World Best Travel

Holiday in the Coast of Death, The Costa da Morte

Air Travel article brought to you by Stephenmorgan

Northern Spain and Galicia particularly has long been an undiscovered jewel in the whole of the Spanish tourism industry and within that undiscovered jewel in particular we are going to take a look at Costa da Morte.

Overall of all of the autonomous regions of Spain possibly Galicia is the most remote and this makes Costa da Morte even more of an undiscovered treasure.

Traditionally, Galicia was seen as a poor agricultural region, whose economy did not lend itself to modernisation and yet as far as tourism is concerned it is this constant contact with the past that gives the region its appeal and charm.

The Galicians, whose origins are Celtic, are fiercely proud of their culture and language; it is what makes them unique (they feel) within modern day Spain.

It absorbed little in the way of outside influence being fiercely resistant to all forms of outside intervention (and we mean all forms of outside intervention), was never conquered by the Moors, and in the Middle Ages fell under the control of the kingdom of Asturias.

Thankfully slowly throughout the 20th century Galicia has begun to develop a way in which to manage the traditional lifestyles with a modern community to ensure that none of its rich history is lost and this is now starting to show very real and tangible benefits as far as the local tourism economy is concerned.

Located between Cabo San Adrian near Malpica in the North and the Cabo Fisterra in the south west lies the Costa da Morte which as you would expect roughly translates into the “Coast of Death” so names because of the large number of shipwrecks that had been smashed to pieces on the rugged shoreline and also found offshore.

How much of this is actual fact and how much is embellished fantasy it doesn’t matter, as they say, why let the truth get in the way of a good story.

The one fact that is inescapable is the fact that the coast is extremely wild, windswept and rugged. It also has another grim and foreboding aspect to it and these are a series of stone “cruceiros” and also gigantic “borreos” which do tend to add a degree of solemnity bordering on the morbid to it.

That having been said however there is more to the Costa da Morte than just wild rugged scenery and huge Celtic crosses.

The first stop on the coast as you travel southwards from Coruna is Malpica which has been described as a large friendly fishing town that depending upon the day you arrive may or may not be awash with Sea Gulls aplenty!

Next further down the coast is Corme. The town can be reached by a small side road off the main coastal road and is located in a small gentle bay that is used to farm and cultivate shell fish.

Further down the coast from Corme can be found the towns of Ponteceso, Camarinas and Muxia and actual evidence that there is more to see on the Coast da Morte than one would initially think.

There is more to see on the Coast da Morte than one would initially think and it is most definitely an interesting part of any visit to Galicia.

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Beautiful Scenery, Excellent Cuisine, What more could you want?

Air Travel article brought to you by Scott James

With regards to the entire Spanish tourist industry Northern Spain and Galicia especially have been very much a hidden treasure. All over Northern Spain the climate is much more moderate than the rest of the Iberian Peninsula and the autonomous regions that make up this area of the country have exactly what it takes to help visiting tourists have a good time.

The Atlantic coast of northern Spain boasts extremely attractive sandy beaches whilst inland the mountain ranges are criss-crossed by numerous foot paths.

Of all of the autonomous regions of Spain it is understandable given its location that Galicia is considered the most remote. Located in the northwest corner of the Iberian Peninsula Galicia is a green, rain swept region remarkable for the diversity of its landscape, where coastal cliffs alternate with lowlands and “rias.”

As well as beautiful scenery in Galicia you have excellent cuisine especially the seafood whilst at the same time you have right on your doorstep one of the most visited religious pilgrimage sites in the world at Santiago de Compostela. Indeed a whole tourism industry has sprung up around Santiago de Compostela and the whole Way of St. James otherwise known as the “Camino de Santiago.”

The cultural and language origins of Galicia are very much rooted within the Celtic family of communities found elsewhere in North West Europe.

Historically, always classed as the poorer cousin to some of the other richer regions Galicia had an economy that did not easily lend itself to modernisation. Galicia always seemed to be a very closed and inward looking area being fiercely resistant to any formal external invasion. It was only very briefly an independent monarchy in the 10th and 11th centuries.

With the Atlantic Ocean to the west and Portugal bordering on the south opportunities for its inhabitants quite often were not that forthcoming. The result of this was that Galicia became very much like its Celtic cousins in the north such as Ireland and became a source of many waves of emigration.

Thankfully slowly throughout the 20th century Galicia has begun to develop a way in which to manage the traditional lifestyles with a modern community to ensure that none of its rich history is lost.

The port cities of and Corunna which are widely appreciated to be centres of culture and industry within Galicia. As has been mentioned elsewhere, the seafood cuisine is second to none as you would also expect from a region where fishing is one of the most vital sectors of the economy.

The coastline, cut with fjord like Rias is dotted with fishing villages. Galicia and its coastline like other parts of the Atlantic Coast was devastated in 2002 with the sinking of the oil tanker prestige however the coastline has appeared to make an outstanding comeback with a tremendous recovery and in some cases is almost as good as new.

The most westerly point in Spain, Cabo Fisterra is situated in this rugged stretch of Galician coastline. Throughout the region especially in the hills are concealed many remains of ancient Celtic settlement’s, quite often especially up in the hills, these are often shrouded in mist. At road junctions and in towns throughout the region stand various old stone crosses and in the villages old stone granaries are quite commonplace.

As with other Celtic regions, the love of music and the arts is very common in Galicia and as well as its own traditional language, Gallego, Galicia has its traditional musical instrument the bagpipes!

There are a great many similarities between Galicia and the other Celtic Countries and nowhere is this more evident with Art and Culture. This is further exemplified with the slight theme of melancholy running through quite often the words and music of the region. With regards to Galicia (as with County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland), as anyone who has experienced some of the fierce storms coming in from the Atlantic perhaps this is understandable.

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Enjoy the History that is Coruna

Air Travel article brought to you by stephenmorgan

With regards to the tourist industry within Spain, Northern Spain and in particular Galicia especially have been very much a hidden treasure and hidden within lies a further particular treasure called Coruna. Of all of the autonomous regions of Spain Galicia is considered the most remote and therein lies the charm of Coruna hidden away longing to be discovered.

Galicia has always been seen as a poor rural region, whose economy was dependent upon agriculture and fishing and did not lend itself to modernisation and yet as far as tourism is concerned it is this constant contact with the past that gives the region its appeal and charm.

The Galicians are fiercely proud of their culture and language and their Celtic heritage; it is what makes them unique (they feel) within modern day Spain.

Galicia always seemed to be a very closed and inward looking area being fiercely resistant to any formal external invasion and in many ways this degree of isolation was very much driven by the geographical location of the region.

In what has been a mountain to climb slowly but surely Galicia is now trying to manage successfully the twin track of its regional lifestyle with a much more modern society and thankfully this appears to have had very positive results with regards to tourism with little sign of negative effects..

Corona is the oldest town in Galicia. It is even mentioned in Irish Celtic folklore as the destination of the Celtic hero Breogan who apparently travelled to the Iberian Peninsula, landed and where he landed built a tower.

There is a large tower outside Coruna, but this particular town is a famous lighthouse and is called the Torres de Hercules and dates back from Roman times. The tower is the world’s oldest working lighthouse and has been the subject of a recent renovation project which has restored the lighthouse to almost its original splendour. The tower was originally built during the period of the Roman Emperor Trajan but legend attributes the construction to Hercules which as has been proven is not quite true but is a splendid tale nonetheless.

Coruna is also the birthplace to a local heroine of Galician folklore (in this case a story more substantiated) Maria Pitt who it is alleged became a heroine overnight when she was the focal point and leader of the Galician Resistance to the English sailor (and in this case probably privateer) Sir Francis Drake when he raided Coruna in 1589.

Coruna has been one of the most important ports within the whole country of Spain for centuries and is one of the centres for the Spanish fishing fleet that travels as far away as fishing grounds off the coasts of Iceland and Canada.
Fishing is immensely important to the Spanish who actually probably consume more seafood than any other European country with the exception of Portugal.

The Galician fishing fleet which has been mentioned is centred in Coruna and Vigo supplies near the half of the fish and shellfish caught and consumed in Spain. The industry employs as a nation over 61,000 fishermen and over 16,000 boats with as has been said more than 50 percent of the fleet based in Galicia so you can see that Fishing is immensely important to the local economy.

There is more to Coruna, in fact a whole lot more than just fishing and the delights of Coruna are in fact many and varied.

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Experience Some Living History – Visit Lugo

Air Travel article brought to you by Scott James

With regards to the entire Spanish tourist industry Northern Spain and Galicia especially have been very much a hidden treasure and hidden within lies a further particular treasure called Lugo.

Of all of the autonomous regions of Spain it is understandable given its location that Galicia is considered the most remote and therein lies the charm of Lugo hidden away longing to be discovered.

The traditional concept of Galicia was always that it was supposedly a poor agricultural region and as such the economy would not be the easiest to modernize yet one of the fasted growing sub sectors within the Galician Economy is tourism and it is this very real relationship with its historical past that give the region its particular appeal.

The cultural and language origins of Galicia are very much rooted within the Celtic family of communities found elsewhere in North West Europe and has led to Galicia always having a sense of looking outwards from their regional base as opposed to looking inwards towards the rest of Spain.

Because of its location and partisan traditions Galicia was always fairly inward looking having managed to survive throughout the centuries without ever really been conquered by anybody and this degree of fierce independence has lasted and developed down through the centuries.

In what has been a mountain to climb slowly but surely Galicia is now trying to manage successfully the twin track of its regional lifestyle with a much more modern society and thankfully this appears to have had very positive results with regards to tourism with little sign of negative effects..

The ancient town of Lugo is in eastern Galicia lays on one of the main roads into Galicia from Leon. It was not surprising given its location that the Romans chose to use it as their provincial regional capital.

As many historians have pointed out on quite a few occasions the Romans were a race that never did anything by half measures and so you can be rest assured that when they decided to use Lugo as their regional headquarters firstly they would make sure that it was fortified and secondly they would make sure that those fortifications were extremely robust and well constructed.

Hence you know have a town built in the 21st century that has some of the finest examples of Roman fortifications and architecture in existence today. So much so that the walls of Lugo are now major tourist attractions in their own right.

The Roman settlement at Lugo originates from about 15 BC but the actual fortifications were begun in earnest in the third century AD under the rule of the Roman emperor Augustus.

As has been mentioned before, the walls of Lugo surround the entire town and they are punctuated at regular intervals throughout the entire circumference by outposts of 82 different towers.

The other main attraction of Lugo is its Cathedral which now sits on the site of an earlier church construction that stems from the 12th Century. Perhaps not as large or impressive as its westernmost neighbour in Santiago de Compostela, the Cathedral at Lugo is still well worth a visit if you have the time.

Within the town walls the streets still follow a traditional roman axis and the narrow cobble stoned streets are a delight to wander around when you have the time and there are quite a few interesting restaurants that can be found in out of the way locations dotted throughout the town.

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Explore Northern Galicia

Air Travel article brought to you by Scott James

Northern Spain and Galicia particularly has long been an undiscovered jewel in the whole of the Spanish tourism industry and within that undiscovered jewel in particular we are going to take a look at Northern Galicia.

Overall of all of the autonomous regions of Spain possibly Galicia is the most remote and this makes Northern Galicia even more of an undiscovered treasure.

Traditionally, Galicia was seen as a poor agricultural region, whose economy did not lend itself to modernisation and yet as far as tourism is concerned it is this constant contact with the past that gives the region its appeal and charm.

The Galicians, whose origins are Celtic, are fiercely proud of their culture and language; it is what makes them unique (they feel) within modern day Spain.

It absorbed little in the way of outside influence being fiercely resistant to all forms of outside intervention (and we mean all forms of outside intervention), was never conquered by the Moors, and in the Middle Ages fell under the control of the kingdom of Asturias.

Thankfully slowly throughout the 20th century Galicia has begun to develop a way in which to manage the traditional lifestyles with a modern community to ensure that none of its rich history is lost and this is now starting to show very real and tangible benefits as far as the local tourism economy is concerned.

Northern Galicia covers an area north of a line to drawn from Santiago de Compostela in the West and Lugo and the Reserva Nacional De Os Ancares in the East.

If you include Santiago de Compostela in this region along with Coruna you actually have two of the biggest Cities of the region and two of the major tourist areas, the Costa de Morte and Rias Altas.

As has been mentioned, Santiago is the regions major tourist attraction and in many ways is the centrepiece of the entire region with regards to the “Way of Saint James” having routes leading to it literally from not only all of Galicia but from all of the Spain and beyond.

Other interesting towns and tourist destinations in Northern Galicia would consist of Lugo, Betanzos and Mondonedo. There is a nice coastal drive along the northern coast and the Rias Altas starting at Ribadeo in the East and travelling through Foz, Burela, Cervo, Viveiro, Ortigueira, Cediera and Ferrol finally arriving at Coruna in the west. As had been mentioned, this drive takes in the entire Rias Altas which is a beautiful area of the region in itself.

Heading westwards from Coruna you would then take in the area known as the Costa de Morta – the Coast of Death, so called because of the many shipwrecks found offshore.

The drive from Coruna takes in Caion and then leads slightly inland to Carballo before you arrive in Malpica. From there you would head south via Laxe and Camarinas arriving at the most westerly part of the Galician coastline in Cabo Fisterra. This drive is characterized by a wild and windswept landscape and the scenery is characterized by steep cliffs and a rugged coastline. Quite awesome natural beauty but also this has a strange feature in that at periodic intervals throughout the journey you’ll find quite distinctive Cruceiros or Celtic crosses that indicate various stations of the Cross and in relation to this coastline where accidents and shipwrecks have occurred.

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Exploring Santiago de Compostela

Air Travel article brought to you by stephenmorgan

With regards to the tourist industry within Spain, Northern Spain and in particular Galicia especially have been very much a hidden treasure and hidden within lies a further particular treasure called Santiago de Compostela. Of all of the autonomous regions of Spain Galicia is considered the most remote and therein lies the charm of Santiago de Compostela hidden away longing to be discovered.

Galicia has always been seen as a poor rural region, whose economy was dependent upon agriculture and fishing and did not lend itself to modernisation and yet as far as tourism is concerned it is this constant contact with the past that gives the region its appeal and charm.

The Galicians are fiercely proud of their culture and language and their Celtic heritage; it is what makes them unique (they feel) within modern day Spain.

Galicia always seemed to be a very closed and inward looking area being fiercely resistant to any formal external invasion and in many ways this degree of isolation was very much driven by the geographical location of the region.

In what has been a mountain to climb slowly but surely Galicia is now trying to manage successfully the twin track of its regional lifestyle with a much more modern society and thankfully this appears to have had very positive results with regards to tourism with little sign of negative effects..

What can be said about Santiago de Compostela that probably hasn’t been said already? As the location for allegedly the third most visited pilgrimage site in Christendom, you can imagine that to that end an industry has risen alongside and to serve what has now become a major tourism attraction.

Of the many sights to see in Santiago (and there are indeed a great many) perhaps the Cathedral is the most impressive and the one sight that greets most Pilgrims travelling the Way of Saint James as they near the City.

For those not familiar with the background to the pilgrimage site in Santiago the story and legend is as follows. Apparently or according to legend the apostle St. James was responsible for bringing Christianity to Spain. Now this is actually open to question because the generally accepted convention is that the apostle James was martyred in Palestine in AD 45 but it apparently before his death he apostle James had in fact visited Spain to bring the stories of the Gospel to her people. The story then goes on to say that allegedly after his martyrdom, the apostles body was later brought to Spain on a ship by angels.

The story then goes on to claim that apparently in 814, a hermit was guided to rediscover the Apostles hitherto undiscovered tomb in a cave in a secluded hillside in Galicia by a shower of stars (the word Compostela literally means “shower of stars”). The local Bishop at the time declared the bones to be genuine – how he accomplished this all without the help of modern day technology is actually probably more of a miracle than the discovery of the bones themselves and hey presto a legend was born and over the years the site has risen to become one of the most visited shrines in all Christendom.

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Ferrol, The Town That Influenced The Rest Of Spain

Air Travel article brought to you by Scott James

With regards to the entire Spanish tourist industry Northern Spain and Galicia especially have been very much a hidden treasure and hidden within lies a further particular treasure called Ferrol.

Of all of the autonomous regions of Spain it is understandable given its location that Galicia is considered the most remote and therein lies the charm of Ferrol hidden away longing to be discovered.

The traditional concept of Galicia was always that it was supposedly a poor agricultural region and as such the economy would not be the easiest to modernize yet one of the fasted growing sub sectors within the Galician Economy is tourism and it is this very real relationship with its historical past that give the region its particular appeal.

The cultural and language origins of Galicia are very much rooted within the Celtic family of communities found elsewhere in North West Europe and has led to Galicia always having a sense of looking outwards from their regional base as opposed to looking inwards towards the rest of Spain.

Because of its location and partisan traditions Galicia was always fairly inward looking having managed to survive throughout the centuries without ever really been conquered by anybody and this degree of fierce independence has lasted and developed down through the centuries.

In what has been a mountain to climb slowly but surely Galicia is now trying to manage successfully the twin track of its regional lifestyle with a much more modern society and thankfully this appears to have had very positive results with regards to tourism with little sign of negative effects..

Ferrol can be found on the northern coast of Galicia and is mid way between the coastlines known as the Rias Altas and the Costa da Morte. It is located on the northern shores of the Ria de Betanzos.

Ferrol is perhaps better known for one of the towns most famous (or infamous) sons, a certain Francisco France y Bahamonde who later on in life became better known as just simply General Franco, leader of Spain between the between the 1930’s up until the ate 1960’s and extremely influential up until his death in 1975.

Perhaps it is something to do with the local approach to the whole General Franco association but Ferrol is very much a town that has possibly a schizophrenic approach to itself and its history.

As a naval port, Ferrol lost most of its influence (and Spanish fleet) in the peninsular war of the early 1800’s but it still retains quite some influence us fall as being a port is concerned and evidence of the Spanish Navy can be found throughout the town.

Sadly as an area of quite high unemployment many would view that Ferrol’s greatest days are behind it, however the streets around the harbour would tend to suggest otherwise.

Sadly the outskirts of the town have been described as some of most depressing urban landscapes in all of Spain but don’t let this distract you from visiting the city centre is this still retains a certain charm.

Yes, the waterfront is mostly dominated and taken out by naval buildings and dockyards but if you walk along the waterfront you can get a good idea of just how large Ferrols natural harbour actually is.

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Galicia – A Successful Marriage between the Old and the New

Air Travel article brought to you by stephenmorgan

Northern Spain and Galicia particularly has long been an undiscovered jewel in the whole of the Spanish tourism industry. All over Northern Spain the climate is much more moderate than the rest of the Iberian Peninsula and the autonomous regions that make up this area of the country have exactly what it takes to help visiting tourists have a good time.

With regards to Galicia you have a region where you have a rugged coastline with extremely attractive sandy beaches whilst inland the mountainous regions provide a completely different experience for the visitor.

Of all of the autonomous regions of Spain it is understandable given its location that Galicia is considered the most remote. Galicia is a region of contrasts in that in the one extreme you have a rugged beautiful coastline mixed with gorgeous beaches whilst inland you have beautiful mountain scenery.

As well as beautiful scenery in Galicia you have excellent cuisine especially the seafood whilst at the same time you have right on your doorstep one of the most visited religious pilgrimage sites in the world at Santiago de Compostela. This particular pilgrimage site has actually generated a vast tourist industry all of its own that is vital to the economic viability of the region.

The Galicians, whose origins are Celtic, are fiercely proud of their culture and language.

Historically, always classed as the poorer cousin to some of the other richer regions Galicia had an economy that did not easily lend itself to modernisation. It absorbed little in the way of outside influence being fiercely resistant to all forms of outside intervention, was never conquered by the Moors, and in the Middle Ages fell under the control of the kingdom of Asturias. Apart from a brief interlude in the 11th and 10th centuries when Galicia fell briefly under the rule of the kingdom of Asturias, Galicia has always been an independent region.

One of the problems with Galicia as with some of the other remote communities in Western Europe lies within its geographical constraints. As with a lot of the major Celtic communities in Western Europe after a while the major industry became emigration.

Thankfully slowly throughout the 20th century Galicia has begun to develop a way in which to manage the traditional lifestyles with a modern community to ensure that none of its rich history is lost.

The port cities of and Corunna which are widely appreciated to be centres of culture and industry within Galicia. As befits a province that has such reliance on the sea, the seafood here is amongst the best in Spain and fishing is vital to the economy.

As well as the major ports the coastline of Galicia is dotted with tiny little fishing villages. The coast which was devastated by the damage caused by the 2002 sinking of the oil tanker Prestige has now by almost recovered and in some cases is almost better than ever.

The major geographical point on the Galician coastline is probably Cape Finisterre which is the westernmost part of the Spanish mainland. Inland the region is dotted with ancient Celtic settlements which can be found in the often mist shrouded hillsides. At road junctions and in towns throughout the region stand various old stone crosses and in the villages old stone granaries are quite commonplace.

The whole Celtic culture in Galicia is completed by the sound of the favourite instrument of Galicia, the bag pipes and their language, Gallego, is an amalgam almost of Portuguese and the various other Gaelic tongues and there is an extremely strong link between Galicia and some of the other Celtic Countries of North Western Europe.

Again this love of the arts and culture is very similar with other Celtic regions. This is further exemplified with the slight theme of melancholy running through quite often the words and music of the region. For those who find this a concept difficult to understand and view it as being purely depressing and boring then you have to try and understand the traditional background to the entire region and realize the centuries of hardship that these communities have had to withstand and as a result have manifested themselves in their traditional words music.

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Great Hospitality, Great Seafood, Thats Vigo!

Air Travel article brought to you by stephenmorgan

With regards to the entire Spanish tourist industry Northern Spain and Galicia especially have been very much a hidden treasure and hidden within lies a further particular treasure called Vigo.

Of all of the autonomous regions of Spain it is understandable given its location that Galicia is considered the most remote and therein lies the charm of Vigo hidden away longing to be discovered.

The traditional concept of Galicia was always that it was supposedly a poor agricultural region and as such the economy would not be the easiest to modernize yet one of the fasted growing sub sectors within the Galician Economy is tourism and it is this very real relationship with its historical past that give the region its particular appeal.

The cultural and language origins of Galicia are very much rooted within the Celtic family of communities found elsewhere in North West Europe and has led to Galicia always having a sense of looking outwards from their regional base as opposed to looking inwards towards the rest of Spain.

Because of its location and partisan traditions Galicia was always fairly inward looking having managed to survive throughout the centuries without ever really been conquered by anybody and this degree of fierce independence has lasted and developed down through the centuries.

In what has been a mountain to climb slowly but surely Galicia is now trying to manage successfully the twin track of its regional lifestyle with a much more modern society and thankfully this appears to have had very positive results with regards to tourism with little sign of negative effects..

Vigo is the largest city in Galicia and is located on the western coast south of Pontevedra and west of Ourense. Vigo is immensely important with regards to the Spanish fishing industry and alongside Coruna is home to an industry that employs some 61,000 fishermen and 16,000 boats.

Vigo is a city that displays a rather remarkable and healthy geographical and sociological schizophrenia in that it very much falls into two halves. You have the old part of the town which is very much a working port, very down to earth and full of traffic problems, urban decay, poverty are all present and evident all over the place. However to counter this there are still memories of a golden heritage as an important port full of passengers all bound for London, South America and other parts of the New World. You have architecture and buildings that have obviously seen better days and down in the harbour you’ll find fresh seafood available that is as good as any you’ll find anywhere else in Europe. Contrast this with the new part of town around the Marina which is full of trendy restaurants and caf?s and the difference is remarkable and you could very much think to yourself that you had possibly just walked into some extremely rare Space Time zone!

Vigo as a town is centred round a natural harbour and has existed for centuries. The harbour as we know it had been used by Phoenician and Celtic sailors long before the city as we know it was settled by the Romans. As a city Vigo’s fortunes have waxed and waned to a variety of degrees depending on what was happening at the time, ranging from rapid expansion during the 18th and 19th centuries and corresponding stagnation during the “Franco years” when Spain as a whole became rather insular and isolationist.

A city very much full of contrast and another place are well worth a visit.

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History And Outstanding Scenery In Ribadeo And The Rias Altas

Air Travel article brought to you by Scott James

With regards to the entire Spanish tourist industry Northern Spain and Galicia especially have been very much a hidden treasure and hidden within lies a further particular treasure called Ribadeo.

Of all of the autonomous regions of Spain it is understandable given its location that Galicia is considered the most remote and therein lies the charm of Ribadeo hidden away longing to be discovered.

The traditional concept of Galicia was always that it was supposedly a poor agricultural region and as such the economy would not be the easiest to modernize yet one of the fasted growing sub sectors within the Galician Economy is tourism and it is this very real relationship with its historical past that give the region its particular appeal.

The cultural and language origins of Galicia are very much rooted within the Celtic family of communities found elsewhere in North West Europe and has led to Galicia always having a sense of looking outwards from their regional base as opposed to looking inwards towards the rest of Spain.

Because of its location and partisan traditions Galicia was always fairly inward looking having managed to survive throughout the centuries without ever really been conquered by anybody and this degree of fierce independence has lasted and developed down through the centuries.

In what has been a mountain to climb slowly but surely Galicia is now trying to manage successfully the twin track of its regional lifestyle with a much more modern society and thankfully this appears to have had very positive results with regards to tourism with little sign of negative effects..

Ribadeo can be found on the northern coast of Galicia and Northern Spain. It is actually the most eastern of all of the major towns in Galicia and is on the main coastal road into Galicia (the N634) from Oviedo.

Like its near coastal neighbour, Viveiro, Ribadeo is on the stretch of coastline known as the Rias Altas, an area of outstanding natural beauty that should not be missed by any tourist or visitor to the area.

It would be wrong to call the Rias Altas paradise as that in itself would tend to attract possibly the wrong type of visitor that could in fact damage the very reason for visiting the area in the first place.

And Don Henley of the Eagles sings in the “The Last Resort” on the album Hotel California: “Call someplace paradise, I don’t know why. Call someplace paradise kiss it goodbye” and such it would be with the Rias Altas.

Let’s just leave it that it is an area of outstanding natural beauty that hopefully will be well preserved by European legislation and will be there for visitors and locals alike for a great many years to come.

With regards to Ribadeo, it can be found at the head of the Ria de Ribadeo and at the mouth of the river Eo from which the town gets its name. It is an attractive fishing town and the town itself is home to the Colegiata de Santa Maria de Campo, an 18th Century church with two extremely attractive baroque altarpieces. The harbour area of the town is extremely pleasant and can be found at the end of a series of steep streets leading down the hillside.

All in all it is quite picturesque, certainly with the views across the river to the neighbouring region of Asturias.

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