Northern Spain - Luarca

Finesterre - Galicia

We took off this morning and headed straight into Portugal (the wrong way) right off the bat.

As you can see, this fact really didn't have much impact. We laughed it off and drove onward to our first stop for traveller's cheque-cashing, etc. and then to find lunch. And a fine lunch it was...our stop was in a marina town called

It was a little tough navigating in another language...but as you can see, we made it to our first destination after a long day on the oceanside.






And it was lovely. While the Galician countryside was rolling and agricultural, the coastline was dotted with small towns and marinas, industry and big sky.

These rock faces are at Finesterre, or Land's End (Finish), which is where Faro Fisterra is found. This lighthouse is high above the rocks that must've dashed many ships before it was built there.

The town of Fisterra was welcoming and it ended up that we had the best meal of the trip on our very first night out adventuring. Although I began an unhappy relationship with seagulls. They started up very, very early in the morning - as did one of my roommates (who will remain unnamed but silently chastised online).

Portugal is like 15 minutes' drive!

All I'm going to say is that they are going to kill me for posting this one...but what I'm trying to emphasize is that when you do a little work...you get to play in Portugal!!!

Thing is...when you're a member of the family, you help out to get your people off the ground when they start their dreams, right?

Understood. I'm completely signed on to this.

It's the barter system that comes with endentured workers called familie and those you've known long enough to call the same...



















But look at this...



Come on...what a great trade off!

Almazuelas Inn - Day Two

With the gardens still under construction, the houses stand tall and almost formal.

So this is where we landed...okay, not in the glass of wine per se, but we had some good ones on this patio. This place is located just above Portugal on the Spanish Atlantic Coast. White wine is actually more the specialty of this area, but we drank our share of the red, even so.

See these nice white rocks around the cork tree? (Yes, that is a cork tree). Well, we weeded around and placed all those rocks. Not just here, but around the entire yard! (One must pay for one's board...)

We took a walk across the road and along the crest of the hill when suddenly, we come across these two all tied up and looking kind of territorial. They were stomping at us and looking ready to rewrite some kid's horror story about goats. We named the one "Clothes Pin" for the obvious reason, but I kept thinking that contraption was probably a rather defensive fixture. Maybe this guy likes to butt a lot and this was the easiest way to grab him, though I never asked.

And wouldn't I find my favorite sage sitting astride a large boulder such as this?

Our anniversary celebrants took off for the rest of their adventures (which were numerous and arduous, to say the least - troopers, they are!) and we carried on their good works. I managed to douse this guy unintentionally with a cannonball in the pool before their departure. Not the most fitting treatment for a grand departure...

How quaint is this? Bread delivery boxes on the front gate with that rain shield! (I suppose you could get your newspaper there, too, but it seems that it's actually a bread box).

Vigo - Tomino Day One

This area of Spain is known for their lovely wines. It's a cooler, wetter growing climate for vines, but the Albarino grape that comes from this section of Spain is reknown the world over. We toured the Santiago Ruiz vineyard, a family business that once again, demonstrated the hand crafted stone, wood and gardening skills that I find myself so inspired by. The understanding of carving stone into 15 foot pillars or tabletops of granite that do not rupture after centuries boggles the mind...

I did a little grape-squishing demo...

This, being their actual 55th wedding anniversary, was a day to celebrate for us all. (And frankly, they couldn't keep their hands off each other...)

The Big Spanish Surprise

So let me start catching up here...Doesn't he look surprised? Well, he should...because three of us came from the US to Vigo, Spain this summer to this restaurant for a lunchtime surprise on the eve of his 55th wedding anniversary. (I asked him to look surprised for this...) It's a miracle that I could even manage to speak, I was so jet-lagged by the time we got from Mpls to Chicago, Chicago to Amsterdam, Amsterdam to Madrid and then Madrid to Vigo.... a miracle that we made it in perfect time, too!



His fetching sweetheart is the one on the left in the black and white top. The Surprise Accomplice is the one on the right with her hand on her hip, which is the pose most all Surprise Accomplices have when photographed. You may have seen her before in other posts.

The gardens were amazing and the people were so very friendly and conversational. A trip to this area would be made better by a stay at the Casa Da Reina. Olga and Severino were exceptional hosts for this surprise.

This place was absolutely gorgeous. The handiwork, gardening and masonry was done by Severino and Olga, the owners. You could feel their passion in all that you looked at there.

This is where I was hiding for my part of the surprise...since this was a restaurant, my pals came in as waitstaff at first, serving the wine and the bread. I can in later with something that had been asked for a month prior to the trip itself. I'd forgotten to send it, so was claiming that I had to track them down with it.

Really, it's a testamonial to good secret-keeping... Truly, this was a great event for the fact that everyone kept their mouths shut as we planned and plotted.

Excellent work, my friends, simply excellent!

Year of the Ox Part II

There's a lot to be said for kicking back and letting someone else do the work. I think I could learn from these examples; however...










As we begin the Year of the Ox, I think there's a bit to be reflected upon, since the times are seemingly a bit nutty, I find that this year couldn't be more appropriately placed on the Chinese horoscope.

The Ox is the sign of prosperity through fortitude and hard work: is unswervingly patient; tireless in his work, and capable of enduring any amount of hardship without complaint.

(Now, I don't know if anyone won't be complaining about losing their house, their shorts on the stock market or their jobs, but we can try to be optimistic).

Thank goodness, my friends here have a ways to go before having to worry about the next step. Unless the toes or fingers are still a bit wet.