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.

Dia de la Reconquista

On the 28th - 29th of March Vigo celebrated its annual fiesta of liberation from Napoleonic forces (to read more about the history of this event, see previous post).

The day begins with a re-enactment of the arrival of the French, followed by life under occupation, we then were treated to the beginning of the rebellion, that eventually leads to a city wide uprising against the hapless invaders and Vigo's "Reconquest".

In the afternoon, the market stalls are in full swing, selling all manner of local produce; bread baked in log fired ovens, bocadillos (sandwich rolls) de chorizo, sweets, lollies, honey, jamon, wine, orujo (a type of liqueur), wicker baskets, lace. There was traditional dancers, music and much more.

Nowadays, the French have invaded once again, only this time not to the sound of guns, but to the sound of business. Citroen and Peugeot have a large car manufacturing plant here and employ thousands, whilst also injecting millions of Euros into the local economy. The largest supermarkets (of which there are four); Al Campo and Carrefour are both French owned. Needless to say that there are a lot of French people who live here and throughout the day, many a Frenchman would be seen to run out of a bar or pub and shout "Viva la France", before dashing back inside, rather than waiting for a response.

All in all it's a great day out and seeing Vigo's historic quarter come alive, makes a pleasant change, from it's otherwise neglected status. Wandering the cobblestone streets was a real pleasure, as you never knew what was going to be around the next corner.

Festa in Bouzas

Sunday in Bouzas is market day, with stalls mainly selling clothes, there is the odd food stall but it's really about finding cheap clothes or a D&G belt, it's not the most exciting market but the kids love it.

Bouzas lies in the south west of Vigo, situated within a small bay with moorings for private boats. It use to be an independent authority when Vigo was a smaller neighbour. It has a very quaint if small old town with bars and restaurants, many of which have been sympathetically restored in keeping with their surroundings. Citroen built a huge car holding area and port for their operations, fortunately this can't be seen whilst supping on a cold Estrella.

This day though we were in for a pleasant surprise, as the annual Festa Brincadeira was being held. Hidden behind the market day, down narrow cobblestone streets lined with straw, galician music filled the air and market stalls selling home-made wares from honey liqueur to hand made wicker baskets lined the street.

It was an assault on the senses, freshly cooked mussels from the bay, chorizo barbecued on an open fire, a traditional bread oven stoked with small logs churned out deliciously fresh bread all day, there was callos a kind of bean and bits of pig stew, (doesn't sound appetising but tastes great!) empanada of meat and tuna and with the stall vendors in period dress, the scene was set. Not to forget the wine drunk from small bowls and which flowed all to easily!

El Olivo - The Olive Tree

The olive tree, along with the Castro Fortress, appears on the coat of arms of Vigo. When the emblem was first designed, it was a tower and two olive branches, later the olive branches were replaced with the olive tree.

There are a few stories as to how the tree ended up at its present position on Paseo de Alfonso XII and just as many as to who originally planted it. What is not in dispute is its original location, which was the courtyard of the old Colegiata (Collegiate) Church (which no longer stands) but where you will now find the 19th century Colegiata Santa Maria.

The tree we see today is not the original, but rather a descendant. It is said that the original tree was planted during the 12th century, around the times of the Knights Templar. In 1780 a large gunpowder explosion in a nearby military store destroyed the church. When plans were made to build a new church on the site, and the tree was to be uprooted, a man with foresight by the name of Manuel Ángel Pereyra had the presence of mind to take a cutting which he planted, and in doing so kept the emblem of peace for the city alive, for many more generations to come.