Here's to an incredible year...

So my time in Vigo is drawing to an end, and as I am preparing to leave I have been reflecting on my best moments from the year. I have spent an incredible 8 months in Spain, and I feel like the luckiest girl in the World. I have met some amazing people, and people who will definitely be friends for life. I am so happy to have had this opportunity, and for anyone thinking about doing an Erasmus year abroad, or working as a Language Assistant for the British Council in the future.... DO IT!! You will not regret it. This has hands down been the best year of my life, and I am sad that it is ending.... 

BUT I cannot complain too much... this Summer I have some amazing plans:

1st Stop = Greece!! Athens, Mykonos and Santorini with some of Vigo's finest

2) Italy!!!!!! So excited to be popping my Italian cherry with a trip to visit Giuseppe near Verona!

3) Lisbon: I am studying for 3 weeks in July in the Portuguese capital and cannot wait!

4) SOUTH AMERICA!!! Possibly the one I am most excited for.... me and my best friend will be travelling for 5 weeks through Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay!

I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS IS MY LIFE!!! 

But now it's time for some of my favourite photos and memories from my 8 months as an assistant in Vigo....

 

To all of my beautiful friends: I love you! Thankyou for the incredible memories, and for sharing this year with me.... this is not goodbye, it's simply HASTA LUEGO bitchesss!

Catherine x

The Best Beach in the World?

As the weather has been improving, the ferry's have once again began to run at the weekends to Las Islas Cies. Not many people know about these islands, which are situated off the coast of Vigo. The islands were declared a nature reserve in 1980, and there are lots of measures in place to protect them, for example there is one island where you cannot go. It is also possible to camp on the islands during the Summer, provided the weather is good.

Since arriving in Vigo, and enduring the worst winter possible, people had been trying to cheer me up with the prospect of Summer. "Oh in Summer, Galicia is beautiful", "Galicia has the best beaches" (or bitches as I was often told by mistake!). As well as this, I had been told by almost every Galician I had met about the Cies Islands: in 2007 one of the beaches, Praia das Rodas, was named by the Guardian Newspaper as the best beach in the world. This is the article if you are interested in having a read: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2007/feb/16/beach.top10 We decided to pay a visit to see what the fuss was all about and whether they were as beautiful as we had been told!! 

  

And we definitely weren't disappointed. The beaches were stunning, as was the whole island. We relaxed on the beach, and somehow Giuseppe managed to survive swimming in the freezing cold water, then walked up to the top to admire the views. It was about a 40 minute walk, and was definitely worth it. The views were spectacular, and it was lovely to relax at the top with a glass of Sangria and friends. We had a fantastic day, I just wish we could have stayed to camp and see the sun rise. The Guardian were not wrong about these beaches, and if you are ever in the area in the Summer, you MUST visit Las Islas Cies.... the ferry tickets are relatively cheap, you can spend the whole day there, and you will never forget it. 

The only thing I would say is watch out for the seagulls... speaking as someone who is completely terrified of birds, these are like nothing that I have seen before. When you are sitting on the beach, they swoop down in hoards at the slightest smell or sight of food. 

The trip wouldn't have been complete without a panic attack on my part because of the killer seagulls, heading off with Ella for a stroll to calm me down, and ending up wandering into a protected zone with a park keeper shouting at us for innocently paddling in a lake that was actually a protected wildlife pond.... oopsy!! But all in all, a perfect day with amazing company. I am truly so grateful for all of my experiences this year, and this is up there with one of my favourites.

Catherine x

P.S. As always I cannot take credit for all of these fantastic photos - thankyou Callie!! 

Cabo Home, Galicia

What seems like forever ago, at the beginning of May, my teacher invited me across to Cangas (the opposite side of the Ria de Vigo). It was the first time that I had ventured over there, and I was really excited. My teacher, Luz, is good friends with the teacher of one of my friends, so we all went together. When she invited me, I was told that it was for a light lunch, so dressed in a cute outfit that was perfect for a sunny day...what she didn't tell me was that we would be hiking up a mini mountain too!

We arrived after a short ferry ride in the sun, and were greeted my Maria. She told us she was going to take us on a tour as neither Amy nor I had seen this part of Vigo before. We arrived at the Monte, and were told we would be climbing up it.... Amy had come much more prepared than me with trainers, while I had blue pumps on.... this was going to be interesting!! But nevertheless I had a great time. Despite my inappropriate choice of footwear, we made it up to the top without injury (thank God), and the views were spectacular. There were also some small castros, which are old settlements which have existed for 100s of years. We could see out to the Cies Islands and the Island of Ors, and across to Bueu and Marin. It really was incredible.... the photos don't even do it justice!!

Me and my teacher, Mari Luz

For some reason, we decided we didn't want to stick to the path on the way back down.. trying to find a shortcut, we weaved our way back down, and thankfully neither of us broke an ankle!!! Next stop was a lighthouse not far away, down a horrendously bumpy track. We were thrown about in the back of Maria's little car, but again, we made it!! By this point it was boiling hot so we were all downing water and trying to find some shade as we walked out towards the lighthouse and then down to one of the 'wild' beaches in the area. These are small beaches that are behind trees and overgrown plants, where you have to walk through these areas in order to find the beaches.... and it was magical. Undoubtedly one of the prettiest beaches I had seen, even now in my final month in Galicia, I am discovering more surprises.... The water was, of course, freezing but it was still amazing. This was definitely one of my favourite places that I have visited in Galicia, and I would recommend it to anyone... in fact when we returned to Vigo after our little adventure, we told lots of our friends about it and now many of them have visited too. This place is beautiful!!!!!!!! 

 The overgrown track we had to follow to get to the beach

 Enjoying the sunshine and the beach!

I can only say that I really do hope that people's awareness of the region of Galicia and all of these beautiful places continues to increase.... it seems a shame that not many people know about it, but I'm also kind of glad that it's our little secret. As you all know, Galicia wouldn't have been somewhere that I would have necessarily wanted to go, but now that it's stopped raining and the sun is shining, I am so happy that I was placed here. If not, I am sure that I would have never come to this forgotten part of Spain. So for those of you who are thinking of places to visit in Europe, or in particular Spain, I would say GO TO GALICIA!! It has so much to offer, and it will surprise you....

Catherine x

And so it begins...

As you all know, I've recently started the second stage of my year abroad: I have currently been living and working in Vigo, Spain for almost two and a half weeks. I've arrived in this incredibly beautiful part of Spain, definitely under-rated in the eyes of the Brits. In a forgotten corner of Spain, just above the Portuguese border, I find myself in Galicia; a stark contrast to the arid landscapes of the South that many of us are familiar with, the lushness of the Galician countryside is slightly overwhelming. Not only this, but it's insanely humid climate, really isn't the Spain that I'm used to...

My first few weeks here have been jam packed to say the least: lairy nights out, swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, being called a Barbie on my first day at work, having a major crush on my landlord, acquiring a stray dog, eating copious amounts of tapas & drinking too many canas, lesson planning, taking 4 hour siestas, cake baking... I can't say that there has been a dull moment.  

It definitely feels like I have been here more like 2 months than 2 weeks, and what can I say.. I'm loving every minute. I have met some incredibly lovely people, which is certainly making this whole experience easier! I feel like I already have some hilarious memories which will definitely stay with me long after my time in Vigo is over.

My main frustration so far definitely has to be how rubbish Spain is when it comes to paperwork and organisation... In the 21st century, I have no idea how a country can still completely shut down for 2 hours in the middle of the day, and don't even get me started on Sundays...!! Having finally managed to find somewhere to live - a BEAUTIFUL appartment in the city centre - we thought that our worries were over. But then came foreign identity numbers, phone contracts, ERASMUS forms, bank accounts, and the ongoing battle with Student Finance England. But slowly but surely, everything is coming together. I have settled into the routine of working 4 days a week, we are finally getting internet in our appartment this week, and I'm actually happy! Before arriving I was so worried about being in this remote corner of Spain that I had never heard of, but I can 100% say that I have been pleasantly surprised by Vigo and everything it has to offer, including some of the kindest people I have ever met, the mild weather, and not forgetting the Boom Boom Room...

So all that's left to say is that I cannot wait to find out what the next year here has in store for me, and there will be more to follow soon...

Catherine x