Pontevedra

Pontevedra – getting further from Portugal and much closer to Santiago I had this feeling of being really far and away-it was like the end of the world, the people were not smiling anymore like I was used to, they were talkative and more stylish but that’s all. I felt a stranger. Pontevedra has though a very nice and well preserved old city. You can discover amazing churches and 12th century houses. This is the first place where I discovered that "un café" means coffee with milk – I was already missing my Portuguese “bica”, but soon got used to the milk foam and even tried to figure out how to prepare it at home, with no “technical” help.













He is Biko. The talking parrot :-)






In Spain I also found out that all these guys entertaining people in the street are in a permanent competition one with another. They were angry when somebody got there in advance with a new show in the square, they were upset to see they lose money because they cannot perform next to them and hoping to be faster next time. Tough.

Vigo

Vigo was a fast, easy visit. This was the first time I realized how the roads of Galicia are – all winding, all crowded and never ending. I was trying to find my way through a city that I didn’t know. I don’t know how I managed to do but my instinct brought me exactly in front of a tourist office-unfortunately it was closed but I knew that somehow this should be the “right” way. I discovered pretty easily the centre, the nice panoramic view over the river, Ría de Vigo, the beautiful balconies and a city adorned in white geraniums. I witnessed how a lady managed to destroy the back of her car just from trying to park-I was very angry, not at her but at the man next to her who kept talking and shouting (I could tell that from his gestures), maybe giving her indications and rebuking her but it never ever crossed his mind that it would be easier for both of them just to get out of the car and show her how to park.