Cricket in Vigo

This is a quick post to add a video clip from Televison de Galicia about our recent cricket match played here in Vigo!

You can see me at the end of the clip, in the group shot, standing on the far left! My five seconds of fame!

Walking the Lagares River Vigo

A few weeks ago we decided to finally take the plunge and go and traverse a portion of the over 8 km long path which follows the river Lagares that meanders along the fringes of the city, from Avenida Madrid until Playa Samil. I’ve seen the river before but only in Castrelos where, I firmly believed it begun and ended, for I had never seen it beyond the sanctuary of the park.

We joined the river close to the site of the PSA Peugeot Citroën car plant. The river lies lower than street level, so traffic noise and unsightly edifices are mostly hidden from view.

Upon joining the river trail, we were immediately transported to another world of peace and serenity, in the otherwise hustle and bustle that is Vigo.

We continued to follow the river towards Castrelos and even though we found ourselves amidst towering apartment block, the river and its tree lined banks provided the perfect cover to forget where you were. We passed through Castrelos and into a truly natural environment far removed from the city.

The paths are well maintained and the water is clean, supporting abundant wildlife, namely fish and birds, of which ducks were plentiful. We were told that even the odd heron could be spotted. There is ample flora, offering welcomed shade on hot summer days.
Overall we were quite pleased with our river walk and glad that we had finally taken the time to get to know it, a truly pleasant place to escape the cacophony of Vigo.

Un Bocadillo Vegetal Please...the not so vegetarian roll.

I imagine being a vegetarian can be difficult at the best of times, especially when eating out. Here in Spain that challenge takes on a whole new twist. The vegetable sandwich/roll can include some decidedly non vegetarian content.

A typical vege sandwich will contain; ham, tuna, cheese, egg, maybe some lettuce, tomato and a corn mayonnaise.

Another classic is the humble salad, when in its vegetarian form will include tuna.

The sandwich/roll or 'bocadillo' in the picture is one I regularly buy from our local panaderia (bakery). I myself quite like them, but if you are a vegetarian, you may not feel the same.

(Normally the bocadillo from the bakery contains a little more lettuce and tomato than the one in the photo, they obviously are cutting back. Perhaps due to this crisis/recession thing...?)

Pedestrian/Zebra Crossing Vigo

A recent statistic came to light, after an accident involving two elderly woman on a pedestrian crossing last week. In Vigo, you have just as much chance of being hit by a vehicle on a pedestrian crossing, as you have in crossing the road at any other place. The two woman in question were crossing on a controlled cross, the light was red for traffic and green for them, they were seriously injured with multiple fractures.

It seems that scant respect is given to red lights and not a day goes by without seeing vehicles running them. I have had three near misses using the pedestrian crossing, one of them whilst I was pushing my son in a pushchair. It pays to look both ways before you cross the road. Here in Vigo it pays not to stop looking!

The photo above is the result of the overturned car running a red light through a pedestrian crossing, fortunately no one was injured in this incident.

Tui

It is always nice when you see something that reminds you of home, no matter how vague the connection may be...

The word 'Tui' is very familiar to those who hail from New Zealand, where it is the name of a native bird and a brand of beer, amongst others. Here in Galicia, Spain the word 'Tuy' also exists in Spanish and when it is written in Galician, the 'y' is replaced with an 'i' giving us 'Tui'. Here it is associated with a town on the Spanish-Portuguese border and is also seen on many street signs. The word 'Moa' is also seen here, but I will leave that one for another day...

Monolith to Franco on the Beautiful Islas Cies

One of the few remaining monuments in Vigo of Franco's fascist regime was finally brought down on Tuesday after a failed attempt on Monday.

The beautiful Islas Cies are situated 10km (6miles) west of Vigo. The islands are a national park and features in the list of Top 10 Beaches in the world click here to see the review.

The islands are a natural barrier against the Atlantic and protects Vigo's bay from the fury of Atlantic storms which shelters the large mussel farming industry along with making the beaches on the mainland very safe for recreational activities. As beautiful as they are the islands had an ugly scar in the form of a 15m high monolith, erected during the times of Franco.

On 30 June the 15m high monolith on the Islas Cies erected in 1961 to honour Franco was set for demolition by explosives. To view the video of this slightly embarrassing moment click here or to view as a series of photos click here.
After the failure to fire (so to speak) of the day before, a further 25kg of explosives were laid yesterday, 1st July and the monolith was finally brought down.

Apparently the monolith had been reinforced with railway iron tracks, (obviously built to last) which went unnoticed on first inspection. Before the second attempt, these were cut through to allow for a more smoother toppling.

Plaza de la Constitucion

Plaza de la Constitucion lies within Vigo's historic quarter, only a short walk from the marina. This attractive 16th century Plaza is the largest of four to be found within the old town and is the principle site for all major festivities held throughout the year, such as the "Reconquista"

The buildings surrounding Plaza de la Constitucion are all characteristically Galician in style and built with local granite, which is found in abundance in the surrounding area. Nearly every window has its own balcony which normally has flowering plants as there is little room for anything else.

There are seven cafeterias/bars situated in the Plaza, all have outside seating and all but two of them have Soportales, (arched walkways) which allow for outside seating if the weather is a touch inclement.

Plaza de la Constitucion is a great spot and is close to the cruise terminal as well as the main shopping area of Principe. It never gets that busy so you are always guaranteed of a table. All in all a very pleasant place to go and get away from the present and step into the past.