Adonde fueres haz lo que vieres: Santa Tegra

This past week has been incredibly productive, it's funny how high the correlation between not having Internet and my level of productivity is. Not to worry, we are back online as of last night, and I plan on being lazy again (just kidding). We made many trips to the cafe in front of our flat, and they didn't even have to ask what we wanted to drink. I went to the gym, read a book, went to work, planned classes and a little field trip as well. Although it was great to be forced to do other things with our free time, I am thrilled to be back online, because I can actually call my family. Ideal. Here are some photos from the last couple of weeks I wasn't able to share in my last entry:

Last Sunday's lunch group

Enjoying the view of the Cathedral

Music and a hike

Favorite door knocker.

Waiting in the Praza de Galicia, our meeting point before heading out

Headed out

QUAKER OATS! I explained the history of William Penn and Quaker oats to Ángel, so we are the only two in all of Spain to know how great they are

Sunday I set off with Ángel, Francesca, Giorgia and Giulia to head to the ruins of Santa Tegra. The ruins are the remnants of a Celtic village, whose construction began in the II-I century B.C., and was inhabited consistently until sometime in the I century, A.D. when the inhabitants began to slowly abandon the village. After its abandonment, the village went undiscovered until 1862. The circular structures were homes, with a small patio with a fireplace for cooking. The rectangular and square shaped structures were workshop and stores. The wall surrounding the village was for protection, and after spending time there, I think it is safe to say the Celts were really trying to protect themselves from the wind than from enemies. The village overlooks the Atlantic and just absolutely beautiful. We took our time to walk around between the ruins, went to the peak of the mountain (so many crosses everywhere, it would seem the Celts had a lot to pray about) and had a picnic while enjoying the views, and huddling behind walls to block the wind.

The other Idaho, in the lovely town of Cuntis...

Fighting the wind to get a photo at the top of Monte Tegra

View of the mountain going down the back

Crosses everywhere

Picnic in the ruins

Town of A Guarda from the top of Monte Tegra

Headed down to the ruins

Reconstruction of a house in the village

Perfect size for Francesca (she is writing her thesis on the Celts, this was paradise for her)

Greenery, the upside to the rain

Modern day Celts

Castro do Santa Tegra

The approaching rain from the ocean, the Celts picked an ideal location to build their village, the view is amazing

Remnants of the houses

Castro do Santa Tegra

After our time at Santa Tegra, we went down to the town at the base of the mountain. A Guarda is a charming, typical, small sea town. The town is on the border of Portugal and Spain, and the radio stations all aired in Portuguese, giving us a good laugh. I did not have my passport, and being the only non-European, I had to explain that this is actually a problem. Europeans can travel around with their country ID cards, whereas my ID card for Spain will not get me out of and back into Spain. The Italians wanted to see more of southern Galicia anyways, so they were not nearly as bummed out as Ángel and I. Portugal is at the top of both of our lists. The tide was too foamy to be able to refresh our tootsies in the ocean, so we had a coffee at a cafe on the waterfront before heading out again to Vigo.

Foam, foam, foam

Coast of A Guarda

Headed out of A Guarda to Vigo

In Vigo, we walked around and enjoyed being a city that is so different from Santiago, but so close. I have been to Vigo before with Kim. Vigo is much more modern, and much cleaner, than Santiago. It is a port town, and has the atmosphere of being such. The people are open and were all out enjoying the evening along the boardwalk. We also enjoyed the sunset over the ocean from the pier before heading to Pontevedra (another town I have visited before with Kim).

¡PLAFF!

Ivy and potted plants

Park in the center of Vigo

Walking around Vigo

Sunset over the pier

Group shot, Giorgia, Giulia, Ángel and me

Graffti, Jason Mraz style

Pontevedra is probably my favorite town so far in Galicia. It is small, but seems to offer all that a carless person would need. We walked along the river to admire the bridges (Pontevedra is Latin for 'old bridge', referring to the Roman bridge) and then followed a lit up path to the center of the town. The path has small blue lights used to guide the pilgrims to the church, known as the Pilgrim's Church. After arriving to the main plaza, we had a drink and then headed back to Santiago. We arrived back tuckered out and already thinking about our next outing.