This is (finally!) the last of a series of photographs from our Galicia Road Trip (with a few stops in Asturias) last August.
So, my series of posts from our truly unforgettable road trip through Galicia has come to an end and a year later, the memories from our journey are still fresh, still vivid. Leaving Galicia and starting the 6 hour drive to Madrid wasn’t easy. And it was made even more difficult by the wildfires that continued to rage around areas of Galicia during our drive. I grabbed a few video clips to illustrate what it looked like and the devastation it left behind…
I would be remiss, however, if I didn’t mention the delicious dinner (and service) Serena and I had at Restaurante Gandainas Fumaces, a restaurant/hotel in Ourense off highway N-525. It was, I believe, our last stop in the region of Galicia. The air still smelled of smoke but our last meal (seated inside) was a very good one…
Now back to me waxing nostalgic about our journey through Galicia, yes? You might even call it a “spiritual” journey in the way it tugged at our hearts. I knew, before we even landed in Spain, that this trip was going to be a trip unlike any I’d planned in the past – but it was far greater than I (we) could have ever imagined. And for Serena, who was born and raised in her beloved Ecuador, Galicia gave her another part of the world to love.
That’s what Galicia can do to you.
Castro de Baroña
Like Serena, I’ve been in several cities all over Spain and this country is hard to top. Whether it’s Madrid, Sevilla or Barcelona, there’s a particular energy generated by its people that comingles with the already existing architecture and landscape to create a particular dynamic that you can’t quite put a finger on but you suddenly find yourself really, really happy to be here. That’s Spain.
Touriñán
Now Galicia might not be a place that appeals to everyone. I mean, it’s very similar to many of Spain’s most popular cities in some ways but not in all. It’s got its own vibe, its own pace. It’s a place where the more you slow down, the more you appreciate all that it has to offer. It not the Ultra Music Festival in Miami, it’s more like a jazz show at the (now defunct) Bottom Line Club in Greenwich Village.
Galicia requires your undivided attention.
Noia
I’ve been to Galicia several times over the years since I was a kid and it’s a place that holds many cherished memories for me. It’s where my older brother and I spent a whole summer when we were kids. It’s where I took my first solo overseas trips – a winter holiday trip and then a summer trip, while in my mid-twenties (back when airplanes still had smoking sections). It was those trips that changed the perception of what type of life I wanted to have.
Here are a few photographs from that trip. Alas, several uncles and aunts from that time are no longer with us…
When I arrived home from my summer trip back in 1995, my mother told me I had a message from Madelyn, an old girlfriend I had dated some five years earlier. Intrigued, I called her back. Madelyn stated she had just come across my name in an old telephone book and was curious to see how I was doing. We met up a few weeks later and she would eventually become my wife and mother to my only child. I won’t get into the “why” but that trip to Galicia prepared me for her. It’s an absolute certainty. We were able to travel there as a family in 2011 – a trip I’m grateful to have taken. Now more than ever.
Santiago de Compostela, 2011
Galicia is also where my daughter Miranda and I spent our first Christmas in 2018 after Madelyn passed away just three months prior. As we stood in front of the Catedral de Santiago de Compostela that Christmas morning, the sky looked like no sky we’d ever seen in our lives. It was as if the spirits of our ancient ancestors (the gods themselves, perhaps?) were pleased that we had chosen this hallowed ground to spend our first Christmas without her. Or maybe it was just Madelyn smiling down on us.
Christmas Day, 2018
Last year, however, was the first time I’d traveled to that region of Spain with my own itinerary, my own plan, in my own (rental) car. Serena, who likes to be involved in any vacation we plan together, trusted me to put forth a road trip that would incorporate the best of what Galicia had to offer. And during our road trip, I couldn’t help but pat myself on the back at every stop for totally nailing the itinerary.
But arriving home after our trip had me reflecting on whether I had actually nailed it or were whatever forces in charge of this crazy universe just waiting for me to return with my new companion. To express its happiness for me finding another person to love and to welcome us both. Sounds crazy, I know. But not to me.
Santuario de Nosa Señora da Barca
Even my screwing up the train tickets from Madrid to Santiago de Compostela (they were totally sold out) led to a very enjoyable day spent in the lovely city of León. And the wildfires in Ourense that caused us to pretty much flee the town we were gonna spend our last three days of our trip in led us to the province of Pontevedra where we might have spent the best three days of our trip.
Cambados
Anybody who knows me can tell you that, despite now living in South Florida for over 20 years, I’m still as skeptical a New Yorker as there is (maybe just a little less after my NY Knicks finally won an NBA Championship this year). My attitude when I travel to a bucket list city is pretty much, “I grew up in New York City – show me what you got” (with particular emphasis on “you”). So it isn’t like me to fawn over any place I visit, and I’ve been to some pretty nice cities. Galicia was different.
A Coruña
And despite all the spirituality talk I’ve offered up in many of the posts in this series, I’m not a particularly “religious” person. Moreover, nobody has ever heard me utter “namaste”, I’ve never lit incense in my home, nor do I possess any healing stones or crystals, never been to a palm/tarot reader, don’t believe in manifestation (you’re either lucky or you ain’t), hate walking barefoot, never hugged a tree or ever wore a yukata (not that there’s anything wrong with any of the aforementioned practices) – it just isn’t me. That’s what made this trip so remarkable – so perfect.
Praia da Lanzada
We left our hearts in Galicia. And despite our own bucket list of places we’d like to visit, it’s the only place we long to return to. Maybe even retire to. Yeah, that’s how bad we got the bug. You’ll occasionally find us looking at homes for sale in the region hoping that one day we can have our own place there, near my family. Some might say we’ve been manifesting. But I believe that if that’s our destiny, there’s really nothing more to do than just be ready, yes? Until then, we’ll just hope to be back there one day. Next time, I’m hoping to have my daughter by my side, to see if she can also hear the whispers of our Galician ancestors.
Hope you enjoyed this series as much as I (we) did.
