welcome to the most beautiful beach in the world that is not me being hyperbolical that is what
the guardian wrote in 2007. today I'm going to be taking you all around Galicia which is a lesser
Explorer region of Spain it's my first time here as well we're gonna be going on a road trip we are
going to be eating loads of food and firstly we're gonna explore this island just a few kilometres
off the northwest coast of Spain you will find the Cies Islands this gorgeous tropical looking
archipelago I'm surprised more people don't know about them I mean I don't know about you but I'd
never heard the name before going to Spain but maybe that's for the best because these islands
are carefully protected as part of the Atlantic Islands National Park and as a result visitor
numbers are limited to 2 000 a day in fact you have to get permission to visit before you even
buy your boat ticket there and that's just one of the ways in which the islands are protected there
are no cars or motorbikes no hotels no bins no shops there's also no fresh water so make sure you
bring your own and some sunscreen because it gets hot here so what can you do on the islands well
there are snorkelling kayaking there's a campsite it's basic but I got the job done and I mean
imagine waking up to this as for food you could bring your own as long as you take all the trash
back with you because there are no bins on the island either but better yet there are three small
restaurants where you can eat freshly caught fish straight off the grill from mackerel and sardines
to turbot I was too early for lunch so I grabbed a Galician empanada with eggs and tuna instead and a
milky coffee and after my meal I went hiking to learn about the local plants and admire all the
wildlife I have many of these places many of these planted Tunes such as here and we have a wealth
of species of plants in this kind of ecosystem I visited in the Autumn so I basically had the
Cies islands all to myself it was an absolutely epic day and in the afternoon I headed to my next
spot fairy sail to and from the Cs Islands from several nearby towns including Vigo Kangas and
Baiona I chose Baiona because there is a lot to see in this small town and to eat as it turns out
this restaurant Pedro Madrugal is right in the harbour and frankly a little fancier than the
places I would usually eat at but I got to Fiona at that awkward in between time where nearly all
the restaurants are closed and so I didn't have much choice and you know what in the end I was so
glad I ended up eating there because they had this Regional specialty on the menu Goose Barnacles
I'd never heard of them before but as it turns out they are one of the most expensive Seafood
varieties in the world at more than a hundred dollars per pound so Goose Barnacles are this
pricey because harvesting them is super dangerous fishermen have to scale sharp rocks they have to
swim through underwater cave along Galicia's aptly named coast of death in order to gather these
it's good of course it's good I was a little fearful okay it was very good it tastes literally
just like the seat let's see yeah but in a good way it doesn't taste like oysters nope it doesn't
taste like octopus doesn't it's quite unique isn't it it's good okay now let's talk about Baiona the
town itself my first stop was the Church of Santa Maria of Baiona not a particularly big or famous
church but in my opinion a really beautiful one I felt this real sense of Tranquility as
I explored it and then I continued my stroll around the town going into yet another church
and then just soaking up the atmosphere because walking through Baiona's narrow cobbled streets
really makes it easy to forget you're in the 21st century and that's a good thing because
it makes it easier to imagine the historical event that Baiona is most famous for the arrival of La
Pinta in 1493. now if you don't know what La Pinta is don't worry I didn't know it by its
name alone either but I'm pretty confident you've heard of it because La Pinta is one of the three
Spanish ships that Christopher Columbus used on his first land transatlantic Voyage in 1492. now
I have many reservations about Laurel Chris with his absolutely abhorrent treatment of
indigenous people but seeing a replica of the ship that introduced Europeans to the entire
American continent imagining it sailing into this picturesque harbour it was pretty surreal
our next stop is sobrato Abby this cistercian Monastery was founded back in 952 A.D and it
flourished for centuries until it was forcefully dissolved in 1835 during a period known in Spain
as La Desa mortezi let me try that again I think whatever this um that's a period when
many ancient monasteries were expropriated and privatized during the reign of Queen Isabel II
of Spain after 1835 these abandoned buildings fell into Decay for more than 100 years and the monks
only returned in 1966 and now the Abbey is a very popular tourist spot for those visiting Galicia
now it's at this point I should probably mention one of the most notable things about Galicia from
a tourism perspective its capital Santiago de Compostela is the endpoint of the Camino de
Santiago or the way of Saint James one of the most famous pilgrimage roots in the world now it's not
just one set route but a series of them including the Ruta de and sobrato I'm trying with these
pronunciations now I know I called the Camino a pilgrimage but if you're imagining a load of old
Catholic men and flowing robes traipsing across Europe's I will have to disappoint you although
it is a spiritual experience for many people who walk it the root is mainly a very long hike and
is popular among hikers regardless of their faith or lack thereof the pilgrims as they're referred
to usually walk from the southern tip of France across the Pyrenees and along the north of Spain
all the way to Galicia for the most part they stay in small hostels and guest houses along the way
you can even stay in converted Monastery quarters like sobrato Abbey the landscape is varied but
the locals here swore this area of Spain is the most beautiful of the entire route now are they
biased obviously but do they have a point I think so now speaking of Beauty for lunch I headed to
a place called Casa Decatur which translates to House of cheese I mean what a place all of
their ingredients are locally produced farmed and grown in the region and I was very excited
to try them all now first I tried some cured ham and tortilla cheese which is a cow's milk
cheese made in the region and then I had some albarino wine to wash it down I honestly know
nothing about wine but it was white and it was delicious for my main I had locally farmed chicken
but dessert is what we really need to talk about Galician cheesecake oh my God it's creamy it's
fluffy Airy sweet absolutely delicious and this is how they serve coffee by the way in a little
bowl plus I also had these liqueurs which have three flavours there it's a traditional coffee
one herbal and a creamy one that's a lot like Bailey's after lunch I headed to abero De lopa
by the way if you're thinking these names are a little strange like they're spanish-y but they
don't sound quite Spanish You're spot-on these names are all in Galician which is the local
language that is spoken in this region now back to Avira delaba it's a newly renovated Farmhouse
that offers accommodation to tired pilgrims along the community Santiago I met the owner who told
me a little more about its history it used to be a farmhouse something completely different
from that my grandparents were the last generation living here the early 60s they moved to the city
with my father my father lived here until he was 10 years old now I guess renovating a 300 year
old farmhouse didn't keep him busy enough because he also decided to start a unique
project growing shiitake mushrooms which he uses when cooking for the guests they bring
what they do is they feed from the inside of the law they last for four or five years just a short
drive away is the pictures town of Betanzos which boasts one of the best preserved all quarters
in all of Galicia now probably the most famous building there is the Saint Francis Church built
in 1387. it is full of elaborate hunting scenes including these um anatomically correct statues
of a bear and a wild boar absolutely loved it moving on from Betanzos it's about a 20 minute
drive to A Coruna the biggest city in Galicia by population size I'll be honest I had never heard
of it before Galicia as a tourist destination definitely flies under the radar so every place
in this video was new to me now having said that my boyfriend had heard of A Coruna because their
football team apparently is very famous deportivo de la Coruna also if you're a big art buff you
might know that Picasso once lived here and there is an entire house Museum dedicated to
him I didn't get much of a chance to explore but I did see the lighthouse in Sunset the only still
working Roman Lighthouse from the second century The View was pretty memorable as was the Galician
beef steak I ordered for dinner delicious then the next morning I headed to Castello de vimso
it's a 13th century Fortress and one of the best preserved in Galicia inside I was surprised to
find a group of ladies making traditional lace which you can buy there for really good prices
by the way like non-touristy prices there's also an ethnographic museum inside which has examples
of other crafts like Ceramics clogs and linen and now it's time to travel further south and even
further back in time all the way to the iron ages this archaeological side has turned up objects
dating as far back as the 9th century BCE and it's definitely worth visiting with a guide so you can
make sense of all these Stone remains I found it pretty incredible that you can just walk around at
your leisure I personally find a place like this so much more interesting than say a world famous
spot like Stonehenge in England where you're only able to cook from very very far away speaking of
Stonehenge our next stop has many ties to it dominate is an impressively large megalithic
tomb dating back to 3700 BCE arguably one of the most valuable in Spain you can't enter the
original tomb obviously but there is a full-size replica inside the visitor center which you can
walk through and you will even see Renditions of the petroglyphs that they found inside
continuing our road trip further south still this is Cabo villan a cape located on the Costa
De morte or the coast of death when I saw a photo of the slide house I redid the entire itinerary
because it looked so epic just sitting there dramatically perch On Top of the Rock it was
worth a detour I went on a little foraging hike around the area but even if you don't have time to
spend there go see it and if you're a photographer go see it at Sunset now it's time for another Food
Spot this time in the port town of Porto de fistera there are lots of seafood restaurants
along the coast and according to my guide it doesn't really matter which one you go for now
I can neither confirm nor deny that because I only stopped for one meal but it was delicious
especially the razor clams and the octopus plus I also had cheesecake and Galician almond cake
for dessert both thoroughly recommended then with my belly full I made two final stops on my trip
around this rugged Spanish region Gaba fistera just outside of Puerto de fistera derives from
the Latin finish meaning end of the Earth because this was believed to be the end of the world in
Roman times that's a pretty romantic description for what for me ended up being the absolute worst
part of the trip every single tourist in the area seems to come here because it's a famous landmark
firstly I would say save yourself the trip and head straight to fervenza our next stop this
gently cascading waterfall is popular among tourists as well but if you visit late in the
afternoon you will practically have it to yourself and if you don't mind getting a little wet you can
even run a kayak and get really close to the waterfall you can touch it you can swim around
it and that's just epic I also loved watching the local ladies make traditional lace now
yes they are there for the Taurus so there is an element of artifice but they're not at all pushy
they're so friendly and the lace they make once again is absolutely gorgeous and that concludes
our trip around Galicia I really hope you enjoyed learning about this region it's been a whirlwind
week there's been a lot of driving but I'll say it's been absolutely worth it it's a nice place
to come to because it's not too overwhelmed with tourists yet and there's a lot to see