complete with fabada (bean soup typical of Asturies), sidra, queso de Cabrales (a strong Asturian goat cheese), and Asturian tunes. Not long before the quarantine, though, I was actually in Asturies. So here goes another post:

A couple of months ago, we took a little getaway to the western part of Asturies. Despite being the part closest to my home in Galicia, the west was essentially the only part of Asturies that I hadn't yet seen. I'd been to the major cities of Xixón and Uviéu; as well as up and down the coast in Cuideiru, Avilés, Llanes, and Ribadesella; not to mention the national park region in the southeast.

Salas

Salas and its market

Salas is the capital of the municipality of the same name. This region of Asturies is full of green hills, but then again so is most of Asturies. Salas is small but with a really cute Medieval town center. When we arrived they had a decent-sized market set up. I would have thought we had travelled back in time a few centuries if it weren't for the stalls selling socks, bras, and fuzzy pajamas! There wasn't much else to see here, so we strolled around and soaked up the winter sun.

Malleza

An indiano complete with palm trees

This parish of Salas has a smattering of houses, including some really lovely indianos. Indiano describes a style of large house built by returned emigrants. In the early 20th century, many Galicians and Asturians emigrated to Cuba and South America in search of a better life. Those who struck it rich returned with enough money to build a mansion in their homeland. Bonus points for bringing back palm trees! There are many indianos in A Mariña (northern part of Lugo province) as well as in Asturies. I'm not sure if all of Malleza's indianos are inhabited, but they certainly were well-kept with colorful, fresh coats of paint. Unfortunately, the same is not always true for historical buildings and sites in Galicia.

Tuña

Neighboring hórreos

This little village had a surprising number of mansions. Two or three, actually. My favorite was a noble palace from the 18th century. It still appears to be occupied, although I imagine they only live on one floor. Apart from the architecture, I liked the amount of sun it got. It was also just a hop skip and a jump from the Roman bridge over Tuña's River. Convenient! In Tuña, just about every house had its own hórreo. Galicia also has hórreos, but in Asturies they are around 3 times the size. And they're pretty uniform: almost always brown and square. (In Galicia they're made of a variety of materials and rectangular, with lengths varying on wealth.)

Cangas del Narcea
After visiting hamlets of barely 1,000 habitants, this town of 12,000 people felt so cosmopolitan. The fact that a lot of people were better-dressed than us helped, too. But the pedestrian shopping street also felt like a European city. Here we had lunch at a sidrería. When in Rome! The highlight of Cangas was actually in the village ¨next door,¨ Corias. The top (re: only) attraction in Corias is a gigantic monastery, now converted into a Parador. And that's where we spent the night. A luxurious, centuries-old building. Inside it has a museum of the ruins the present monastery was built on. And the old wine cellar has been converted into a swimming pool!

Just one section of the Parador. It was huge

Valadouro and Monte da Frouxeira

Valadouro

I am enamored! There's a new village on my list of favorites. Galicia is full of countryside and villages, so it's hard not to find something you like. We spent this Easter weekend on the northern coast of Lugo (A Mariña Lucense) and explored a new area: Valadouro. You could tell me this gorgeous valley was in the Pyrenees and I would believe you. Sure, the mountains are a little lower. But I daresay the wide, green valley is just as beautiful.

Part of Monte da Frouxeira

We went to Valadouro's capital, Ferreira. Walking around, it seemed like an ideal village. Not miniscule, but still just shy of being a ¨town.¨ It had around 8 bars/cafés, and they all had people in them (One of the great mysteries of this country is how there can be so many bars/cafés and yet there are people in each one!). Later we were informed that all that ambiance was mostly due to people being on vacation for Holy Week. But having the options of that many places to get a drink is enough for me. Ferreira also has a bakery and hotel! Gadzooks! In regards to the bakery, I had gotten used to the bread van driving by the country house every morning. So a real bakery with treats to choose from seems like a city advantage. When I looked up Ferreira's population online, however, I was shocked to see that only 800 people live there!

 

Giant camellia tree

The reason for our trip to this undiscovered (to me) valley was to visit a friend. His house/yard itself is awesome, right at the edge of the valley. So in his backyard starts the hill. There's also a century-old camellia tree which had left tons of petals on the ground. I suggested he get into the event business, because with that tree, in that valley, with those fields-- who wouldn't want to get married there? In his eyes, city slickers from Madrid would probably be the only customers, since ¨everyone has their own fields.¨ I must have been really showing my (sub)urban side with my amazement.

Some Galicians pointing to the encroaching Spanish troops

The peak (pun intended) of our visit was going up Frouxeira mountain. Apparently this is a very important place for Galicians. It all goes back to when Galicia was its own kingdom, centuries ago. This mountain held a key castle (Castelo da Frouxeira) which resisted Spain's army under the Catholic Kings. Perched upon the mountain it was invincible. Until a betrayal brought its downfall. Hmph! Nowadays, there are only a few bricks left from the castle, as well as steps carved into the rocks. The best part though, is the view of the entire valley of Valadouro. On the other side you can see the sea and some coastal towns. We just happened to go at sunset which made it even more magnificent. I know I'll be back to see this epic sunset again.

Domingueiros, Dominguieras (Sunday Drivers)

Sundays without plans are a perfect opportunity for a drive south of the border; and northern Portugal still has many gems to explore. We usually take the ¨long way,¨ opting for quiet country roads instead of paying for the speed of the turnpike.

Arcos de Valdevez
Our first stop, and the ¨biggest city¨ on the agenda (population: around 20,000), Arcos de Valdevez was a quiet town on a river. Quiet, perhaps, because it was Sunday morning and people were at mass. It has twin churches at different ends of one plaza. A third church can be seen in the same line, but it's an odd shape for a church: a rounded square. In this town we tested out two different cafés and noticed some differences between Galicia and Portugal. The grocery stores were open, which on a Sunday in Spain is unfathomable.

Soajo

Espigueiros in Soajo

A short drive away, this tiny town is famous for its group of hórreos. Well, what Galicians call hórreos, the Portuguese call espigueiros. They are one in the same though: elevated stone or wooden granaries to store and dry grains above ground where mice couldn't get into them. In Galicia they are a common site in many yards in the countryside, with designs often depending on the region. In Portugal it would seem that the tradition was to have all the espigueiros gathered together, since the only ones I've seen in Portugal were in conglomerations. In Soajo, there are more than 20 grouped together on a huge slab of rock. They aren't used any more, but sure make for a pretty picture amongst the green and mountains.

Part of our adventure in Soajo included listening to google maps, which actually doesn't always know best. It sent us towards the village's fastest exit, which included hills, difficult turns, and not to mention incredibly narrow streets. We saw villagers' cars parked in their driveways, so we persevered, knowing it was possible to get through with a car. At one point the car scraped between two buildings. Glad it wasn't me driving! We ended up turning around anyways, because we were being led down a steep hill with a difficult turn at the end. Luckily a villager was passing by and helped direct the car towards the main road.

Lindoso

Lindoso Castle in background

Further into the Peneda Gerês National Park, which straddles the eastern part of the Galician-Portuguese border, is the hamlet of Lindoso. Here there were even fewer houses, but just as many espigueiros. Except rather than being on top of a rock, they were in the backyard of a castle. Delightful! The inside of the castle was closed, but we were able to walk along its outer wall and look out at the espigueiros. It was easy to imagine them full of corn to keep my castle and kingdom fed for the winter.

View from the castle

Between stops we came across some cows with HUGE horns, just chilling.

Sistelo
After lunch we headed to Sistelo, a hamlet surrounded by lush green hills. They took advantage of the hills by leveling off the land so that they could have gardens and place for animals to graze. To take in all the views, we went on a super quick hike to the church, down a steep set of stone stairs, over a river, and back up the stairs again. Not much to say here, the photos speak for themselves. Although they don't even do the green hillside justice.

Sistelo from the other side of the hill

Island Getaway

Ah, the glorious bridges of Spain. And by bridges, I mean ¨puentes,¨ what they call long weekends in Spain, usually when the holiday falls on a Thursday or Tuesday, and they take off four days in a row to bridge the gap. Thanks to my already spectacular schedule, the week of the Immaculate Conception and Constitution day, I only worked one day: Wednesday. So we took advantage with a little trip to Mallorca. Roundtrip tickets to the Mediterranean island were cheaper (and quicker!) than a bus to Madrid--who could say no?

Sunning myself

The first thing in Palma's airport that caught my attention was that things were in 4 languages: Spanish and Catalan (obviously), English (also pretty typical), and German. People had told me there was a huge German population on the island. I thought they were exaggerating. But since it was winter, there was less tourism in general. Which in some cases, gave places a sad, ghost-town feeling.

Castell de Bellver

We spent our first two days in the capital. In Palma we took in the typical sites, including the Cathedral, which even from kilometers away is prominent. La Loncha is the old fisher's market. Now it's simply a huge, empty space you can enter and almost feels like a cathedral. Palma's harbor is home to hundreds of boats: from dinghies with chipped paint to grandiose yachts worth hundreds of thousands of euros. A short stroll from the harbor, away from the city, is Castell de Bellver. It's a circular castle on a wooded hilltop. The open architecture makes it feel like a monastery. We also visited the Arabian Baths ruins. Unlike the Roman baths of Galicia, they are no longer functioning, but still cool to imagine. And as far as nightlife goes, we found a great, open bar that was playing the Clash all night long. Woohoo! Also we encountered so many sushi restaurants it almost seemed like a typical Mallorcan dish. Yum.

Castell de Bellver

From Palma the Serra de Tramuntana beckoned us.We quickly realized that the island itself is quite small, and we easily could have stayed in one central location and traveled to all of the island (it's all within an hour). But constantly switching lodging allowed us to see a lot of unique places. Anyways, the sierra is a World Heritage Site. This beautiful collection of hillside towns reminded me of a blend of Picos de Europa + Northern Africa + Napoli. My favorite town was charming Valdemossa, where all of the shutters are green. We caught the Port de Soller just as the sun started to go down, giving it a pink glow. Last but not least was Fornalutx, dubbed ¨the most beautiful town in Spain.¨ It's true that it was nestled in a valley, had some lovely cobblestone streets, and on the outskirts we found hens sitting in orange trees. Unfortunately, we got there after dark. In some ways it lost beauty, but in other ways it gained it.

Valdemossa

Next we headed to the north of the island. Part of Pollença doesn't have coast, but it is between two mountains. We left early enough to check out the morning market--somebody wanted to bring back Mallorcan meat (sobrasada) and yet some how we forgot to buy the typical powdered sugar treat the size of a medium pizza (ensaimada)! From there, following the winding roads of Port de Pollença, we were rewarded with some spectacular views. Nothing but sea! And also because it was the off season, the resorts were closed and we had the beachy areas to ourselves. And since it's the Mediterranean and the temperature was decent, he even took a little dip. In December!

Oh little town of Alcúdia

That night we stayed in an old monastery outside the large town, Alcúdia. The monastery was at the end of a winding road, perched atop a hill, once again with wicked views of the sea. As we rounded one of the corners while returning at night, we came across a giant goat (horns and all) just sitting in the middle of the road. In the pitch dark. Just a few nights before Krampus was to come. Was this a close encounter with Satan himself?! We will never know.

Hoppin around in Pol·lentia

Alcúdia was a nice place to walk around, even though it was quite empty. It has some remains of an ancient wall and a Renaissance one. (But again, living Galicia has spoiled me, seeing as Lugo has a Roman wall in its entirety.)  The next day we walked around the remains of the Ancient Roman city of Pol·lentia (go figure, it's in Alcúdia and not present-day Pollença). Those ruins included 3 domus, the forum, and an amphitheater. An amphitheater which one guide book pointed out is the smallest in Spain. Now that's something to be proud of! I'm all about Roman ruins though, so it was cool.

From there we headed to the east coast to the Coves del Drach. If these caves aren't a World Heritage Site, they should be. I like caves in general, but in addition to the normal cave fun, Drach has a big lagoon inside it. They make the entry cost worth it, because the tour ends in an open amphitheater within the cave, in front of the lagoon. They turn out the lights, and slowly a candle-lit boat comes a-rowin' towards the crowd with a quartet playing (in our case Christmas carols). Marvelous! After the concert, the public is able to cross the lagoon in the rowboats built for about 20. What an experience.