Seasonal cycles!

Spring may have officially arrived last weekend but it has certainly come in with a bang. Thunderstorms, strong winds, heavy rain and occasionally hailstones have been the order of the day. So although the daytime temperatures have been up there around 16°, it hasn’t really felt very spring-like. Not only that but it’s been playing havoc with our internet connection. Because we have a mobile connection, which is fine most of the time, it tends to react to atmospheric disturbance. As a result, even though the gadget may think it’s connected, it isn’t really and keeps floating offline. It’s really rather a pain!

However, here we are with March positively rushing to an end. Reconquista has come again to Vigo this weekend, celebrating the throwing out of the French a couple of hundred years ago. Not that I’ve seen a great deal of it. Somehow the weather rather put me off and I found other things to do instead, mostly activities like eating out with friends, thus avoiding spending too much time in the wind and wet.

Today though I made it into the centre of town and found that the shopping street Príncipe has been decorated with huge displays of spring flowers. Someone is working hard at persuading us that spring is really here and not just a figment of the imagination of the clothes shops. And as Sunday is Palm Sunday, Domingo de Ramos, there are several stalls selling plaited palm fronds for tomorrow’s processions. Of course, the balloon sellers and street musicians were all out in force as well. This winter into spring must have seriously reduced their earnings. Passers-by all pass by in more of a hurry when it’s wet and cold.

On my way home I discovered that the usually rather gloomy side street Travesía de Santiago de Vigo, next to the big church, had been transformed into a mini-fair. There were stalls selling different kinds of pan artesano, smelly soaps and candles, craft items, wooden toys, jewellery and, inevitably, this being Galicia, little witches as magnets, brooches and models. These meigas sell well apparently!

As I moved into Avenida García Barbón I found out why they were cordoning off parts of the street this morning with Caixanova tape – like “POLICE NO ENTRY” tape but less threatening. Our end of the avenue had been transformed into a mini Tour de France – a Tour de García Barbón!

Teams of cyclists were zooming up and down at top speed, spectators applauded and cheered them on, some supporters even had banners to demonstrate which team they were gunning for and there was a loudspeaker van letting us all know how many more times they needed to belt up and down the street.

When I finally got an internet connection I googled it. It turns out that this is the fourth CRITERIUM VIGO ATLANTICO -XXXVII G.P. SAN XOSE organised by the Club Ciclista de Vigo. This is the starting event of the 2010 cycling calendar in Galicia and includes races in the elite category, under 23s, juniors in the masculine section and elite, junior and cadet in the female section. Just like in the Tour de France there are sponsored teams with names such as Chint-Autronic, Super Froiz, Caixanova-Spol, Cidade de Lugo, Cambre-Caeiro and Aluminios Cortizo, all gearing up for the Galicia cycling season.

Okay, so maybe Tour de France winner Alberto Contador (sorry, that should be Albe-e-e-e-e-e-erto Contado-o-o-o-or, as the cycle race commentators always say) wasn’t there but it all looked pretty good. I do hope the weather improves for them for the rest of the season!