When I’m 75 years old,

The end is drawing near.

I’m not on my best condition,

I complain so much more than now.

One day when I'm sitting on my terrace,

Sipping my tea, watch the sun goes down.

I recall the beautiful year 2015,

and think about the 26 years old me.

I also think about my regrets,

The things I have never done,

The place I have never been,

The feeling I have never felt.

I am now 26 years old.

So it’s time.

Its time to love,

Its time to live,

Its time to see,

The time is now.

"Surrounded by hills, somewhat rainy and no mediterranean sea..."

Exactly not the first thing comes to mind when you think about Spain in general.
It applied the same to me before my visit to Galicia, a beautiful autonomous community in Northwestern Spain.

I used to think that Spain is a country surrounded solely by the Mediterranean sea. But after this trip, I discovered that Galicia is not your typical daydream of Spain.
Oh, did I mention that when it comes to their traditional music, Galicia share more similarity to the celts' (yes you're right, the bagpipes). So, just forget about Flamenco :)

You can find cruceiros (stone cross) and Horreo (granary) almost everywhere, especially on country-side neighbourhood . It is also interesting to know that the churches here look different from those that built on the southern.

Cruceiros (left) and Horreo (right)

However, despite of being not-typical Spain, it is blessed with fantastic seafood and hours of sun exposure on summer! 

I arrived on the 15th of July at OPO airport in Portugal. This is my first trip to Spain, and my second country to visit in Europe after Belgium in the cold February. The trip took around 1,5 hours by car to Pontevedra. I arrived midnight at 2.30 AM.

I split my stay between Pontevedra and O Grove. I spent three nights in Pontevedra before move to a camping called Os Fieitas in O Grove.
During these three days, I explored the city of Pontevedra and visit Combarro.

The Old Bridge, Pontevedra

One can find Pulperia (a place where you can eat Polbo á Feira) almost anywhere, easily. I even saw four at a festival in the capital city Santiago.
Pulpo. Mmm... I like it.
It is basically just a boiled octopus, cut with scissors, with olives oil, salt and sprinkles of pimentón dulce y picante. But it is que rico! Try to find place that serve some young red wine and drink traditionally using a bowl.

And.. please don't make me choose among churrasco (the pork ribs), puplo or Nécoras. Cos I can't!

Pulpo at Pulperia Ruzo

Pulpo and Churrasco at Pulperia Garcia, Santiago

The second day, I visited Combarro. It is a touristic village which previously was a village of fishermen. The trip took 30 minutes driving from Pontevedra. Combarro is a unique and interesting place. It has many narrow streets.

Most of the building are houses of local people and some of the rest are souvenir shop or bar and restaurant. When you keep waking straight, it will eventually lead you to a beach where you can see the complete look of the village. Oh, and there's a vineyard too.

Have some little fun by allowing yourself to get lost a little in those alleys.

The following day, I moved to O Grove. The weather was perfect throughout my stay there (except for one day).
Everyday was a beach day, but water wasn't always involved, though.
Yes.. Atlantic water can be too cold to bathe in sometimes. But the sun was great and it were perfect days for sunbathing!

The camping where I stayed is within walking distance to many surrounding beaches. Perfect for strolling and enjoying my daily dose of paseo.

The sunset view from Camping 

One the most unforgettable beach I encountered is Pedras Negras (literally means 'Black Stones' in Galician). This beautiful beach offers impressive panoramic view provided by the clusters of gigantic rocks. There is a wooden walkway, but I chose to walk on the wild side and climb the massive rocks instead.
I took occasional stops to watch and enjoy the endless cloudy sky and the blueness of the Atlantic ocean. When you look closely, you can find small trapped little seafood sea creatures.

Pedras Negras

Pedras Negras is one is a calm quiet beach, perfect for getting lazy, resting and having a little siesta perhaps. Anyone?? :)

Nearby, there is a Bar and Restaurant named El Pirata where I had my caña and squid tapas before return to the camping that day.

Una Caña en El Pirata

I am a big fan of traditional market. Whenever I travel to a new place I make sure I pay it a visit. The very next day, I visit the central area of O Grove.
Being a little town by the coast his place has its own unique charm.

I also notice a very interesting coincidence between Galicia's witch/ witchery folklore from the past with the fact that there are so many black cats in present Galicia (at least around Pontevedra and O Gove).
At one point, I was wondering if these cute black felines are purposely released to give more witchy kind of atmosphere for the tourist.
But I am sure it is just me being a little loca. Jejeje... :)

Pheww...! Enough of this one long post!
Kindly check my my next post about Illa de Ons and Santiago which I put into two separate posts.

All in all, the trip to Galicia is very satisfying to me. People are friendly --despite of me being one of only a few Asian in town, people greeted me, "!hola¡".
Not to mention, I also experienced priceless satisfaction from eating Churrasco and Pulpo!

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