Galicia Region of Spain

Date: August 1, 2018 – August 5, 2018
Location: Galicia Region of Spain

After our day of wine tasting in Montpellier we took a train to Barcelona, Spain. After changing trains in Barcelona, we went on to Madrid, Spain, where we changed train stations to then get on an overnight train to A Coruña, Spain. On the overnight train, we had small beds that we were not expecting, since we thought we had booked normal seats. However, it was better than sitting in seats as we were able to make the compartment dark and lay down to sleep. The beds were short, though, and if Brian was any taller he would not have been able to lay flat.

We arrived in A Coruña at 8:40 am and picked up a rental car.

We had a larger rental car as we then went to the airport to pick up our friends Pete and Jen who came from Seattle, Washington for a vacation.

From A Coruña we drove north east to our Airbnb in O Valadouro. The place ended up being outside of the town center.

The doorway and some of the ceilings inside were low so Pete had to duck to go in.

August 3, 2018
Castañón Cider and Cathedrals Beach

We drove east toward Gijón and were too early for the tour of the Castañón cider facility, so we went to the biggest building in Spain by area (not the tallest by height). The Universidad Laboral de Gijón in Gijón is 270,000 square meters, around 2.9 million square feet.

Inside the building, people were setting up for a concert that night. We heard some of the sound check.

Since the concert was that night we were not able to go up in the tower.

Castañón Cider Mill Tour

After leaving the University, we went back to the cidery for a tour and tasting. The Castañón Cider Mill was founded in 1938, and after three generations is still making natural cider. We took a tour of the new facilities that were built in 2014 and learned about how the cider is made.

Once the apples are brought to the facility they are pressed, the juice put into tanks to gradually ferment and bottled all in that facility. It is encouraged to consume the cider by pouring it from a height and then drinking it right away.

All of the cider is made in October and bottled as it is needed during the year. The cider in the chestnut vats get consumed first each year.

From Castañón we then went to Praia das Catedrais, commonly known as Cathedrals Beach.

The arches are only visible during low tide.

There are many caves that water has carved out as well.

Many of the rocks have barnacles and other sea-life living on them.

The cathedral beach was awesome to see! There were a lot of people, but we were expecting that, since it is peak tourist season now (August).

August 4, 2018
Santiago de Compostela

On August 4, 2018 we drove to Santiago de Compostela.

Here is the Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela from the Plaza do Obradoiro. The entrance to the cathedral however is around the side and the line you see in the picture is for something else.

Below is where the entrance to Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela is in Plaza das Praterias. There was no line to enter the cathedral.

We exited Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela on the opposite side of the entrance.

August 5, 2018
Faro de Estaca de Bares

We drove to the Faro de Estaca de Bares lighthouse. It was very foggy and windy.

After the lighthouse, we stopped in Playa de Bares and had lunch and then walked the beach.

While driving back to the Airbnb, we stopped in a town along the way to walk around. It was low tide and we could see an arch built into a rock.

The Airbnb we stayed at had a nice view. It was a more remote location than what we were expecting.