This is a continuing series of photographs from our Galicia Road Trip (with a few stops in Asturias) this past August.
After a relaxing stop in Cabo Do Mundo Casa Rural in Galicia’s Ribeira Sacra, we drove about 40 minutes SE to the city of Monforte de Lemos, who were right smack in the middle of their annual Festas Patronais (Patron Saint Festival) in honor of the Virxe de Montserrat (Virgin of Monserrat). And it was not just a mere coincidence, mind you – it was all part of my master plan. And with the festival going on, there weren’t a heck of a lot of hotels with any availability when I was planning my trip but fortunately I was able to reserve a room at (maybe?) the best spot in town.
We checked into Tierra de Lemos – Apartamentos Turísticos, a collection of 22 apartments housed in a fully renovated 1960s building (with an elevator!) located next to one of Monforte de Lemos’s most emblematic and vibrant squares: Plaza de la Compañía. Upon our arrival, we were met by our host Tony (who was absolutely wonderful) and directed to a parking spot inside a covered garage just down the street.
With our host, Tony, outside Tierra de Lemos – Apartamentos Turísticos
Our spacious room (with a balcony view of the city) included a complimentary bottle of wine
Now, unlike just about everywhere else we’d visited so far in Galicia (and Asturias), Monforte de Lemos was going through a heatwave (90+ degrees!). Couple that with destructive wildfires raging through the nearby Ourense region (the worst in decades!) causing increased concentrations of fine-scale particulate matter (no bueno!) which considerably degraded the air quality (you could smell the smoke!) – let’s just say we weren’t in Kansas anymore.
Moreover, we arrived in the city on August 14, which happened to be Serena’s birthday (again not a mere coincidence) but I hadn’t figured that most of the good restaurants in the area were gonna be all booked up because of the festivities (if there’s one thing I can say about the Galician people, it’s that they weren’t about to pass up a good fiesta because of some wildfires!)
Restaurante Manuel Bistró
But Tony came through for us, using his connections to arrange a table for two for an early dinner at Restaurante Manuel Bistró, one of the city’s top restaurants. And despite being completely booked, they set aside a table for us and treated us like VIPs (with several of the waiters practicing their English with us). A great meal with exceptional service added up to a memorable birthday for Serena.
But I digress. So let’s get back to the real reason we’re here…
Monforte de Lemos
Monforte de Lemos dates back to the Paleolithic Era (2.6 million years ago to around 10,000 to 12,000 years ago). Its first known inhabitants were the Oestrimnios, a mythical or ancient people described as inhabitants of a territory in Atlantic Iberia mentioned in the 4th-century Roman poem ‘Ora Maritima’ by Avienus. In other words, it’s pretty dang old.
The history of Monforte de Lemos originated on San Vicente Hill, a vantage point named Castro Dactonio by the Romans. The tribe that populated Monforte was known as the Lemavi tribe (an ancient Celtic tribe). The word “Lemos” would be a voice of Celtic origin meaning “moist, fertile soil” and from the Romans comes the word “Monforte”, from the Latin “Mons-Fortis” (“fortified mountain”).
After the Roman occupation came the usual destructive occupations by the Swabians, Visigoths and Muslims (pretty much the story of all of Spain) so I’ll just fast-forward a bit to 1885, when Monforte de Lemos became an official city. Alfonso XII gave Monforte the title of city in recognition of its developmental work in the construction of a railway line from Madrid to A Coruña in 1883.
The “new” city became the most important railway hub in Galicia and for decades it was a flourishing and prosperous city with much political and union activity. Today, the population of Monforte is around 20,000 inhabitants, making it the second biggest city in the province, after the capital Lugo, and one of the best places to explore the Ribeira Sacra.
Construction of the Puente Viejo (Old Bridge) dates back to the 16th century, but its origins date back to the 13th century. It was rebuilt by master craftsman Pedro Rodríguez Remberde at the end of the 16th century. In addition to being an important entry point for goods, one of the alternative routes of the Camino, the Camino de Inverno, passes through here.
An arduous walk up San Vicente Hill leads you to the San Vicente do Pino Monastery, which dates back to the 16th century and offers glorious views of the whole city. After being abandoned at the turn of the 20th century, It would find new life as the Parador de Monforte de Lemos, a four-star hotel.
The Torre da Homenaxe (Tower of Homage) is a medieval building that forms part of the city’s medieval fortress. It was built between the 13th and 15th centuries and stands out for being 30 meters high and for its great walls of up to 3 meters thick. Inside there is a museum with an exhibition of the history of the tower and the various kingdoms that inhabited the city in the past (it was closed when we arrived).
Due to the extreme heat and the wildfires that were raging through a large part of the region, an orange haze began to take over the sky. Still, the views from San Vicente Hill were pretty awesome…
…and we also managed to get someone to snap a decent photo of us (you know, just to prove that we were actually there)
