Marvellous Galicia

Good evening all, I hope this finds you well. Am writing today from Vigo station, nearing the end of a 6 hour wait and a confounding morning at the bus station, served by a dozen different bus companies, where each person gave different information...it was just easier to wait all day and get the evening train...it is surprisingly hard to travel the 35 miles to Viana do Castelo from here...but it is across a border...and I cannot complain as the time in beautiful Galicia has been like a dream.

My first impression was how similar to Brittany it looked, in terms of the houses and the landscape...it is another nation of sailors, worldwide emigration, a huge coastline of inlets and outlets, and its own language, much as it is seen as part of a larger neighbour. Apparently the Galician kings of old found it better to align themselves with nearby Castile rather than with Portugal, since the language being so similar, a union with Portugal would have meant absorption, rather than being part of a federation where its language and unique culture are recognised. Perhaps that explains the complexity of crossing the border here...much as all the place names look Portuguese, and the signs in Gallego would be easier for a Portuguese speaker than a Castilian speaker to understand, there is not much connection with Portugal, Galicians have looked away from it, and made connections across the sea.

The first stop out of the car was a beautiful and empty beach near Cariño. Empty of people but full of butterflies and sunshine. The water was very cold but gorgeous, and the beach was so incredibly clean that any bits of plastic stood out...so it was quite easy to do a really good beach clean along the shoreline. I can't believe I haven't made a habit of doing this before, but I made a promise to myself in future to always take a paper bag and clean up rubbish whenever I go to a beach or a walk in beautiful countryside. There's no way I could ever pay the natural world back for all the joy and peace it gives, but this would be a start.

We moved on through idyllic countryside, into mist and cloud, and as it got thicker, all that I could make out were palm trees and apple trees...all this with the lovely M80 radio station on...lots of oldies but they played a recent hit which was sung in gallego, but  had the rhythms and instruments of Irish and Breton music...bass, drums, pipes and fiddles...this is the music of Galicia and with all the mists, the combinations of trees, the music and signs that look Portuguese, it felt very dreamlike....all these different memory triggers jumbled together into one.

This was a treat night for us so we stayed somewhere lovely, with a kind of log cabin sitting room...very appropriate for the mist, which soon cleared to reveal the unexpected sight of the beautiful of bay of Cedeira...to which we went down to eat. I had heard Spanish people say how amazing Galician food was...it was even better than that. In the morning, it was off to the first Galician shop, the wonderful Acebo Crochet in the big port of A Coruña...it was actually a bit difficult to see much of the city in the mist and rain, but the welcome in the shop from Yolanda, her husband David and their daughter was warm enough to melt away any dampness. Would have loved to have stayed longer, but this was a very long driving day.

As the sun came out, we passed through valleys and rivers lined with such variety of trees and colours...even though these few are somewhat wasted on us as Shane is driving, and I am navigating and knitting...it was very inspiring though, and there I fixed up my plan for how the final blanket will look...we passed through Santiago de Compostela and saw many proud pilgrims arriving at the culmination of their journeys...lovely to see, but be warned, this is spaghetti junction around here and we arrived in Vigo- finally- rather frazzled and our first impressions weren't so great. How wrong first impressions can be, and another reminder of how intense travelling, and finding the way every day can be...and how much what you take in when you first arrive somewhere new always says a lot more about your state of mind and energy levels than about the place itself.

Because Vigo is absolutely beautiful, incredibly situated on a river mouth, with Pontevedra on the other side...the harbour is full of little sailboats, and people seem to be genuinely happy here, and it's Galician food again...in the light of day after a good night's sleep, I think it would be impossible not to appreciate it, and feel lucky to be here. The night before had been fraught with trying to work how to get to Viana on the Monday morning due to misinformation, and how to manage getting to the shop as well, the next day being Sunday and everything closed, and being overtired and grouchy....that all turned out to be right in the end...it IS difficult and complex to get to Viana, but it wasn't worth the stressing about it- it's just the way it is and have got a lot done in the long wait at least...and in frantically looking around, I did happen upon information about the Cies islands, a fery ride away, one that does run on Sundays. So it was decided to go there, above all not to drive anywhere, and this was one of those totally right decisions, result!

They are a nature reserve with no cars at all, and form three islands at high tide, and just one at low tide...it was a sunny day, and while knitting, waiting for the boat, I had a wonderful meeting...a lovely middle aged lady came up to talk to me, as she was also a knitter, and was wearing one of her own creations, a beautifully made azure cardigan adorned with colourful buttons. She also wore three watches and loads of badges all over her bag. I liked her at once, and I think we communicated in a mix of gallego, Spanish and Portuguese (she thought I was Portuguese by looking at me, but could see I wasn't by the way I was knitting...I know the continental way is faster, and the Portuguese way even better still, but once you've been doing one way a long time...) However we communicated, we managed and had one of those amazing yet rare moments of open and frank connection that you sometimes have with a stranger....very quickly we talk about how knitting is good for the nerves and the mind and talk quite frankly about our own struggles with mental health...and how crafts has helped us. We also talk about how it's best to switch to crochet if your shoulders ache a bit after long stints knitting...and the joy of finishing something. She said as soon as she saw me, she could tell by my eyes that I was close to finishing what I was doing, and indeed I was. We smile at the shared understanding and she stays to wave the boat off....it was special, and a moment to be very very grateful for....before you ask I didn't take a photo, even though shehad such a fab look. I don't really like to take photos in that (extremely rare) situation, and in any case I won't forget it.

And then...the islands....a real paradise, the comedown of leaving which I think may be quite tough! There is a bar at the port, but that's the only building...as we walked in, 'shiny happy people' was playing....which couldn't have been more apt. The day is spent smiling between knitting and cold water swimming, and just marvelling to each other at the natural beauty with the views of the city across the bay and enjoying just being, and each others' company... I know that's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's definitely mine. There was almost nothing to clean here....as a nature reserve, numbers are limited every day, and people seem to heed the advice on the ferry, and respect this wonderful place. I couldn't really begin to describe how it looks as I would never be able to do it justice....it was just how I imagined a desert island would look when I was a child, but had never seen in real life...so perhaps it was fitting that most of today was spent in a grimy bus station and cooped up in a station corner....whatever we had done today would have felt a little bit shit I think!

But early this morning, I did get to visit the last shop in the northern Spanish thread, the lovely Mundo Lanas (the world of wool). Puri who runs it is such a sweet lady and it was filled with customers, who must must knitted out their stash over the weekend and needed to restock....it was such a lovely atmosphere....this is clearly the happy place for many people...as it would be mine if I lived here. Puri gives lots of knitting and crochet lessons, and has taught so many people in the city....what a lovely gift to give a place. And I think Vigo deserves it.

Wishing you all love and light, chance meetings of connection, beautiful sights, sounds, tastes, smells and touches, wherever you are. Billy xxx