La Coruña

My travels around Spain have been anchored in a port on the north-western coast for the past week.  I have taken up residence at my host family's grandparent's house in La Coruña, the largest city in the province of Galicia, where I have my own room with a view overlooking the city, the beach, and the Torre de Hércules, the oldest functioning roman lighthouse in the world.  As I sit here writing, I have the window open to let the evening hum of coastal town life and the Atlantic breeze mixed with some heavy fog.  Needless to say, I´m feeling quite content and even more so now because I finally have some time to write about the adventures of this past week.  


This past Sunday, the day after we arrived in La Coruña, we celebrated the grandmother's saint's day, which is a celebration that can cause as much commotion as a birthday and expects good wishes from everyone.  Trust me, you're in trouble if you forget.  Before we walked into the kitchen for breakfast, Belen was sure to stop me and double check that I remembered, and then she prepped me for exactly how to greet her grandmother on her special day.  For lunch, all sorts of family member arrived, and I became so overwhelmed with kisses and questions that I completely missed everyone's names.  Fortunately everyone accepted me as the somewhat-confused American girl who takes pictures of her food before she eats it and certainly can't win at Spanish trivia games...name a Spanish brand of food preservatives? sure.    However, I did win a round for drawing a bra for pictionary points, that's got to be good for something, even if it was a little lopsided....? 


The next few days were a mixture of tranquil mornings followed by either going to the grandfather's favorite golf course, Club de Golf de La Coruña, where the kids could swim or play "padel" (similar to racket ball?); or we we would spend the midday at a beach, where the sun was plenty warm, but the water was numbing cold.  The first beach we visited was Pantín, the family´s favorite because of its fine sand and big waves for boogie boarding.  However, and just my luck, there were strangely no waves the day we went, which the whole family said was the strangest thing they'd ever seen... I'm finding this trip to involve many exceptions to the norm in everything we do ; ).  (But don't worry, the waves are coming, oh yes).  We also spent two days at the beach, Orzán, which is the city beach in La Coruña, located right downtown and only a ten minute walk from the grandparent's house.  I made sure to go swimming at each beach we visited, even though I lost feeling in my feet both times, but I'm only here once, right?  Pablo told me I was very brave, but I couldn't hear him too well over the sound of the chattering of my teeth and my whimpers as I lost feeling of my lower half.  Later, after a warm shower, we would then enjoy some lunch with the various extended family back at the grandparent's house, where we would eat out in their beautiful garden under a canopy of vines and fruit trees, 30+ years in the making.

I have to pause here to apologize for complaining about food earlier, because that was rather silly of me.  I love food! I especially love a good Spanish lunch, at 2:30pm, with a bottomless basket of fresh bread, multiple courses of seafood dishes, "clara" (beer mixed with lemonade), and home made ice cream and fruit for dessert.   I also love Spanish dinner...but mostly I love evening dessert with Jesús, our "abuelo," or grandfather, who is always the one to get out the cheese platter and "membrillo" which is a delectable fruit spread you cut and eat with soft cheese...or at least that's how Jesús does it, and I love it! Then he cracks two walnuts for me, drops them on my plate, smiles, and my day is complete.

Sorry for the length...but it's been a week....

The other notable things we've done this week involved tourist sites...and those waves I mentioned...
On Wednesday we took a trolley ride above the beach and around the city´s peninsula to the Torre de Hércules, the lighthouse that shines its light in my direction ever so often as I sit here on my bed.  We climbed all 217 stairs to the top and had a great view of the city and the sea.  When we got back, the grandparents quizzed me on the history of the tower...I think I passed.  Then on Friday we took an afternoon drive to the opposite shoreline from the lighthouse and walked around Monte de San Pedro, which is a high cliff lookout that hosts two cannons built just before WWII for protecting the harbor, but in the end were never used, except now as they provide for great photos with kids climbing on top of them...so it goes.  Finally, today we drove an hour and a half south of La Coruña to a small pueblo near Corrubedo where Pablo's youngest sister, Bibi and her family are renting a house on the beach for the month of August.  It was here that we found the waves...and they were gargantuan.  So what did we do? Put on wet suits, grabbed our boogie boards, and jumped in, of course! And then, the waves knocked us over and threw us back to shore, of course.  It was quite the workout, to say the least.  I couldn't make it more than twenty feet out from the shore before deciding that was far enough and then confirming it as the waves flipped me head over heels...no seriously, my face hit the sea floor while I did a somersault...so with rocks embedded in my hair and deflated confidence in living through another boogie board ride, I retreated to shore.  The rest of the day was spent safely far away from the waves, with good company and, as always, good food. 

It's been a wonderful week here on this little corner of the world, and I'm looking forward to another before the studying begins.  Tomorrow's guaranteed to be good, as it's the grandmother's actual birthday! Bring on the festivities!

¡Nos vemos!

On the boardwalk downtown La Coruña, in front of la playa Orzán

View of La Coruña from my bedroom window.  La Torre de Hércules is to the far left.

Heading to la Torre de Hércules with the family

Windswept hair at the top of the lighthouse with Belen, mi hermanita ; )

Typical lunch at the Garcia Eiroas

Looking over La Coruña and the lighthouse with Jesús and María Luisa on Monte de San Pedro

Putting the canon on Monte de San Pedro to good use with Belen and her cousin Sara.

Before we got wet, flipped over, and spat back out.  Gotta love the sea! Or else.