Empty Nest Road Trip 4/2019

Let me begin with last night’s disaster. We decided to drive to one of the famous thermal baths of Ourense, which are located on the river about 5km out of town. At least this is what the map indicated. In reality they are in some sort of Twilight Zone, protected by innumerable signs that point you in the wrong direction. After circling around and around, we ended up on a highway that went on for 15km without an exit. When we finally penetrated to the heart of this Bermuda Triangle, we discovered no parking within a kilometer of the baths- this due to the fact that the entire town was filling them to the brim on the beginning of the Semana Santa Holiday. Instead of paddling amidst 10,000 Galicians, we thus decided to slink back to the Barceló after a coke, only to get lost on the way home. Apparently the GPS locator for the hotel had been incorrectly set, by a nameless party, for the previous day’s outing to eastern Galicia. Two hours after leaving we arrived back nearly insensible, which is why we were laughing so hard.

This morning we set off on a circuit along the river that took in two of the city’s remarkable bridges. The Millennium Bridge, which we renamed the Loopy Bridge, is really quite fantastic, particularly as you can walk the loop in a circle that takes you above and below the road, and back again. We also loved the massive old stone Roman Bridge, tall enough to let a large sailboat pass beneath.

After that and the daily tostada, we finally left Ourense, but not before being rerouted around the Semana Santa procession route... and getting lost. I am not sure what ungodly forces were at work in that place! But eventually we made it here to Pontevedra, which sits on a river near the Atlantic coast, and is known, like all of Galicia, for its seafood. It has a great Old Town, where we had a truly extraordinary lunch. Nearby we also found a corner room in a hotel overlooking a charming square. Unfortunately it has been raining, which is why I have had so much time to write this! But the plans for the evening include a combination of Spanish football at the downstairs bar and fried octopus. Although Sarah is not yet convinced about the octopus. We have no idea what we are doing tomorrow, but that is best considered over the morning’s tostada.Read more