Galicia is great!

Now we have arrived in northern Spain, Galicia.

What can I say? It is as green as Portugal, the Iberian peninsula shows its not so dry side, we are not in the Tabernas semi-desert, but rather where it rains.

First we ended up in a bay that promised lots of beautiful hikes and bizarre rock formations, and that was all kept. I was amazed, there was a new photo opportunity around every bend, it was almost like being in Brittany on the Cote Granite Rose. Northern Spain sometimes reminds us a lot of the countries in the north, be it Norway or Scotland, but it is much milder. Ferns, columbines, foxgloves and broom, figs, oranges and the like grow here. It is beautiful here, but in summer it is certainly too hot for me.

Our first stop in Galicia was near Sanxenxo, where we had a campsite that was an attraction for Germans in particular, as we later found out, because when the description says new and nice sanitary facilities, they literally come in droves. It was fun, we exchanged ideas, some come from Portugal, others drive further afield. The current campsite near Muxia would probably not be recommended for many of the campers there, because the showers and toilets are a bit old. That doesn't bother us, because the campsite is again in a great spot in nature.

I love northern Spain because people here want to communicate. Yesterday the employee at the VW branch in Camanzio really understood my more Italian Spanish, the service was done with an oil change and there was no waiting time of three weeks, just with "Give me the key, pick up the car in 2 hours. The dogs can stay in the car." AWESOME!

The café or bakery was even better, because when we were still debating which bread to get, the lady asked us in German: "This one?" and chatted to us in the most beautiful Zurich dialect.

That's so friendly, where people look at you so differently in the south, where there is a constant coming and going. I have to admit that people speak so slowly in Galicia that I understand it better than in any other place I have visited so far. Maybe that's my imagination, but I can follow the conversations well, although talking is a different story.

I find it very relaxed here, the second campsite was fun, the people were nice, most of them are permanent campers who are preparing their caravans for the season, there was a lot of sawing and hammering going on, but that didn't bother me. Unfortunately, it was quite loud at night because of a festival in the bay opposite, the fireworks threw Nerone off a bit, but Loki didn't mind.

Nature hasn't really changed compared to northern Portugal, but here the birds are different, they are quieter and the species are new to us. Whereas we used to see storks all the time in the Algarve and Alentejo, and it was the same around Tarifa and Algeciras, there are no more to be seen here. There are a lot of migratory birds here, but they are mostly just passing through. We have discovered a lot of sandpipers and gannets, while here no longer are cuckoos flying out of bed, as was the case in Gouveia. It is different, but no less rich in species.

It's also the pilgrims' environment, because Santiago isn't far away, and I think they're always a nice bunch! It's friendly, the language is funny, yes, dialect is spoken here too, but people also speak to me in standard Spanish when they notice that I'm slacking off.

The landscape is rugged and beautiful, which is a bit of a revelation for me, as I hadn't expected it to be like this despite the photos. I almost feel like I'm in the north here, yes, I admit, the fascination of the north has not diminished.

There are wonderful hiking trails here, similar to those in Portugal, and there are routes that are also easy for Nerone, who recently sprained his leg and limped. Hopefully that was it and nothing worse, but we'll keep an eye on things and if necessary we'll have to go to the vet. Loki is in his element, because he always finds his own personal bathtub between the rocks, it's an El Dorado for him.

Hopefully it won't rain today, but let's wait and see, because for all of you who were so jealous of the sun and the temperatures, it's "only" 14 degrees and sunny here at the moment, and it's supposed to stay that way for the time being, with the occasional rain. Let's wait and see!