Discovering Undiscovered Spain and Galicia

Northern Spain and Galicia particularly has longthe twin track of its regional lifestyle with a much
been an undiscovered jewel in the whole of themore modern society.
Spanish tourism industry. Whereas elsewhere inGalicia has always maintained strong links with the
the Iberian Peninsula the climate can be quitesea and the port cities of Vigo and Corunna are
continental and extreme, in the northwest and oncentres of culture and industry. As has been
the coast the climate is as you would expectmentioned elsewhere, the seafood cuisine is
much milder and more of a maritime nature.second to none as you would also expect from a
With regards to Galicia you have a region whereregion where fishing is one of the most vital
you have a rugged coastline with extremelysectors of the economy.
attractive sandy beaches whilst inland theThe coastline, cut with fjord like Rias is dotted
mountainous regions provide a completelywith fishing villages. The coast which was
different experience for the visitor.devastated by the damage caused by the 2002
Of all of the autonomous regions of Spain it issinking of the oil tanker Prestige has now by
understandable given its location that Galicia isalmost recovered and in some cases is almost
considered the most remote. Located in thebetter than ever.
northwest corner of the Iberian Peninsula Galicia isCape Finisterre, the most westerly part of the
a green, rain swept region remarkable for theSpanish mainland is part of the Galician coast.
diversity of its landscape, where coastal cliffsInland the region is dotted with ancient Celtic
alternate with lowlands and "rias."settlements which can be found in the often mist
The region is famous for its excellent cuisine andshrouded hillsides. As a further reminder of the
boasts one of the most visited religious pilgrimagetraditional way of life still in existence in Galicia it is
sites in Western Europe after the Vatican innot uncommon to find various old stone crosses
Santiago de Compostela. This particular pilgrimageat crossroads and junctions throughout the region
site has actually generated a vast tourist industryalongside old stone granaries found throughout the
all of its own that is vital to the economic viabilityvillages.
of the region.The whole Celtic culture in Galicia is completed by
The cultural and language origins of Galicia arethe sound of the favourite instrument of Galicia,
very much rooted within the Celtic family ofthe bag pipes and their language, Gallego, is an
communities found elsewhere in North Westamalgam almost of Portuguese and the various
Europe.other Gaelic tongues and there is an extremely
Traditionally, Galicia was seen as a poor agriculturalstrong link between Galicia and some of the other
region, whose economy did not lend itself toCeltic Countries of North Western Europe.
modernisation. Because of its location and partisanThere are a great many similarities between
traditions Galicia was always fairly inward lookingGalicia and the other Celtic Countries and nowhere
having managed to survive throughout theis this more evident with Art and Culture. This is
centuries without ever really been conquered byfurther exemplified with the slight theme of
anybody. It was only very briefly an independentmelancholy running through quite often the words
monarchy in the 10th and 11th centuries.and music of the region. For those who find this a
One of the problems with Galicia as with some ofconcept difficult to understand and view it as
the other remote communities in Western Europebeing purely depressing and boring then you have
lies within its geographical constraints. The endto try and understand the traditional background
result of all this was that like Ireland in the north into the entire region and realize the centuries of
Galicia, emigration became a major industry.hardship that these communities have had to
In what has been a mountain to climb slowly butwithstand and as a result have manifested
surely Galicia is now trying to manage successfullythemselves in their traditional words music.