I have been able to make some truly amazing friends in Spain. To my great fortune, Lucia,one of those close friends, invited me to spend the weekend with her and her family in a busy coastal port town called La Coruna. I enthusiastically accepted the generous offer which would take place over "a puente" the first of two 3 day weekends I would have this semester. How could I miss an opportunity to spend more time with my lovely friend Lucia and her family and get to see another part of Spain?
La Coruna is located in the northwestern corner of Spain in a province called Galicia. Gallego is the language spoken by citizens of this region in addition to Castellano and other regional dialects. Galicia sits above northern Portugal along the Atlantic coast on the Iberian Peninsula and is best known for its seafood.
With permission from my professor, since I needed to leave early from class to make the flight, Lucia and I boarded a late Thursday afternoon Ryan Air flight to Santiago de la Compustela, a well known town in Galicia, approx. 30 minutes by car from La Coruna. I was thrilled beyond words. Here I was on an hour flight to an area of Spain I never imagined I would get to visit. When we arrived in Santiago it was raining on and off; just as Lucia had previously warned me. (During the winter in Galicia it rains practically every day.) From the airport,we took a local bus into the city, dropped off our luggage at Lucia’s friend’s apartment and immediately set out to explore the sights.
Santiago is a small, holy, University City. Santiago is famous for El Camino de Santiago (Way of St James), a Christian pilgrimage. Every year thousands hike "El Camino" from France into Spain in pilgrimage to St. James. Legend says that the remains of St James are buried in the Cathedral of Santiago, which is where the el Camino pilgrimage ends. If you are interested check out an independent film called "El Camino"starring Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez. I haven't seen it but my parents loved the film and it's beautiful portrayal of the Way of St. James.
First stop in Santiago was park that overlooked the famous Cathedral de Santiago. From this park we were able to get the best view of the Cathedral. Afterwards, we headed into the heart of the small city to Calle Franco. Although small, the city is absolutely gorgeous with windy, narrow cobble stone streets. The Plaza in front of the cathedral is the place where many pelegrinos aka pilgrims celebrate finishing El Camino. It is a beautiful place where you cannot help but be overwhelmed with the sanctity and joy of it all; people of all ages and places walking for miles, days, weeks to complete El Camino. Inside, the cathedral is absolutely breathtaking, with an altar completely covered in gold embellishments. We explored the cathedral and went into the tomb of Saint James which is actually under the alter. It was amazing being with 2 people from Galicia who could explain to me the significance of the Cathedral and the pilgrimage. After we walked around some more, we stopped at a local café so that I could try the traditional tarta de Santiago, which by the way, is absolutely scrumptious. After a full day of exploring Santiago, Lucia and I headed to her home town of La Coruna drained.
The following day, Friday, was a national holiday in Spain. So Lucia, her family and I went to El Torre de Hercules. This tower is an ancient Roman lighthouse where legend says Hercules killed the monster Geryon. After killing him, Hercules built a
Thereafter we headed back to Lucia's for a home-cooked lunch (yeah!!) and a well deserved siesta.Later that night we walked around the old part of the city and the shopping district. Luckily, it had finally stopped raining and we were able to enjoy the night without drenching rain. For la cena or dinner, we went to Fosters which is an American style restaurant. (I highly recommend it if you are in the mood for some comfort food.)
The following day we went to the largest mall in all of Europe located in La Coruna. Lucia was eager to show me a store only available in Spain called Primark which she is fond of. Basically, Primark is a department store akin to a higher end version of Walmart without a food section. The store was really interesting and I bought a few scarves and a sweater since winter was coming.
Each Province in Spain has different nightlife. In La Coruna it is typical to go out for a drink first, then go to the local nightclubs all of which are located in the Mall. Next, we met some friends at a local discoteca. It was a really fun night out with Lucia’s friends but unfortunately we had to call it an early night because we had to catch a flight the next day.
La Coruna on the northwestern coast is a very charming city. It has the best of both worlds; a special combination of city life and shore life. La Coruna and the Galicia region also have the best seafood I have eaten in Spain and I was so fortunate to have had an opportunity to try some treats like grilled fish and empanadas de gallego. But the very best dish I had was homemade. Lucia's mom
Overall, my trip to Galicia was amazing, spiritually uplifting and loads of fun filled with delicious seafood. Lucia’s family were wonderful hosts and treated me like a daughter. Mil gracias to Lucia and her wonderful family!!! On my way back to Madrid so for now chao!
