On Thursday we made our way in the rainy streets of Baiona to the wrong bus stop to wait for a bus to Vigo which would never come! You can generally trust Google with PT but AI can be a bit unreliable.
Anyhoo, we found our bus stop after seeing our bus actually leave so we caught the next bus after grabbing a drink at our hotel’s cafe.
The bus ride was scenic and winding, complete with people listening to music out loud, singing along to said music and just the general stuff you get on public transport worldwide.
You can still learn plenty while taking the bus - we passed a monument on a roundabout which was a propeller from a plane. Quick look on Google maps and it was a memorial to General Jose Santos Peralta, one of the first jet pilots in the Spanish armed forces. So even catching the bus I was learning some local history.
My travel buddy has a really bad case of blistering on her feet and we are welcoming a couple of rest days to recover her feet and decide next steps (pardon the pun!) so on arrival in Vigo, our first stop, right next to the bus station was a shopping centre, where I indulged in honey-glazed KFC while listening to the end of the Lions-Swans game on ABC radio. I can’t believe I can listen and watch Layo here for regular matches - just not the finals like in Leon in 2023. Safe to say I was happy with the outcome but may have had a few raised eyebrows pumping my fists and hissing “yes” under my breath when there were great passages of play!
Our apartment is a lovely little place in old Vigo, with the only misgiving being five flights of stairs down to the front door only to have to walk 3 flights up to our front door. After checking in at 3pm (on the dot), we set ourselves up for the night - my travel buddy with a Telehealth appointment to access antibiotics for her foot and me to the supermarket to buy dinner as we have a full kitchen and eating out every night becomes a bit expensive.
So after a hearty dinner of pasta and vegetables (with a pork sausage for me too), we settled down for the night.
Not a bad night’s sleep and after a lazy breakfast in the apartment (again, what a money saver), I ventured out to explore the town. First stop was one of the highest points in the city - the Castillo de Castro - huge old fort on top of the hill, overlooking the city. I don’t know how many stairs I climbed to get to the top - but if “a lot” was a number, that is how many I climbed.
I spent a peaceful hour exploring the ruins from 9.30-10.30. After that, the tour buses started arriving and can you believe they drive all the way up and avoid the climb. After the third group arrived I decided it was time to go, but not before one poor tourist took a tumble, almost fell off the ramparts and first aid had to be rendered - but thankfully not by me!
On the way down I took a few breaks in the cool shadows to let my knee calm down (she’s a little cranky today), and at one stop I got talking to a lovely Scots couple who talked about the escalators they caught to the top of the first hill and the new ones being built. Could not believe it when I spotted said escalators on the way to my next stop - the Concatedral - Basílica de Santa María de Vigo. Yep, another church. Who’d have thunk!
Past the church and down to the waterfront for another hour of sitting in the cool breeze and watching people go by. Found the monument to Jules Verne (there’s a connection but I need to translate the plaque to understand it) and then back through the centre of the old city where I now find myself sipping sangria and eating toasties for lunch.
Nice to get some texts from folks back home while I’m here listening to a local busker and enjoying the wine. I think I need a siesta though so will pop back to the apartment soon to rest my feet and plan if there will be another outing this afternoon.
On a final note, there is a fabulous photo exhibition through the Main Street of 50 moments of history celebrating not just Spain but the world. They depict events like 9-11, Covid, same-sex marriage equality, the financial crisis, the EEU, immigration, natural disasters, accidents, famine - the entire scope of human events. They are out in the open and only two have been defaced in any way. One was positively defaced - a local activist who was assassinated has positive messages across his memorial photo “we won’t forget you”, “we love you” “we miss you” “you we are Spain” - and so many more like it. The other is a picture of the current US president. The comments and graffiti on his picture are much less positive and his face is almost unrecognisable from the way he has been drawn on. (The photo I’ve added here is from yesterday. It’s even more written on today!) Yet the one of Barrack Obama is pristine. Read into that what you will!
Tomorrow we are off to Arcade - I don’t know what there is to find there but I’m sure we will find something!
