We have been traveling, and I started this post when we were still in England, visiting family. (Post about that to follow when I finish the posts about Spain.k) We got back late last night (actually early this morning), but I had promised to get back to two events in the earlier part of our Galicia visit, and here they are:
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David and Pepe |
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David and Terri |
FIRST: The Friday after our arrival -- April 11th -- We went with friends Terri and David to what is known as a "casa rural," but also includes a restaurant/bar and week-end entertainment. The name is Torre Vilariño, and it is co-owned by a cool hombre named Pepe. Alas, I don't know his full name, but here he is with David. And
here is the website, which has lovely pictures of the rooms where one can stay, as well as the restaurant and patio.
On this particular Friday, two main musicians were playing. We had dinner first (around 9:30), and the music started around 11:00 p.m. One of the musicians sang, both of them played, and they went through a whole gamut of popular songs from the 80s -- in English. They were really good. Here are a few pictures:
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The main duo. |
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The singer. |
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Hearfelt guitar work. |
Occasionally a third musician joined them and sang along. They had a good sound! (I wish I had gotten the name of the group.)
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Jamming! |
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The servers thought they were pretty good, too. Singing along with great gusto! |
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Susana, server extraordinaire! |
The SECOND event was the
Fiesta Medieval that takes place each year at the end of
Semana Santa (Holy week). It used to only take place on Saturday, but now it has grown to include the entire week-end. We went both days. We love this fiesta, many locals dress up in costume, and small skits and re-enactments are put on in main streets and plazas. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:
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Processions . . . this is a special galician bagpipe called a gaeto. |
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A medieval damsel . . . |
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A verrry young knight Templar! |
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From one of the plazas. |
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And the little ones on burros! |
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Entertainers on stilts. |
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I don't know how they do it! |
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This woman was really into her role. |
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The ever-present witches. |
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I suppose this is where the knights collected their helmets. |
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To defend their king and queen. (Isabel and Ferdinand). |
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King of Castile y Leon. |
Another feature of this festival each year that we particularly enjoy is the showing of the raptors -- hawks, falcons, owls, ravens . . . Two trainers have taught them to do tricks, and they are always fascinating to watch, not to mention what beautiful birds they are:
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Such beautiful birds! I think they said this unusual raven (with the white stripe) is distinctive to Galicia. |
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The horned owl is so commanding! |
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But this hawk is pretty impressive, too. |
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One of the trainers and a snowy owl. |
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The other trainer watching a falcon he released. |
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They finished off the show with an interval when people could pet one of the birds. |
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And who would you guess is petting that snowy owl? Yup. Yours truly. It was really an awesome experience. |
So there you are: Two "local" events we thoroughly enjoyed. I hope you enjoyed them too.
How about you? Do you enjoy historical fairs and festivals? Have you ever petted a wild bird?
We left Sacramento Sunday morning, and already the week is drifting by. How can Saturday have come so soon?
It’s a long flight from Sacramento to Santiago. We changed at Dallas and again at Madrid, with generous wait times between flights to make sure any delayed flight would not make us miss the next. Our friends met us in Santiago. By the time we picked up our baggage, it was 6:30 in the evening. They drove us to Monforte, a drive of about an hour and a half, where we shopped for basic groceries. Then we all had dinner around 8:30 at a cafe-bar-restaurant called O Pincho. (Dinner at 8:30 or later . . . . That’s when you know you are in Spain.)
After trudging through airports and lugging carry-ons around for close to 26 hours, we practically fell into bed Monday night and had a good long sleep. One of our last, I might add, because jet lag kicked in the next day and is only starting to fade: we become sleepy or wide awake at very odd hours.
It’s wonderful to be here, taking short walks with our neighbors in the village, driving into Escairon for café con leche, or into Monforte to sit at an outdoor table in the big plaza, enjoying a glass of wine. Or going to Adega do Carlos for raciones at lunchtime (which is between 2:00 and 4:00 p.m. in these parts.) Or meeting our neighbors again, late in the day, at the bench down the lane, sitting and talking with them until clouds turn pink and the air turns suddenly cool. Already these lovely friends have loaded us up with potatoes, figs, tomatoes, peppers, and home-made wine. In addition, we’ve been setting up lunch and dinner dates with friends we haven’t seen since our last trip, and tomorrow night is the Fiesta in Tuiriz (a village/town within walking distance, although we will drive, since we won’t go until around 9:30 or so.)
9 Comments on We’re Here in the Land of Mist and Mañana, last added: 9/26/2011
Your trip sounds idyllic and enjoyable. Have fun and good luck with your challenge story.
You are sooooooooooo lucky. Keep us posted on your doings.
I'm still thinking about what I'll do for the challenge. This is a tough one for me. Hopefully something will click soon.
Sounds like a delightful trip so far! Cezar, Millie and I are enjoying our time together! Millie likes to sniff noses with Cezar. It is the cutest thing. He is so patient with her and she knows not to jump all over him, though she wants him to play so much! He perked right up when she arrived and she feels right at home here! I love hearing his big dog steps across the floor and her pattering little steps to keep up. Such friends!
I enjoy reading about your trips to Spain--family members moved to southern Spain this year, and my interest in the country has certainly grown! Enjoy your time there...
I won't ever need to travel again, as I can just sit back and enjoy the word pictures you paint, Mitty. :)
Enjoy your holiday, Elizabeth.
My, you do have lovely friends in Spain who make coming there so easy and enjoyable. Have a wonderful time. We will be "over the pond" in ten days, but in a far different place at a far different pace. See you in November.
Wow. Sounds wonderful. Enjoy your trip. Looking forward to reading your next challenge.
Great post. Wonderful word pictures and a beautiful photo by Rajan (I know). Can't wait to see his next bunch of black and whites. This one is spectacular.
Loved Dana's post. Makes you know Cezar is surviving well.
Love, Jan & Gary