Hola! I’m Irene and this is the beginning of my journey here in Galicia! I just moved to this little city in the real corner of Spain. The river Minho sails on the side of this village and if you cross it you’ll be in Portugal! So it’s evident the influence of this culture meets the Spanish one. This fact leads my memory to a funny anecdote because Portugal, due to the time zone, is one hour earlier than Italy time and since I landed in Porto to get here in A Guarda, my mind was settled on this timetable! So the first day I woke up one hour later, then I discovered that the whole of Spain sticks to Rome’s time zone, even if here we’re just over Portugal, aligned with Ireland. Luckily I wasn’t late yet for my appointments!
When I arrived, the first thing I wanted to do was to see the Ocean, which is really far from my home and I didn’t have many opportunities to see it in my life. So I was really keen on having the chance to enjoy this sight every day for the next six months, with its vivid colors and infinite perspective as far as the eye can see! Not long ago I read a book by Jules Verne called “The green ray”, which speaks about this physical phenomenon that makes the last ray of the sun colored green when it goes down on the water. It is said that when you see it, it makes you understand clearly what’s in your heart. I liked the story and I wanted to catch this singular moment which is very rare and easier to get on the ocean! Besides this little silliness, I’m glad to relish from simple things a village can offer: buying local cheese at the market, the fresh fish, which is typically eaten in this area (and renowned!), walking up and down the hills just next to the sea, spending some time outside the confusion of a big city, immersed in nature.
I can’t wait to discover what awaits me, I’m trying to acclimatize as soon as possible and to learn Spanish in order to be able to speak with locals!
Here are some photos to give you an idea, next time I hope the fish will be caught by me and not bought at the market, I would like to find some time to go fishing on the cliff at sunset!
