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

Ich spreche kein Deutsch

Back in April, myself & Giuseppe headed to Palma de Mallorca for a much needed long weekend in the sunshine. When our plane landed, we were both pretty gutted to find the sky full of clouds and threatening to rain... not quite the weekend we had hoped for!!! But thankfully, on Friday morning after a good night's sleep, we woke up to find BRILLIANT BLUE SKIES AND SUNSHINE!!!

Cue a wonderful weekend of cycling miles and miles along the coast towards the city centre, cocktails, sun, relaxing on the beach, tanning (and burning), and paddling in the sea.... perfect! 

One of the things I found really strange about Mallorca, was how many Germans there were. Some of my teachers had told me before I went that there is a large German community on the island, but I never expected it to be that many. In the hotel, in shops, in the street, in restaurants, on the beach...everywhere we went we were greeted with 'guten tag', and when we spoke Spanish, the main reply we seemed to get was a confused face, unsure how to reply. To be honest, it must have been confusing for them seeing a pale, blonde girl (passable for German although I'm probably slightly too short), and a wild-haired, tanned boy who by no means could be German. But still, it seemed bizarre to me that a Spanish island could feel so.... un-Spanish. I think I can probably cross off Germany from my list of countries to visit now, as I think I've already been there.

But all in all, a lovely weekend despite a shitty end, when Giuseppe's wallet and identity card were stolen.... a mad rush to the police station, a scary taxi drive to the airport, running through customs, a police report full of mistakes, a delayed bus back to Vigo, and arriving at 1am....I cannot complain. 

Considering the adventures I have planned for the Summer, I'm pretty sure this was my last weekend away while living here in Spain. I'm happy that it finished on a high, although let's not talk about the end of my year abroad... not quite ready for that yet.

Sorry this wasn't particularly exciting, but thankyou for continuing to read anyway. Your support means a lot, and I'm now up to 1150 views!! I will write another entry soon, I PROMISE!

Catherine x

i I'M ON FALLAAAA !

I know this is really late...I've been meaning to write it for a while, but been super busy once again. But still so excited that in the last month over 100 people have read my blog...so thankyou so much for your support! I hope that I'm not boring you all too much.

Back in March I zoomed across Spain to Valencia on the East coast for Las Fallas festival. Before arriving in Vigo, quite honestly, I had never heard anything about this celebration. Some of my friends here had been before, so were telling us all about it.... fire, fireworks and street drinking had me straight away! And I certainly wasn't disappointed by what I'd heard before going not only from my friends but also from Google.

Fallas Festival is a festivity that takes place 15th-19th of March every year to celebrate the spirit and tradition of the Fallas-Communities. Originally, the Fallas Festival was the celebration of spring. The early Fallas-Sculptures were nothing more than a pile of old winter junk that got burned to clear space in the houses. In a way, it signified getting rid of the old for a new beginning.

Rather, apart from an excuse for a huge party, Las Fallas festival celebrates all aspects of Valencian cultural traditions. The Fallas have every expression of the Valencian identity (music, costumes, rituals) and provide a focus for the Fallas-Communities to stay preserved and active.

We rented an appartment in an area slightly out of the centre as there were 5 of us and we thought it would work out better. The appartment was enormous, and definitely a good idea. As soon as we arrived we were met with sunshine, and people everywhere!! I hadn't realised quite how many of the huge Fallas there would be, and there was even one in our neighbourhood which was as high as the buildings around it. Of course, in typical Spanish fiesta style, the Falla was surrounded by electric cables about a metre away, so I'm sort of glad that we weren't there to see them burn..... incredible that this tradition still goes on in Valencia, yet if it was in England, I am sure that in the health-and-safety-frenzy it would have either been banned years ago or there would be huge fences around each one.

Some photos of the many Fallas that popped up all over Valencia... it was strange that just walking around you could stumble across so many. On our first night there, we were wandering around drinking, taking in the atmosphere, and we must have come across at least 6 different Fallas. Undoubtedly my favourite was the Trojan horse one, pictured in the background above. It was enormous, and there was so much detail to it... I can't even begin to think how long it must have taken to plan, build, and put together. It seems almost a shame that they burn them at the end!

 Another important part of Las Fallas festival is fireworks... during the weekend, there are children running around everywhere throwing fireworks at each other and at random passers-by, which of course we had to join in with. We stocked up on small fireworks which were ridiculously cheap, €1.50 for a box of 50, and had the best time throwing them around. Having originally jumped everytime I heard a bang, by the time we left I was getting used to it, and people throwing them no longer scared me, just made me wanna throw them back.

Pictured above is La Mascleta. This took place on the Saturday and Sunday at 2pm in most neighbourhoods: firecrackers were attached to ropes in public squares, then everyone watched as they banged, sparked, crashed and exploded, completely mezmerized. It was amazing, but completely terrifying. We couldn't stop watching, or laughing, and I honestly felt as though I was in Gaza haahhaha 

I would 100% recommend this festival to anyone, not just those who are passionate about Spanish culture. There is something for everyone... live concerts in the street, the best fireworks I have ever seen in my life, incredible Fallas, people dancing and drinking en la calle,  sunshine, fire, and an eclectic mix of nationalities. People had literally come from all over the World to spend a fun-filled weekend in the city.

A beaut weekend in Valencia with some lovely people, sunshine, cerveza and paella... what more could a girl want!

Catherine x

Resolutions

This week I've been thinking back on everything that has happened in my life so far in 2013, and oh maa gaaad it's whizzed by. As you will know from following my blog, or just from me telling you in person, I have had a pretty varied start to 2013: 

January was a pretty emotional month for me, returning to Vigo following the death of my Grandad, and then returning back to England again at the end of January for the funeral. It was hard for all of us, and I honestly can't remember the last time I cried as much in one day as I did on the day of the funeral. But in spite of such a horrible situation, again positivity shone through: my family was all united, standing strong together to do what we could to make the day as bearable as possible. I don't think that I have ever felt as close to my Mum's side of the family as I did in both the run-up to and the aftermath of my Grandad's death, and for me this can only be seen as a good thing. Even if it took such a monumental thing to bring us closer, I will never forget downing sloe gin in Church with my cousins or the sea of colour that stood out against the snow in the Churchyard.

But as I said, this year has been varied, so not all doom and gloom. I will also never forget my 21st birthday, and the efforts that everyone made for me. Anytime that I'm feeling a little bit shitty, or down about anything, all I need to do is take a little look at this and it reminds me of how lucky I am...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePYneDXS1Kk

Not only that, but I have also met some lovely people so far this year. I still miss all of my friends from home insane amounts, but pretty much each and every person that I have met here has made everything that little bit easier for me. From a glass of wine when we're feeling down, to Monday lunch club, to countless shots on Churruca, to weekly dates, to Love it or List it.... Vigo has been a blast. And I'm actually getting sad at the thought of leaving in a few months time. Regardless of whether or not I chose to be here, for 9 months at least, my life is here. And I genuinely have really enjoyed it. Yes, everyone has their bad days when they want to just run away, want to be somewhere it rains less, or want to be closer to their family and friends, and me as much as anyone... but really, I'm happy, and now more than ever. Things are looookinnnn guuuuurddd. Thankyoooou life.

However, there is also something equally important that I have really begun to truly appreciate this year, more than ever. And that is my family and my friends. I am so thankful to have such an amazing support network, namely my Mum, Dad and my Sister. My Mum in particular puts so much effort into making sure that we are all okay, trying to keep us all happy, sending me little parcels....and I really cannot thank her enough. This Sunday it is Mother's Day, and I'm sad that I can't be with my Mumma to celebrate and say thankyou for everything that she does. But one thing I do know is that she knows how much we appreciate it: this year more than ever I have been trying to show her how much I care in different ways. I have a massive weakness that I find it difficult to show those people most important to me how much I love and appreciate them, and I really want to change that. So thinking back to New Years resolutions, things that I wanted to change about myself..... I have a correction to make, and this is it. I want to make an effort to show those who I love just how much they mean to me, and how happy I am to have them in my life. 

If you made it this far through my rant, well done. I promise next time I will try and keep it short and sweet. 

Catherine x

Madrid baby

Keeping it short and sweet: after complaining last time about having not been anywhere for a while, I booked some last minute train tickets to spend the weekend in Madrid with 2 of my friends from Vigo, and Danny, one of my best friends from Uni and my future housemate. Definitely one of my better decisions. I had a lovely time in the sunshine, despite it being freezing cold, and it was so nice to spend some time away  from the Vigo bubble. 

Next stop? Valencia for Las Fallas festival woop wooooooooooop!
I love my life.

Catherine x

Adventures

Despite being pretty happy with everything at the moment, there is one aspect that I'm not quite so happy with. When I first started my Year Abroad I made the decision that I would travel as much as possible. I did pretty well in my first semester, but I have been pretty rubbish so far in 2013. Obviously I popped back to England briefly, but other than that I have been a lazy little shit. When my parents came to visit last week it made me realise that there are still so many places that I want to go this year both locally and more further afield. It's February already, time has been flying, and I only have 3 more months living the dream in Spain. So it's time for me to hurry up and book some flights already. I've already planned a trip to Valencia for Las Fallas in March, a trip home for Easter and a beautiful sunny getaway with the girls to Greece in June, but I need something sooner! So where to go?! 

Here are a few ideas that are in my head right now...who knows what will come of it.

Berlin - I've never been to Germany before so I really would love to go before this year is out. I wanted to go around Christmas time but the flights were super expensive, so hopefully this could be a trip for the Spring

Prague - This photo says it all. A pretty city with interesting culture.... definitely one for the wishlist.

Lisbon - It's pretty cheap to get to Lisbon by bus from Vigo, and I feel like this one is a MUST before I leave. The only place in Portugal that I have been to is Porto, which I loved, and not only would this be a good opportunity to explore more of Portugal, but also to practice my horrific Portuguese. Winner winner chicken dinner.


So those are just a few suggestions of some places I would love to go. If you have any other suggestions, or wanna be my travel buddy, let me know ;)

Catherine x