Sunday 13 April 2014

Getting warm.

18 degrees was the temperature according to the billboard down the road at 9.30 this morning. The sunshine has shown more clearly than ever the rain splodges on the windows, the result of the winter Galicia has been through. So I have been cleaning windows: one way to warm yourself up. Now they are not perfect - I don't think I could make my living as a window cleaner - but at least we can see the bay without having to look through a mottled pattern of dirty rain stains. 

And the bay is worth looking at. The water is a beautiful blue - cue for Phil to say, "Ultramarine, that's what my paintbox called it!" Works like a charm every time he sees the water on a sunny day. But it is a beautiful blue and the sailing school is out; all the tiny sailboats moving in time, following the larger lead sailboat, rather like ducklings following mummy duck! 

We've been taking advantage of the sunshine to get out and about, following the advice of my weather witch - "¡Hay que aprovechar!" So on Friday after lunch we caught a bus up to Plaza de América, where the temperature gauges showed an astounding 33 degrees, and walked along to Castrelos Park to have a look round and inspect the gardens. 

I expected the park to be full of bluebells as it was at this time last year but maybe it's still a little early for that. Instead, there were banks of yellow flowers, like elongated bells. No idea what they are. 

The Pazo de Quiñones de Leon was covered in fresh ivy. The very first time we saw it, in the autumn of 2008, the ivy had turned a deep red and somehow it always surprises me when I see green ivy there. 

The wisteria was in full bloom, climbing over gateways and filling the air with an almost overwhelming perfume. 

It's a bit early for the roses to be at their best but they are beginning to come out. 



And the formal gardens (el jardín inglés) looked as though they had been specially trimmed for our visit. 

We took a look at what I have been told are the oldest eucalyptus trees in Vigo. I don't know about their age but they certainly should win prizes for girth. Immense! 



We walked back along the Lagares riverside path, nicely shady for the most part. The river still seems to be showing the effects of all the rain Galicia has had in recent months: in spate, I think is the expression. 

It was still warm despite the shade and I was surprised at the number of runners there were about. I suppose if you work all day, then early evening is perhaps the only time you get to run but I don't think it's necessarily a good idea in temperatures of 25+ degrees. There was even one running in a waterproof cagoule; maybe he subscribed to the theory that the more you sweat, the better it is. Daft, I call it. 

It probably took us about one and a half hours to walk home. Some people might consider this a form of madness but if so, it's mostly harmless. We usually get to see parts of cities that other folk never come across. On this occasion, taking a new route down to Calle Aragón, we came across one of those old washing places, a sort of huge trough with sloping sides, full of water and roofed over. Before everyone had running water at home and washing machines, that was where the women used to gather to get the washing done. 

This was not more than five minutes from our flat, a reminder of the community that was here before developers built masses of blocks of flats. In between the tower blocks you see little collections of houses, all with their gardens and often a patch of land where they grow vegetables. I often wonder how the residents of these small estates feel about having their place surrounded by high rise developments as the city of Vigo swallowed them up. 

Yesterday we walked down to the Carrefour shopping centre to see if they have any DVDs worth purchasing. We are about to finish the series we have been watching and are on the lookout for something else. For all that it is a huge supermarket where you can buy all kinds of electrical good and items of clothing, their DVD and CD collection is pitiful. Back to Mediamarkt, I think, to see if the Germans can do better than the French! 

We didn't just visit the shopping centre, however. Our ultimate aim was the coastal path that goes around A Guía. So, not up to the top of the promontory this time, but round the bottom of it. Some good views of the Rande Bridge and yachts out on the bay. 



 

And then back to the flat from where we are now beginning to get some halfway decent sunsets.

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