Trevor Huxham

Icy-cold water I’ve raved and raved about the Cíes Islands on this blog, an archipelago of pristine islands that form part of a broader national park on the western coast of Galicia in northwestern Spain. They’re one of the region’s true natural wonders, boasting everything from white sands beaches and impossibly cold clear water to rugged hiking trails and cliffside panoramas. But I’ve been holding back a secret from: the Cíes have a little sister called Ons Island. This slender island is situated just to the north of the Cíes and is a natural breakwater that protects the ría  or estuary from the worst blows of the Atlantic. The whole beach to ourselves When a few of my friends and I visited Ons during the shoulder season, we shared a beach that was a 10-minute walk south of the docks with only two or three other people. There’s something so very refreshing about having an entire white-sands beach essentially all to yourself while also looking back out toward the...

Silgar Beach My weekend trip down south to Vigo back in January took me to a few new places I hadn’t explored before in the area: a legit Mexican restaurant in Vigo , the monumental old town of Pontevedra , and the granite-paved fishing village of Combarro . Fishing boats My last stop took me west of Combarro and Pontevedra. Hanging out on the north side of the Ría de Pontevedra estuary lies Sanxenxo, a resort town whose population (and rent) doubles in the summer as out-of-town folks flood the apartments that sprawl across the south-facing beaches. Apartment ad Pronounced “sahn-SHEN-show” [sanˈʃen.ʃo] (probably the funnest Galician place-name of them all to say), this town was unfortunately rather dull in the cold of winter, despite the unusual January sunshine. The friends I daytripped out here with and I all wished we could have just laid out on the beach, but instead we buttoned up our coats and tightened our scarves when we got out of the car.

Two hórreos Early on in my first year teaching English in northwest Spain , my bilingual coordinator told me there was one place I absolutely could not miss before returning back to the States: seaside Combarro,  Galicia’s most beautiful fishing village. She’s never made such a recommendation before or since, so I took her local advice to heart and daytripped out here while I was in the Pontevedra area this January. The historic Rúa do Mar I am all about that village life, and Combarro did not disappoint. This viliña mariñeira  or “little mariner’s town” mainly draws folks to stroll down its historic, granite-paved streets that date back to the 1700s, where you can appreciate traditional Galician houses, their covered porches, wrap-around balconies, and tiny gardens and flower planters. Stray cat Combarro’s also a great place to get to know two of the most emblematic structures you’ll run into in the Galician countryside (or on the coast). No fewer than ei...

Bridge over the Lérez River Out of Galicia’s four provincial capitals ( A Coruña , Lugo , Ourense , and Pontevedra), Pontevedra was my last to check off the list, despite being barely an hour south of Santiago . An almost-coastal town, it straddles the Lérez River right before it empties into the Ría de Pontevedra estuary on Galicia’s western coast. Virxe Peregrina Church I spent the better part of a day in Pontevedra back in January when I went down south to Vigo to meet up with some friends from college who were now teaching English together there. Pontevedra surprised me:  the town was one lively plaza after another where terrace cafés stretched out beneath soportales  arches and children bothered pigeons with their impromptu soccer games. Weathered walls in Praza de Ourense The old town reminded me a lot of Santiago de Compostela, as it was also built almost entirely out of local granite stone. Huge slabs paved the roads and sidewalks, and stately man...

Granite + greenery = Galicia When I began my second year teaching in Galicia , I knew I wanted to go the completionist route and hit up all five of Galicia’s cathedrals and all seven of the region’s historical provincial capitals. Some of them, like Pontevedra, were only a quick train ride south from Santiago , but there were others, like Mondoñedo , that ended up being in distant valleys far from home and required a car to get there. So naturally I jumped at the chance to explore the border town of Tui when two Spanish friends invited me to ride with them down there for a traditional autumn dinner in their village. Gothic façade Outside of Tui’s city center (mere minutes from Portugal ) we settled down at the Ribadelouro community center, where they were selling 10€ tickets for an all-you-can-eat cookout supper. My housemate and I were the only two non-Spaniards in attendance that evening; everyone else had probably grown up in the countryside or was married to someo...

As last school year was drawing to an end, the weather had heated up and the sun had decided to come out, so a handful of friends and I decided to hop on the train south to Vigo to catch the next ferry for the Cíes Islands, which are home to what was called the “world’s best beach” in 2007 by the British newspaper The Guardian.  It was a glorious daytrip from Santiago and a much-needed break from the rolling hills and rain of inland Galicia. No caption necessary The three Cíes islands form an archipelago that guards the entrance to an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean called the Ría de Vigo . From north to south, the three islands are named Monteagudo  (“pointy mountain”), Montefaro  (“lighthouse mountain”), and San Martiño  (“St. Martin’s”). Why are the beaches the best? Sandbar connecting the middle and northern islands The beaches on the Cíes Islands (pronounced “THEE-ays” [ˈθi.es]) are so wonderful partly because they belo...

Castro ruins If you chase the western coast of Galicia all the way south to the Portuguese border, you’ll end up at the mouth of the Miño River and the compact fishing village of A Guarda, too. I took a daytrip to this remote corner of northwest Spain while exploring Vigo back in January and really enjoyed this quiet—and historical—taste of coastal Galicia. Castro ruins After a glorious seaside lunch of croquetas  and steamed mussels, I left the city center of A Guarda and began hiking up Mt. Santa Trega. The footpath passed through eucalyptus and pine woods, and even a rainshower. But after a brief, 45-minute climb, I emerged at the summit, the site of some pre-Roman ruins. Called a castro,  these walled, Celtic-era settlements consisted of circular stone huts capped with thatched roofs, and they endured throughout the Roman period. The castro de Santa Trega  is one of the most famous in all Galicia, simply because the archaeological work done over the cen...