Silleda and Surroundings

For Galicians, the town Silleda likely brings to mind two things: the oposicións-- the various exams taken en masse to obtain a government job-- or the annual mega-fair of farm products and more. This fall I went for the first reason, accompanying a test taker. When I was there, I was impressed by the facilities used for both the exams and the fair. In my opinion, it seemed more like a City of Culture than the modern buildings built at the beginning of this century on the outskirts of Santiago de Compostela and dubbed the Cidade de Cultura. The facilities in Silleda are unexpectedly massive. It makes sense though, since sometimes over a thousand people take a test at once. Aside from the huge buildings and lots of steps, there is green space crisscrossed by sidewalks with columns that are so reminiscent of a typical American college campus. I would be interested to see the place during the annual fair, brimming with all kinds of vendors and products. 

Since the exam takes up to three hours, I had plenty of time to not just go back to sleep, but also to do some exploring on my own. And now that I can drive, I wasn't limited Silleda's small town center. A 10-minute drive away is a Medieval monastery nestled in the hillside. The grand Mosteiro de Carboeiro seemed fit for Brother Cadfael. I later learned it was more likely fit for the criminals he caught, as it was later turned into a sort of monk prison. Not a prison with shackles and cells as we might imagine, but merely being isolated in the middle of nowhere was considered punishment enough for ¨bad monks.¨ It was definitely a downgrade from the luxurious life in big city monasteries such as Compostela. 

The monastery and church were eventually abandoned. While the reason was monetary, a legend cropped up related to the Ponte do Demo (the devil's bridge), a Medieval bridge crossing the river just below the monastery. The legend says that while building the monastery, the monks were sick of hardships so they made a deal with the devil. He would build them the monastery in a matter of days in exchange for all the souls that died on that Sunday. After his work was done, instead of the promised souls, the abbot went after the devil with his secret weapon, the Book of Psalms. The devil was infuriated and ashamed, but there was nothing he could do. Until, centuries later, when the Book of Psalms was moved to Toledo. The devil finally had his revenge and was able to destroy the monastery. 

Fainted Romanesque paintings

This legend explains the church's recent ruined state, but by now it is in good shape, after being restored at the beginning of this century. Such good shape that a wedding was going to be held there the day I visited. The church's roof had to be replaced, which I hadn't even realized until I saw historic photos with it missing. Inside the church there were a few Romanesque paintings still visible on the walls. You could also go down to the crypt, or up to the tower to enjoy the view. In the monastery next door, there is a small collection of historical photos of the monastery and church. Then you can ramble down to the devil's bridge where a hiking route starts. It wasn't in the cards for me, however. The short visit was the perfect length to occupy the test-taking period. 

Que Lindo O Pindo! (Pretty Pindo)

Years ago, when I had first arrived here, in one class I asked my students to name places in Galicia that I should visit. I am certain that I visited almost all of them within the first five years. But I remember one place in particular that I never got to. A Fervenza do Ézaro is a huge and famed waterfall. Being as it is, far from any ¨big city¨ as well as any beach town, it is not on bus routes. And that's mostly how I used to get around. Public transportation! Eight years later, now with my own car I was finally able to cross Ézaro off my To-See list. I weaseled it into the agenda of a long weekend getaway to the Costa da Morte that we took with another family. In summertime there isn't as much water running down, since it's dry season. I still found it fascinating the amount of different streams that came together to create one big waterfall. One big waterfall that leads right to the sea. Freshwater meets saltwater! The combination of size and seaside location makes Ézaro so well-known.

Ézaro Falls was only the first stop on our ride. The destination was the small village of O Pindo. The weather was not great-- so much rain that we were lucky to hit the beach only twice in our four and a half days there. The beach there was very deep, rather than long. The water felt tepid, probably because the outdoor temperature was cool for August. The backdrop, however, was the best part. In the back of the beach were a few colorful houses, in front of rocky hills. Just looking at it from the sea, I felt like I could be a guest in the early 1900s at an Alpine hotel promising fresh air and curative saltwater. Seriously, I'm sure that if this beach town with mountainous background existed in any other European region, it would be transformed into a flourishing resort town. But since it's Galicia-- specifically the mostly isolated Costa da Morte-- it has remained a sleepy vacation destination for few. Can't say I mind!

Pindo Scenery

Barnacles!

One key feature of these family trips to the coast is fresh seafood every day. I myself am not a huge seafood fan, but it's better than fish! Nearly every day the gang went to the local shellfish farm to see what was for sale that day. Everyone took turns preparing their own specialty shellfish dish. Except for me, who has no idea how to cook seafood. We ate rice with lobster plus different recipes featuring cockles, clams, mussels, crabs big and small, and barnacles. Barnacles for me were the most noteworthy. I know it's a delicacy here, and had seen a friend try them but had never actually tried myself. The kids and adults both offered me tips on how to eat them. You pinch off the rough outer layer and suck on the inner part, connected to the rock-hard ¨foot.¨ It was actually pretty tasty! Mostly tasted like saltwater though. 

I used one trip to buy seafood as an excuse to get a pit stop near an hórreo. The Hórreo of Lira is along with the Hórreo of nearby Carnota the purported biggest hórreo in Galicia. It's held up by 22 pairs of legs! They must have had literal tons of corn and grains to store! The tremendously long hórreo was part of the churchyard, so once again we are talking about really wealthy clergy. I say once again, because the other very long hórreo I've seen in Poio, near Pontevedra was the property of a monastery. (By the way, that one has 17 rows of legs, but is wider.)

Now that's an hórreo! Lira

Despite the uncooperative weather, I enjoyed myself in pretty O Pindo. I'm still not a converted beach bum, so it wasn't too disappointing to have so little time in the sand. Plus I got to see rocks--my favorite!--as well as a landmark that had been a long time coming. And finally I'm fully caught up with this summer's wanderings. Now I can give fall its due...

Costa Nova Stripes

No trip to Aveiro, Portugal is complete without visiting Costa Nova. Glancing at a map, Aveiro looks like it's on the coast. Actually though, there is a strip of land with beaches, then the lagoon, and then the city of Aveiro. So to get to non-lagoon beaches, you have to leave the city limits. Costa Nova is one such town with beaches. But more than its beaches, the area is known for its adorably-painted striped houses. The houses--called palheiros-- were originally storage shacks for fishermen. Most recently, they are family summer homes, cottage rentals, or cafés. We beat the rush on a Sunday morning to see them. On the downside, it was foggy and brisk that early in the morning. But by the time we had walked up and down the beachfront boulevard to see all of the cute houses as well as paid a visit to the market to see the fresh seafood, the sun was shining. The area also has the Lighthouse of Aveiro, but due to the impossibility to park, we craned our necks to peer up at it through the car window as we drove by. 

This concludes my Summer Vacation in Portugal 2021. From Aveiro we backtracked to Porto for a few days before I headed home to the USofA. But since it was my third trip to Porto, I shall end here. I'm sure I will be back to the sites and delicious, cheap food of Portugal some day soon!

Aveiro: Portugal's Venice?

A moliceiro

The main destination of our summer trip to Portugal was Aveiro. Since it has several canals and its own type of boat, it is often called the Venice of Portugal. No offence to Venice, but I enjoyed Aveiro way more! Probably due to the fact that even in mid August it was not overrun with tourists. The majority of languages we overheard were Portuguese with some French and Spanish thrown in. So while there certainly were people visiting from out-of-town, you could tell you were still in Portugal. It also had lots of Art Nouveau buildings, which I liked.

Another difference in Aveiro: the affordability of a boatride. Venice has its gondolas, Aveiro its moliceiros. I'm not sure what the going rate is for a private gondola tour nowadays, but we paid a little over 10€ each for a moliceiro ride. Granted, it wasn't private. Moliceiros-- previously used to haul and harvest algae-- are more like a minibus in size. They are brightly painted, with the image of a famous person at the head, and a dirty joke at the back. Yet even in the company of 20 more passengers, it was a pleasant ride along Aveiro's few canals. There's another difference: Aveiro only has a handful of canals which are sourced by the neighboring lagoon. On our moliceiro ride we passed under the colorful Friendship Bridge, passed by the salina, and turned around in front of the old ceramic factory. Much more interesting than your run-of-the-mill walking tour. 

Colorful ribbons hung on the Friendship Bridge

After seeing the salina from afar, we checked it out up close and personal. There is a free eco-museum where you can walk around the platforms yourself. The salt collects as the water drains out. It just happened to be close to salt-harvesting time, because a man was hard at work spreading the salt with a shovel. Across the street there is a private salina. For a few euros you get access to their salty beach and spa. The beach was really muddy, and we saw some people slathering it all over themselves. Must have some curative properties. Because of the high salt content, you floated a little more than in regular water. It wasn't too noticeable to me, though. The spa was a very shallow section with warm, pink water. Nice, except lying on salt isn't very comfortable. Ouch, poking crystals! 

Salt spa. Note the piles of salt in the background

Saltworker Statue.
The main canal at night

As in the rest of Portugal, we ate well and inexpensively in Aveiro. One jawdroppingly cheap place was within a mall, but we got there relatively early and snagged a table on its terrace facing the canal. For FIVE EUROS we got a soup, a drink, a choice of meat or fish dish, a dessert, and a coffee. Unbelievable! As we were finishing up, the line went all the way down the stairs. It certainly wasn't the tastiest food on the trip, but for 5€ what more could you ask for? Given our extremely cheap lunch, for dinner we ¨splurged¨ on a nice meal. At twilight we found a small terrace on a quiet side street. Quiet except for the soothing jazz musician playing nearby. Here we went all out with a scrumptious shrimp curry dish and a bottle of vinho verde, a typical white wine from a little further north in Portugal. 

And as far as sweets go, Aveiro's typical treat is ovo mole. It's an eggy (and very yellow-orange) sweet liquid inside of wafers. They have wafers of all shapes and sizes. We went for some barrel- and fish-shaped ovos moles. A bit too sweet for me, if you can believe it!

Praia de Mira: A Gem of a Beach Town

So...on the Portuguese highway headed south from Guimarães, I thought it would be a good idea to call the campground I had researched to make sure they had space. Ya know, just in case. After all, the planning for this trip had been up to me. Stubbornly, I didn't need any help. As you can imagine, I wouldn't be writing about it if they had had spots available. Desperately I tried calling a few other places in my broken Galician-Portuguese mix. While looking up campsite reviews online. And trying to stay calm and not get my vacation-planning privileges revoked. But honestly, it was just as well that our plan A didn't work out. That campground had been in the middle of nowhere, whereas our final campground was amidst a natural park with lagoons. It had a pool, a snack bar, and plenty of open area to pitch a tent. It was also just a short walk from the coastal village Praia de Mira.

Praia de Mira ended up being where we spent more time than Aveiro, as originally planned. It was a bustling beach town in the summer months, and likely quite dead in the winter. You know the drill. The area was curious because to the west was a long beach, which has been a Blue Flag Beach since the honor has existed. Then there was the town, a few streets parallel with the sea. Then there was an inner lagoon. That area was full of campgrounds. It had a nice, new boardwalk amongst the wetlands. In the evening it was lit beautifully and you could stop to enjoy the calm on large swings. 

Beyond the trees: the lagoon

Sunday afternoon was a scorcher, so we spent it at the Praia (beach) of Mira. As did just about everyone else within a ten mile radius. Colorful parasols and windbreakers made for a lovely scene. As far as taking a refreshing dip in the ocean ... there was not much of that. People were congregated at the seashore, just barely wading. Nobody was out swimming or in past their knees. The lifeguards appeared to be on high alert, leading us to believe there were immense undercurrents. But aside from that, the water was painfully cold! Perhaps it's because I haven't been to the Rías Baixas in a while, and have been spoiled by warm waters in Mallorca, Miño, and Costa da Morte. But that water was icy! We determined that the only people who went up past their knees were doing their business. Walking along the beach we saw the large wooden boats used for traditional fishing in Praia de Mira. We didn't get to see them in action, but heard that without a port, returning fishermen used to use oxen to pull their boats up in the sand. 

Note the tiny coffee cup

Speaking of fresh fish, we ended up dining mostly in Praia de Mira rather than Aveiro. There were plenty of small family restaurants with patios. Hard to go wrong: the food in Portugal is super cheap and also tasty. We kept the cod coming, and I even branched out with some fish pasta. Twilight dinner was almost always accompanied by vinho verde, a white wine from Northern Portugal. And for dessert, sometimes nibbling on something sweet, sometimes sipping Beirão (Portugal's unofficial digestive, my new favorite!), sometimes drinking a tiny but potent cup of Portuguese coffee, and other times all three. 

Side note on the coffee: the regular coffee cups are a little bigger than a shotglass. Looking up some Portuguese vocabulary we had found tons of different words for coffee styles. While seeking a coffee with milk, which would be served in a small mug here in Spain, they brought said tiny coffee cup, full to the brim. Huh? I wanted it with milk. ¨I'm pretty sure that is a coffee with milk.¨ I myself am not a coffee drinker, but to prove a point I ordered a ¨plain coffee¨ in the next place. Sure enough, the ¨regular¨ without milk was barely half of the tiny coffee cup. One sip and done! But it really packs a punch. 

Meandering in Medieval Guimarães

Of Galicia's seven cities, three of them have airports. That's a lot of airports for just one Autonomous Community with no city over 500,000 residents. On the southern coast is Vigo, which makes sense because it is a major port city with industry. Then there's Santiago de Compostela, perhaps Galicia's biggest airport. Aside from being centrally located, it's also the capital, so that also makes sense. Then on the northern coast is A Coruña, home to the fashion industry of Inditex. Basically each city has their reasons for having an airport of their own.

But one consequence of Galicia's multiple airports is that there is no single hub for international flights. Because of this, to fly internationally (to outside of the EU especially) it is often cheaper and quicker to fly from the Northern Portuguese city of O Porto. Depending on which part of Galicia you're coming from, it can be only two or three hours away. (Factoring in the time zone change to one hour behind, you can ¨get there¨ in as little as one hour!) That's much quicker than driving to Spain's central airport in Madrid, at least five hours away from Galicia. So thanks to the flight from Portugal, this year before my well-overdue trip home we spent a full week in Northern Portugal.

Castle of Guimarães

First stop: a day in Guimarães. Guimarães is a small Medieval Portuguese city. In fact, it's the birthplace of Portugal. Its attractions include the two-for-one Paço dos Duques from the 15th century, and the neighboring Castle of Guimarães. Inside the palace were enormous faded antique carpets, Renaissance paintings, and elaborate wooden furniture. The Castle, while potent from the outside, is empty on the inside. You can go up and keep watch as you walk along the outer wall, but there is nothing else to see. But hey, striding on top of a wall that's over a millennium old is quite enough for me!

Paço dos Duques courtyard

The square where we
had coffee, with its
Medieval monument

The city's Old Town is also its own attraction. No wonder the Historic Center of Guimarães is a UNESCO World Heritage Site! We got there in the morning and took in the Medieval barrio with little competition. But after our coffee in a lovely cobblestone square, the tour groups started appearing. We did plenty of walking (and even jogging) around the Old Town, between having to pay the parking meter every 90 minutes and me leaving my phone in the car but fearing I had lost it. Among the old whitewashed buildings was a convent selling pastries with a line of customers out the door. The bakery was called Divina Gula, divine gluttony. The Portuguese are known for their desserts. And nuns everywhere are too, apparently. So obviously we had to try some.  All almond-based. Not my personal favorite, but of course they weren't bad. 

We couldn't fill up on sweets, though, as lunch was right around the corner! Well, I was convinced that the Portuguese eat lunch way earlier than the Spanish do (here it's usually around 2 or 3 PM). I guess I exaggerated but all the better. That way we beat the rush and didn't have to wait. We ate in an old manor house turned-restaurant, with the huge, shady courtyard used as the terrace. In addition to pastries, Portugal is also known for its many ways of preparing cod. And so the Cod Fest commenced! Not for me, of course. Not a huge fish fan. But someone else may have challenged himself to eat cod everyday. 

After lunch we visited the castle and paço. No waiting at lunchtime. Then we skedaddled south, to spend a few nights camping...