First stop was Coruna. I lesser known city in the north of Spain, in Galicia. I was so excited to go and see someone from home!
The trip began with a 25 hour... yes 25 hour bus ride. I had no idea what the trip would be like, but I figured I'd give it a shot. After waiting for the bus to arrive an hour late I hopped on and quickly discovered that everyone only spoke Spanish, the music was in Spani
sh, and that I was definitely going to be the only American. Not to worry though, every time I needed to know what time to return to the bus the drive would just show me on my wrist watch. The next morning I woke up and discovered that I was going to have to switch buses. This was made even more difficult because the switching was to take place where they speak basque... not even Spanish! But I made it and the rest of the trip was beautiful. The bus wound for miles and miles through Northern Spain, meaning mountains and river. The ride was just beautiful, if I hadn't taken a bus I would absolutely never of seen anything like it! When I arrived in Coruna the amazing Miss Nora Marino w
as waiting for me with a "Welcome to Coruna" sign at the bus station!That night we settled into the hotel, enjoyed a typical tapas dinner, and I got to meet her friends.
The next day Nora showed me all around Coruna. We walked the entire peninsula. We began our day at the beach and wound all the way around the city. Along the coast is the Torre de Hercules where legend has it Hercules buried one of his enemies he defeated. The site is over 1900 years old! After the Torre we walked back into downtown Coru
na, ate lunch and tried my first Sangria! That afternoon me and Nora headed to "the bubble" (a cable car) that takes you up atop the mountains that overlooks the harbor and the ocean. We watched as this crazy old man hang glided over the cliffs and the water. That night Coruna was in a state of hysteria because Coruna's team was playing Rio Madrid! Everyone in the city wanted to catch a glimpse of Cristiano Ronaldo! Unfortunately I did not get the chance...We spent Sunday in Santiago, the Mecca for Spanish and French Catholics willing to do the camino (pilgrimage). The camino starts in France, winds through the Pyrenees and eventually ends up in Santiago de Compostella Cathedral. In the church you look around and see tons of
backpackers and faithful who have come to hug St. James at the end of their journey.My last day in Coruna I headed out with Nora to her University and finally got to try pulpo (octopus, a traditional meal for the region).
So great getting to re-unite with an old high school friend!
Here's a slide show of the rest of my photos: http://s1098.photobucket.com/albums/g378/Avery_Mayne/Coruna/?albumview=slideshow
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