Galicia and the Basque Country--Santiago de Compostela to San Sebastian

A Coruna castle

Leaving Santiago de Compostela, we headed towards A Coruna and Oviedo to see these historically important cities.  A Coruna has an absolutely beautiful central plaza in the heart of its old section and a well-preserved old castle.  Its busy seafront has a yacht harbor (pretty typical of the coastal towns).  There are so many yacht harbors along the coast filled with small to huge yachts that I am wondering how many have human owners and how many belong to banks in this country with 25% unemployment and a still-struggling economy.

Oviedo's cathedral

 

Oviedo’s historic center is very interesting, but looks like it continues to feel the full impact of Spain’s terrible economy.  So many small shops closed years ago and have never reopened.  It was quite cold and misty while we were wandering the streets, so the normal bustle of Oviedo's downtown was missing, another indicator, perhaps, of difficult times for this old city.

Ribadesella waterfront and yacht harbor

We spent several hours in the beach town of Ribadesella to see if we'd enjoy a stay there when we bring a group next year, visiting hotels and checking out the town.  We found a small hotel we liked a lot, right on a beautiful beach.  There are nice hikes in the surrounding mountains that we’d love to do if we come back.  The waterfront, while in need of spiffing up, has many bars and restaurants.  This is a very popular resort for Spaniards from the central part of the country and is busy from June to October.

El Molino de Tresgrandes

Our lodging for the night was a farm with 11 guest rooms in beautifully restored old stone and timber buildings.  A  small stream runs right next to the main house, set in the midst of green fields and hills, obviously a nice area for walks.  There is one Shetland pony and an ostrich occupying one of the fields, seemingly quite contented together, and a dog living with the chickens and a huge rooster who is probably there to keep foxes out.  I wish I’d seen someone petting him.  They have a cozy restaurant and serve only food grown on the farm, except perhaps, beef (I didn’t see a cow or steer).  Very charming—El Molino de Tresgrandes.

street entering Santellana del Mar

Yesterday, we drove from El Molino to beautiful San Sebastian, a Basque city set on a shell-shaped bay and pounded, in the stormy weather, by large waves.  On the way, we visited the Basque fishing towns of Bormeo and Lekeitio and a very charming town just inland, Santellana del Mar.  Maybe it was once on the sea, centuries ago.