This is a continuing series of photographs from our Galicia Road Trip (with a few stops in Asturias) this past August.
While we were visiting the lovely Galician town of Monforte de Lemos, generational wildfires were scorching the region of Ourense making the air unhealthy to breathe and turning the sky a hazy shade of orange (sad to see even worse wildfires raging through the region of Spain close to Madrid this year). Our plan was to spend our last few days relaxing in what looked like a lovely boutique rural hotel in nearby Ribadavia.
The poor air quality, plus the cancellation of rail service from Ourense to the Madrid Airport due to the fires (the very same airport we needed to fly back home from in three days!), made us reconsider staying in that region – especially with what had been, up to that point, an absolutely unforgettable trip.
We decided to head back west to Pontevedra, outside the radius of the wildfires and where we could still catch a train to the airport. And despite these unique set of circumstances, the hotel (the forever on my naughty list, Granxa D’Outeiro) decided to not offer me a refund or a credit for a future stay so there went $700 down the drain. Business is business but that’s bad business. Nuff said.
But we were still in need of a hotel – and despite well over 90% of the hotels in the region being already booked, we found one – the 1-star (but very well-reviewed) Hotel Liñares in Poio, a coastal town in the province of Pontevedra on the north shore of the Ría de Pontevedra. So we started the just under two-hour drive to Poio, stopping at the monumental Iglesia de Vera Cruz, in O Carballiño about an hour away, before finally arriving at Hotel Liñares – as illustrated in the following video…
Now, I’ll be honest with you – I wasn’t expecting much from a 1-star hotel. But when we checked into our ‘Double Room with Balcony View’ (the “penthouse” and only available room of the hotel) and beheld the views of the Galician countryside, we knew we had made the right decision. I mean, if this ain’t pure Galicia, nothing is. Not to mention that owner Manolo, his wife and son, all provided exceptional service. Oh, and breakfasts made to order were included. We were back in business, baby!
We arrived in Poio on August 16th and our first order of business was to visit what many people believe to be the most beautiful village in Galicia, Combarro, a small fishing village located in the Rías Baixas estuaries known for its large number of raised granaries (hórreos – the largest in Galicia) and wayside crosses – just about a five minute drive from the hotel.
Combarro
The old quarter in Combarro, which has been declared a Property of Cultural Interest, is a representative example of three traditional architectural elements in Galicia: “hórreos” (raised granaries), “casas marineras” (sea houses) and “cruceiros” (stone crosses), typically located in squares or at street intersections. We began our investigation of Combarro walking along its most popular street, Rúa do Mar.
Meigas (witches) are central figures in Galician folklore and date back to pre-Christian times. There is a saying ‘eu non creo nas meigas, pero habelas hailas’ (I don’t believe in witches, but they do exist), which reflects the curious mixture of skepticism and respect with which many Galicians approach these subjects.
Meigas are different from the traditional concept of witches in other cultures, since in Galicia these characters can do both good and evil, depending on their intention.
The beach of Padrón, the coastline of Combarro, is unique in that it is adorned by a row of thirty raised stone granaries (“horreos”), right on the lip of the sea. The granaries stand on stone pilasters to keep moisture out. Sailors used them to dry fish and store corn, potatoes and other products that they brought in boats from the other side of the ria. Enjoy the gallery…
We returned to Combarro’s charming “zona vieja” and just walked around, snapping photos of “hórreos”, “cruceiros”, and random people as we went. A few examples…
Festa de San Roque
Igrexa de San Roque
The Festa de San Roque (Festival of St. Roch) is celebrated annually in Combarro on August 16 (the very day we visited the village). To honor of the patron saint of the sick, a solemn mass (is there ever a festive mass?) and ceremonial procession take place where the image of San Roque is carried through the stone-paved streets to the 18th-century Igrexa de San Roque.
We missed that. But…
…what we did see was a far more light-hearted procession known as the Festa do Can (Festival of the Dog) where a child (usually a young boy but in this case, a young girl) is carried through the town accompanied by a dog. Why? Well, our friend Saint Roch was also the patron saint of dogs. Why? Well, according to 14th-century legend, when Roch contracted the plague and was exiled to a forest, a local nobleman’s hunting dog discovered him and brought him a loaf of bread every day(!) and licked his sores, ultimately helping him recover. That’s why.
At the ready were a group of musicians (including, of course, “gaiteros”) and in this particular case, a group of performers who looked like they escaped from a nearby Cirque du Soleil show. Upon further investigation, we found out that they were part of a Bosque Viviente (Living Forest) theme courtesy of Sarao Producción & Animación, a special event company located in Vigo.
That left Serena and I to scramble through the narrow streets of Combarro trying to anticipate the procession’s next move to get ahead of them and be in position to get the best shots. We did this again and again, laughing at ourselves the whole time. Here’s a gallery of the best from my batch…
And for those of you who don’t only want to know what it looked like but what it sounded like, behold!
EPILOGUE: So just a few hours after having to suddenly change our plans, book a new hotel, and practically flee the wildfires that besieged central Galicia, arriving to the province of Pontevedra and spending our first day in Combarro made us feel like maybe this was where we were supposed to be – that we were somehow summoned here. By the travel gods themselves? The spirits of my ancient Galician ancestors? The meigas, perhaps? I know it sounds corny but that’s what we suddenly began to ponder as we enjoyed dinner in Combarro as the sun began to set after another absolutely glorious day.
Was it Galicia’s most beautiful village? Heck, I’d need to see them all before I make that call but it was indeed beautiful. But I think the coastal town of Muxía might beg to differ when it comes to “most beautiful”. See them both and decide for yourselves.
