Trevor Huxham

Mar de Lira beach It’s not every day you come across a deserted beach that literally stretches for miles beneath a deep blue sky. Yet that’s exactly what happened to me one warm, sunny Saturday in April while exploring the far western reaches of Galicia in northwest Spain. Gorse-covered hillside The town of Carnota (really just a collection of rural houses and small family farms) stretches across a flat tract of Galicia’s Atlantic coastline, tucked away in a bend of the Ría de Corcubión —one of many inlets of the sea that extend like fingers into the mainland. Five of these estuaries trickle down the region’s western coast, where steep hillsides contrast with white-sands beaches and where the economy depends on both fishing and white wine production. Longest hórreo  in Galicia But Carnota’s got more than just stunning, vast beaches and pretty rural scenery. This little coastal town is also home to one of the region’s longest hórreos or stone corncrib used to st...

Many folks visit Santiago de Compostela because they’re drawn to the medieval mystique of the Camino de Santiago , which ends in the city. A popular daytrip from Santiago involves heading out west to the tiny coastal town of Fisterra, the “Lands End” of Galicia, which many pilgrims consider the true ending point of this pilgrimage that runs across northern Spain. A mighty lighthouse guards craggy cliffs, what the Romans considered to be finis terrae , the ends of the earth. Outside Noia Sadly, many people hop on charter buses that make express runs between Santiago and the Atlantic coast, completely bypassing the intervening countryside. It’s a real shame because there’s so much to see and do in between those two points, from charming fishing villages to secluded beaches and even waterfalls. Over the next couple of weeks I’m going to spend some time on the blog sharing with y’all the best places to see on your way from Santiago to the End of the World. Today, let’s visit our...

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...

Castro de Baroña Apart from the Roman walls of Lugo and the refurbished Tower of Hercules in A Coruña , Galicia doesn’t have much going for it in terms of ancient ruins. However, you can still catch a fleeting glimpse of its long-lost Celtic heritage in ruins scattered across the region, like a hilltop perch in A Guarda that overlooks the Atlantic Ocean. These castros  or pre-Roman fortifications consisting of circular stone huts were built all over Galicia and even lasted throughout Roman times. Fishing on the beach While on a weekend trip to coastal Ribeira , about an hour or so west of Santiago de Compostela , I daytripped with a friend of a friend, who drove me around the area and gave me the chance to experience the wonders that the peninsula called O Barbanza has to offer, like mobile sand dunes and even a dolmen (prehistoric megalithic burial mound). On the northern coast of this mountainous peninsula, we stopped off for a few minutes to check out the Castro d...

Corrubedo Lighthouse I teach English at an elementary school in Boiro , which is just one of half a dozen cities that dot a mountainous peninsula called O Barbanza . This small region on Galicia’s western Atlantic coast is blessed with windy forested hills, expansive beaches, and a fertile habitat for growing mussels. At the very far southwestern tip of this peninsula lies the town of Ribeira, the capital and largest city of the comarca  or county of Barbanza. Back in November, I finally took the bus past Boiro for the first time to meet up with some fellow language assistants who work in the area and really enjoyed my time in Ribeira—in spite of the torrential rains that are all too common in Galicia in the fall and winter. What is Ribeira all about? In Ribeira city There’s absolutely no question that Ribeira lives off of the sea. As one of the most important fishing ports in Spain and all of Europe, this city receives the catches that folks bring in from ...

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...

Everyday on the way to and from school , I pass through the town of Padrón,  situated about halfway between Santiago de Compostela where I live and Boiro (on the coast) where I work . Just barely inland, Padrón straddles the Sar River before it empties into the estuary called the Ría de Arousa. Sar River A small but proud village of almost 9,000, Padrón dates back to Roman times when it was known as Iria Flavia (which is still the name of a parish to the north of the city center). Today, it’s known for producing peppers of the same name, for being a major stop along the Camino de Santiago, and for being home to two significant poets in the Galician language. Peppers Pementos de Padrón (ignore the eggplant) Even non-Galicians have heard of Padrón at least once, if only for the famous peppers that originated just outside the city center in the parish of Herbón. Brought to the area by Franciscan monks after the Spanish conquest of the Americas, these  pimientos ...

Since October 2013, I’ve been teaching English at a rural elementary school on the western coast of Galicia, northwest Spain. Although I’m writing this back home in Texas right now, I’ll be heading back in the fall to renew at the same school for another year, so I thought this summer intermission would be the best time to share with y’all a little bit about the whole reason I’ve been able to live and travel abroad for this past school year. Blue house The surrounding region Gratuitous photo of stray kitties Abanqueiro (pronounced “ah-vahn-KAY-EE-roe” [ˌa.βanˈkej.ɾo]) is a small farming parish that belongs to the broader municipality of Boiro , a city of about 20,000 people in one of the  Rías Baixas or “Lower Inlets” of the Atlantic Ocean that flow into the region’s western coasts. Like most of Galicia, Abanqueiro is green and lush, receiving a lot of rain in winter. But because the village is situated on a flat peninsula close to sea level, the weather here is gen...

Before I got placed to teach English at a rural elementary school in a village called Abanqueiro, I knew very little about the western coasts of Galicia, Spain’s northwestern region. Although I knew I was going to work in Abanqueiro, the address that my placement letter gave me included “Boiro” in parentheses, something that really threw me off. Was my school in Abanqueiro or Boiro? Boiro, seen from my plane window! Both, actually. Come to find out, the population in Spain’s northern regions is distributed a lot differently than it is down south. Whereas in Andalucía, you have a tight, compact urbanization that belongs to a single municipio  (municipality) with virtually no “settlements” outside the city limits (that’s where all the olive groves are, silly!), in Galicia, things are a lot more spread out. The whole region is broken down into various concellos  (municipalities), each with their own town hall in the main city center. Each concello  is divided into s...

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...

The region of Galicia in northwest Spain is known not only for being green, rainy, and full of good food but also as a rather rural part of the country. Countless hamlets, villages, and small towns cover the countryside from the western coasts to the mountains in the east. But you might be surprised to know that the 14th biggest city in Spain is found right here in Galicia: Vigo. An important port city on the southwestern coast, Vigo is one of the two major metropolises in the region (the other being A Coruña to the north). Nearly one out of every ten Galicians live here! So what’s the big deal about Vigo? 1) Seafood from the  ría (Source: juantiagues ) North of the city flows the  Ría de Vigo,  a narrow estuary or inlet of the sea of the same name. Galicia is famous across Spain for its fresh, high-quality seafood , and Vigo is no exception. Like most of the western coast, mussel farming is a big deal here, but Vigo is especially famous for oysters that you can ...