I was walking around our local town the other day, when I was pleased to note that the windows of many shops had posters encouraging shoppers to drink more wine….. REBAIXAS, they exclaimed loudly!

Of course, I regret to say that this isn’t really an invitation for consumers to re-visit their favourite wine, but is simply the Galician word for SALE! Still, it’s a nice idea. The Spanish speakers amongst you will note that the word ‘Sale’ in Castellano is ‘Rebajas’, and that the word ‘Rebaixas’ is simply the local word with exactly the same meaning. 

Rias Baixas, as we all know, is translated as the lower rivers, or lower estuaries to be more accurate, and so we can clearly see the connection……. Baixas means lower – hence the lower or reduced prices!

And here endeth today’s lesson.

I was walking around our local town the other day, when I was pleased to note that the windows of many shops had posters encouraging shoppers to drink more wine….. REBAIXAS, they exclaimed loudly!

Of course, I regret to say that this isn’t really an invitation for consumers to re-visit their favourite wine, but is simply the Galician word for SALE! Still, it’s a nice idea. The Spanish speakers amongst you will note that the word ‘Sale’ in Castellano is ‘Rebajas’, and that the word ‘Rebaixas’ is simply the local word with exactly the same meaning. 

Rias Baixas, as we all know, is translated as the lower rivers, or lower estuaries to be more accurate, and so we can clearly see the connection……. Baixas means lower – hence the lower or reduced prices!

And here endeth today’s lesson.

This picture (captured by Angela on her mobile), was taken in the centre of Pontevedra, and shows Galicia’s most famous parrot looking out of the window of a pharmacy….. don’t ask, it’s a long story.

Saturday night was Carnival in Pontevedra, albeit that our local High Street does not enjoy quite the same atmosphere as Rio’s Sambadrome – especially when the temperature is barely above freezing. Having said that the locals clearly put a lot of effort into their costumes and floats, and they certainly had a good time, despite the cold.

The parrot? Well, he’s the adopted mascot of the Pontevedra Carnival (every local town has their own mascot, including Meaño with their very own sardine!) Ravachol as he is called, apparently lived his life in a chemist’s shop in Pontevedra, and for some reason was named after a French anarchist. Legend has it that he died during the 1913 Carnival, and consequently his death has been commemorated at the end of every Carnival week ever since. A huge stuffed parrot is paraded through the streets and then burned. Delicious with Albariño!!!! (Is that too cruel?)

The statue of Ravachol in Pontevedra

This picture (captured by Angela on her mobile), was taken in the centre of Pontevedra, and shows Galicia’s most famous parrot looking out of the window of a pharmacy….. don’t ask, it’s a long story.

Saturday night was Carnival in Pontevedra, albeit that our local High Street does not enjoy quite the same atmosphere as Rio’s Sambadrome – especially when the temperature is barely above freezing. Having said that the locals clearly put a lot of effort into their costumes and floats, and they certainly had a good time, despite the cold.

The parrot? Well, he’s the adopted mascot of the Pontevedra Carnival (every local town has their own mascot, including Meaño with their very own sardine!) Ravachol as he is called, apparently lived his life in a chemist’s shop in Pontevedra, and for some reason was named after a French anarchist. Legend has it that he died during the 1913 Carnival, and consequently his death has been commemorated at the end of every Carnival week ever since. A huge stuffed parrot is paraded through the streets and then burned. Delicious with Albariño!!!! (Is that too cruel?)

The statue of Ravachol in Pontevedra

A week or so ago Santiago de Compostela’s huge new airport terminal was finally opened to the public. It looks quite impressive from the pictures, and would not be out of place in London, Chicago or Frankfurt (some of the world’s busiest airports). Indeed, here in Galicia it has been dubbed the new Terminal 4, which is a reference to the enormous new terminal building opened in Madrid only a year or two ago.

I guess the reason that people have made this comparison, is simply because of it’s size….. it’s pretty huge for the current number of flights that it handles. The report says that the new site is handling roughly about 50 flights a day, although I must admit that I have never seen more than a handful of flights on the arrival and departure boards when ever I have visited.

To explain the full story I should also tell you that there is fierce competition between Galicia’s three local airports – not only has Santiago invested in this huge new terminal building, but Vigo and La Coruña have also spent millions on huge new multi-story car parks, where again, never more than one floor is ever actually occupied! It’s all an ego trip, precipitated by the local mayors in an attempt to prove who has the biggest….. well, airport!

There can be no doubt that the best solution for Galicia itself is really quite simple – to consolidate our efforts (not to mention our hard-earned Euros), into one large provincial airport would serve the whole region.

A week or so ago Santiago de Compostela’s huge new airport terminal was finally opened to the public. It looks quite impressive from the pictures, and would not be out of place in London, Chicago or Frankfurt (some of the world’s busiest airports). Indeed, here in Galicia it has been dubbed the new Terminal 4, which is a reference to the enormous new terminal building opened in Madrid only a year or two ago.

I guess the reason that people have made this comparison, is simply because of it’s size….. it’s pretty huge for the current number of flights that it handles. The report says that the new site is handling roughly about 50 flights a day, although I must admit that I have never seen more than a handful of flights on the arrival and departure boards when ever I have visited.

To explain the full story I should also tell you that there is fierce competition between Galicia’s three local airports – not only has Santiago invested in this huge new terminal building, but Vigo and La Coruña have also spent millions on huge new multi-story car parks, where again, never more than one floor is ever actually occupied! It’s all an ego trip, precipitated by the local mayors in an attempt to prove who has the biggest….. well, airport!

There can be no doubt that the best solution for Galicia itself is really quite simple – to consolidate our efforts (not to mention our hard-earned Euros), into one large provincial airport would serve the whole region.