Rias Altas (Spain)

Our little Galician cottage

View from our cottage

 

 Tilting at windmills; Galician sunset

Near Cabo Ortegal

Cabo Ortegal, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Bay of Biscay

Garita de Herbeira lookout, 600m above sea level. Europe's tallest sea cliffs

Wild horses; not so wild they won't occasionally pose for a pic

A flower of Tassie with a flower of Galicia ...

 

Jen:

We flew from Barcelona to A Coruna in Galicia (north west Spain), picked up a hire car and drove to our beautiful accommodation near Ortigueira (www.ultreiarural.com). The girls would have been happy if we stayed on the property for our five days in the Rias Altas – as well as our lovely cottage, there was a kids’ playground that they had to themselves, plus a dog and a cat! But we managed to get them out a bit.

‘Rias Altas’ means ‘upper bays’ and the area features many scenic estuaries, pretty fishing villages, and lots of forest reminiscent of Tasmania. There are heaps of eucalypts in Galicia, including Tasmanian Blue Gums. The paper industry has pushed eucalypt plantations in Galicia since the mid-20^th Century and the first eucalypts – introduced from Australia – were planted just down the road from our accommodation. They’re now considered a pest by many, just as many of us aren’t keen on pine plantations in Tasmania. At times, driving along winding roads through eucalypt forest with bracken alongside the roads and rain on the windscreen, we could have been back home – apart from the fact that we were driving on the other side of the road!

The Rias Altas have the highest sea cliffs in southern Europe. The cliff tops are dotted with modern windmills and scattered with colourful wildflowers. They drop to stunning beaches – some wide with sand white enough to rival our beautiful Australian beaches; others with huge rocks and caves.

Wild horses are another feature of the region, to Edie’s great excitement. We rode some semi-tame horses while we were there – no doubt Edie will write about that at great length. It was a great experience; we spent as much time learning about the horses, “getting to know them” and brushing them as we did riding them.

Matthew was in heaven with the fantastic seafood, and Della has also really taken a liking to shellfish since our time in Galicia – especially cockles and clams. 

Edie:

Our cottage was very pretty and as mum said, it was hard to get us away but on the day that we went horse riding in I didn’t need to be asked once!

I really enjoyed it. First we met our instructor at her place which was part of a farm and then she took us and the dogs to a paddock. We went through the rules and then we brought the horses into another paddock and we learnt their personalities. After that, we groomed them, tacked them up and hopped on. Then Dalal the instructor told us how to sit in the saddle properly. We learnt how to direct the horse and sit in the stirrups properly. Then we rode around the paddocks. My horse was called Estrella after the Spanish beer! Della’s horse was called Gnome. He wasn’t too small though. Dad’s was called Nevada after a mountain. I can’t remember what mum’s was called. My favourite part was definitely riding through the countryside. Estrella was going great until we rode past a paddock that had a grey horse in it. Estrella wouldn’t budge when I nudged her on, so I called to Dalal and asked what to do. I tried a couple more times and finally she gave in and trotted on. She was a very chatty horse! Later when we were further on, the dogs (who had come with us) raced down the wrong path! We whistled and called for them but they didn’t come. So we had to go on and then when we came past another path, they raced out in front of us! They found a short cut! Then when we arrived back to the paddock, Estrella raced over to the piles of hay taking me with her! Gnome kept on farting and stopping every five seconds to gobble up a large piece of grass! At the end I didn’t want to hop off Estrella!

Della:

I had a great time in the Rias Altas. The best part about our cottage was that it had a big play area with a very swingy swing. Another highlight was the cute little animals that lived there. There was Lua the dog and a cat – I can’t remember its name.

The sunset looked really nice from our little cottage. I also liked the view of the windmills on the big hill. It was very strange to have wild horses walking all over the hills. And there were cows wandering all over the roads.

We had a late Father’s Day here for Dad because we forgot when it was Father’s Day in Australia a week before.

Riding on the horses was really fun. My horse was mostly in the lead. I loved the browny colour of my horse, and the size was perfect for me. I thought it was very tiny for a horse. Dalal taught us that you have to brush the horse in a certain direction for different parts of its body.

Matt:

Fun indeed to explore this part of Spain for the first time. Despite its reputation for rain, we had some fine weather and seemed to just dodge the downpours that did occur. Some dramatic, rugged coastline, as well as gentle estuaries and long, wide sandy beaches. The waters of the Atlantic here as cold as any dip off Tassie but Edie and I enjoyed it nevertheless.

The seafood, and shellfish in particular, was a highlight; razor clams, cockles, and percebes, as well as oysters and mussels. Hats off to the first person who thought of trying to eat percebes. A kind of barnacle, according to the locals, they look like witches’ fingers: gnarled, leathery, crusty protrusions cut from submerged rocks. But a lovely, fresh, salty, meaty shellfish taste. A local dish of tender medallions of marinated octopus in olive oil and sprinkled with paprika was another favourite. Some fine local beer and white wine, too.

Our accommodation was simple, peaceful and quiet; a cottage of local stone surrounded by chestnut trees. These shady orchards are frequented by wild boars, and featured a home-made playground for wild children (including a rickety wheelbarrow for OHS-defying rides down the hill, dodging the chestnut trees).