Trayle

Have you ever been to the North-West of Spain?

No?

Well, we have and we can recommend it. Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country are worth to spend some weeks around. In autumn and winter it is said to be quite chilly and wet but we went in July and had a great time. The surroundings are rough but green mountains that end straight into the sea. There are many white beaches although the water is not very warm. The seafood here is one of the best in Spain and it is not so touristy as the many Costas in the rest of Spain.

We entered Spain from France in San Sebastian. We passed San Sebastian and Bilbao because we had to meet up with friends in Santiago some days later, so we missed out on the best tapas  in Spain and the Guggenheim museum. Unfortunately we forgot to drive up into the Picos de Europa. We were later told that this is a fantastic mountainside in the area where Cantabria, Asturias and Leon meet, and where you can hike for ever from one lookout to the other. So we have to go back again.

 

Anyway, in Spain we followed to country road in stead of the highway. This way we got a much better feeling with the countryside although it takes much more time. We called it a day on camping "Playa de Berria" in a little village called Santoña (Cantabria), a place where many surfers go.

 

 

We had a basic snack in the camping before an unreal sunset appeared in front of us. At night we had a couple of stiff drinks in the camping bar before hitting the beds.

The next 2 weeks we have been in marvellous Santiago de Compostela with its huge cathedral and its fine streets full of restaurants, bars and people. We also visited Vigo, Pontevedra, Ourense and many little villages in between.

 

We follow the beautiful Rio Miño from Ourense to the coast, where this river borders Spain and Portugal. Following the coast to the north you find the Rias. These look similar as the Norwegian Fjords but are much more crowded.

 

One night we arrived in BUEU at the beaches of the Ria de Pontevedra. We stayed at the surprisingly affordable Hotel-Restaurant Loureiro where we had a double room for ? 35,- (in July).

Next door there was a good restaurant Veiriña do Mar (no, this is not Portuguese but Galician) where the seafood was great again and we had another magnificent view.

 

 The gambas were what we were eating and this sunset was what we were seeing. Not bad, isn't it?

 

 

And a nice sunset hit us again, but this time with some nice gambas in our mouth and a camera nearby.The northwest of Spain is a place of its own. Another area to go back to (But life is so short).

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Costa de Muerte. Almost our private beach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And with a nice beach you think of a cool, fresh...... ;-)