It seems that there is an ever increasing number of restrictions placed on motorists these days, in attempts to keep us sober, within the speed limit, and generally obeying the law. Well, to be honest I don’t really have a problem with any of that, it’s really more of a frustration that I have relating to the methods of enforcement that they use. The latest speed cameras for example, don’t now simply take a picture at one given moment, and measure your speed on the spot, we now have average speed cameras, measuring you average speed over a given distance. In a way this is not a bad thing, as it now avoids the dangerous scenario where the driver in front suddenly sees a fixed camera and slams on his brakes. However, we do eventually get to know where these static cameras are placed, and slow down accordingly, but usually only for a hundred metres on either side perhaps.

However, speed cameras are not the pet subject of my post today, it is rather speed ramps, speed humps or sleeping policemen as they are sometimes known. Having discovered roundabouts only a few years ago and introduced them at every conceivable juncture, Spanish traffic planners latest discovery is the speed hump….. In towns and villages all around Spain (or at least here in Galicia), you can’t drive a hundred metres without encountering one – almost literally. Take our Provincial capital Pontevedra for example. It is a brilliant place to visit – if you’re on foot. If you’re a motorist then maybe not so much, and my advice would be, have your car suspension checked before you arrive. Nearly the whole of the centre of Pontevedra is pedestrianised, which of course is great for your evening stroll (paseo) around the city, or your window shopping perhaps, but entering and leaving the city will probably be a bit of a bumpy ride. Just to prove that I am not exaggerating, the other day I had occasion to drive from the Consello Regulador offices in the centre of the city, to my computer repair shop a bit further around the ‘ring road’ – a distance of just under 3km (1.86 miles). Sad person that I am, I counted the speed bumps (most of which are large and accommodate pedestrian crossings)……. There were 28!! This works out almost exactly at an average of one crossing every hundred metres. From a motorists perspective perhaps I should be asking the question, if my suspension is eventually damaged, will the local council pay for the repair? I think I already know the answer to that one.It seems that there is an ever increasing number of restrictions placed on motorists these days, in attempts to keep us sober, within the speed limit, and generally obeying the law. Well, to be honest I don’t really have a problem with any of that, it’s really more of a frustration that I have relating to the methods of enforcement that they use. The latest speed cameras for example, don’t now simply take a picture at one given moment, and measure your speed on the spot, we now have average speed cameras, measuring you average speed over a given distance. In a way this is not a bad thing, as it now avoids the dangerous scenario where the driver in front suddenly sees a fixed camera and slams on his brakes. However, we do eventually get to know where these static cameras are placed, and slow down accordingly, but usually only for a hundred metres on either side perhaps.

However, speed cameras are not the pet subject of my post today, it is rather speed ramps, speed humps or sleeping policemen as they are sometimes known. Having discovered roundabouts only a few years ago and introduced them at every conceivable juncture, Spanish traffic planners latest discovery is the speed hump….. In towns and villages all around Spain (or at least here in Galicia), you can’t drive a hundred metres without encountering one – almost literally. Take our Provincial capital Pontevedra for example. It is a brilliant place to visit – if you’re on foot. If you’re a motorist then maybe not so much, and my advice would be, have your car suspension checked before you arrive. Nearly the whole of the centre of Pontevedra is pedestrianised, which of course is great for your evening stroll (paseo) around the city, or your window shopping perhaps, but entering and leaving the city will probably be a bit of a bumpy ride. Just to prove that I am not exaggerating, the other day I had occasion to drive from the Consello Regulador offices in the centre of the city, to my computer repair shop a bit further around the ‘ring road’ – a distance of just under 3km (1.86 miles). Sad person that I am, I counted the speed bumps (most of which are large and accommodate pedestrian crossings)……. There were 28!! This works out almost exactly at an average of one crossing every hundred metres. From a motorists perspective perhaps I should be asking the question, if my suspension is eventually damaged, will the local council pay for the repair? I think I already know the answer to that one.

We arrived at the Bodega yesterday morning to hear some quite devastating news – one of our Castro Martin team, Juan, had been badly injured in a traffic accident during the night. It is as yet, unclear exactly what happened except to say that, on the way home from his girlfriend’s house at about 12.30am, his car was involved in an accident. Ending up on it’s roof, we believe that he had to be freed from the vehicle by firemen and he was subsequently rushed to hospital in Pontevedra. He is currently in the ICU, and thankfully we don’t think that his life is in immediate danger, but he does have internal injuries, so it would be a little irresponsible to prejudge – at this time we can only pray for his complete recovery. He has also suffered a few fractured bones – wrist, arm, collar bone, breast bone, and a rib, and it is the chest injuries that are giving the cause for concern. Of course, there is nothing much that we can say, except that our thoughts are with both Juan and the rest of his family.

As if this wasn’t enough, to round off a very bad day, one of our tractors broke down on its way back to the bodega!

We arrived at the Bodega yesterday morning to hear some quite devastating news – one of our Castro Martin team, Juan, had been badly injured in a traffic accident during the night. It is as yet, unclear exactly what happened except to say that, on the way home from his girlfriend’s house at about 12.30am, his car was involved in an accident. Ending up on it’s roof, we believe that he had to be freed from the vehicle by firemen and he was subsequently rushed to hospital in Pontevedra. He is currently in the ICU, and thankfully we don’t think that his life is in immediate danger, but he does have internal injuries, so it would be a little irresponsible to prejudge – at this time we can only pray for his complete recovery. He has also suffered a few fractured bones – wrist, arm, collar bone, breast bone, and a rib, and it is the chest injuries that are giving the cause for concern. Of course, there is nothing much that we can say, except that our thoughts are with both Juan and the rest of his family.

As if this wasn’t enough, to round off a very bad day, one of our tractors broke down on its way back to the bodega!

Over recent months I have been a little critical of some of our local food festivals. Not so much the festivals themselves, but rather the advertising, and more specifically the photography. Of course food is notoriously difficult to photograph, indeed, it requires very specialised techniques. We all know how our rather dull, flaccid looking fast food burger can be transformed into something juicy and wholly appetising on the advertising boards. The people who prepare these shots are the foody equivalent of professional make-up artists – lifting, tweaking, plumping, colouring and generally preening the dish before it appears in front on the lens.

Today I was quite relieved to finally see advertising for a local food festival that had clearly employed such professional  food stylists to shoot their pictures. The local town of Caldas de Reis is celebrating their fourth annual festival of Tapas. Their publicity shot shows a nicely prepared tapas dish, albeit that I have no idea what the dish actually is. At least it looks quite appetising which is more than I can say for the plate of zorza that looked more like cat food (in my post of last October).

Over recent months I have been a little critical of some of our local food festivals. Not so much the festivals themselves, but rather the advertising, and more specifically the photography. Of course food is notoriously difficult to photograph, indeed, it requires very specialised techniques. We all know how our rather dull, flaccid looking fast food burger can be transformed into something juicy and wholly appetising on the advertising boards. The people who prepare these shots are the foody equivalent of professional make-up artists – lifting, tweaking, plumping, colouring and generally preening the dish before it appears in front on the lens.

Today I was quite relieved to finally see advertising for a local food festival that had clearly employed such professional  food stylists to shoot their pictures. The local town of Caldas de Reis is celebrating their fourth annual festival of Tapas. Their publicity shot shows a nicely prepared tapas dish, albeit that I have no idea what the dish actually is. At least it looks quite appetising which is more than I can say for the plate of zorza that looked more like cat food (in my post of last October).

I just love these local Fiestas! They say that sometimes the simple things in life are the best – so why not celebrate them? Tomorrow in the town of Mos they are holding the 6th annual festival of fried egg, chorizo and corn bread. Simple….

The text in the publicity claims that the food will be sold at “popular prices”, which I guess could mean anything. For example, they could sell each dish at 50 Euros – someone then complains by saying “I thought that you were advertising food at popular prices?” To which the organisers can simply respond, “Well, we like them!”

By the way, the photo used in the publicity is, as always, a bit basic, but you’ve still got to admire a country that can make a party out of sausage and egg!

I just love these local Fiestas! They say that sometimes the simple things in life are the best – so why not celebrate them? Tomorrow in the town of Mos they are holding the 6th annual festival of fried egg, chorizo and corn bread. Simple….

The text in the publicity claims that the food will be sold at “popular prices”, which I guess could mean anything. For example, they could sell each dish at 50 Euros – someone then complains by saying “I thought that you were advertising food at popular prices?” To which the organisers can simply respond, “Well, we like them!”

By the way, the photo used in the publicity is, as always, a bit basic, but you’ve still got to admire a country that can make a party out of sausage and egg!

I did not realise when I mentioned the ‘Ruta do Viño’ bus tour the other day, that the programme of visits is actually much more extensive than I first thought. Apart from the Bodegas that are included on the bus tour itinerary there are also a number of other wineries that are offering visits, specifically tailored around the harvest. These are of course guided tours, sometimes limited to groups of no less than 6 or 8 people, always by appointment, and….. in many cases, there is a small entry fee! From my own point of view I’m afraid to say that even with all these pre-conditions I wouldn’t really welcome tour groups during our harvest. It’s not that we are particularly unsociable (as I would like to think that those who do visit us are always extended a warm welcome), it’s simply that there are so many things going on, many of which can be unpredictable. I simply wouldn’t want to tie myself down with a bus, or even carload of visitors – it would just be too distracting.

Having said all that, I do hope that we actually have a harvest this year – the weather, I have to report, has really turned against us. After months of fine weather we are now experiencing heavy rain and high winds. I was on the phone only the other day to one of our contacts in the States when I used the expression “the lull before the storm” in my conversation. What I really meant by this was that with everything now ready we are simply sitting back waiting for the optimum time to start picking, rather than implying that there was actually some seriously bad weather on the way. Unfortunately, in the end, we got the latter.

The good news is that the state of the fruit before the rain was extremely healthy, which, in the first instance, will certainly help to slow down the potential onset of any disease. The only problem might be is that if this inclement weather persists then the juice could be a little diluted. Our vigil continues……

I did not realise when I mentioned the ‘Ruta do Viño’ bus tour the other day, that the programme of visits is actually much more extensive than I first thought. Apart from the Bodegas that are included on the bus tour itinerary there are also a number of other wineries that are offering visits, specifically tailored around the harvest. These are of course guided tours, sometimes limited to groups of no less than 6 or 8 people, always by appointment, and….. in many cases, there is a small entry fee! From my own point of view I’m afraid to say that even with all these pre-conditions I wouldn’t really welcome tour groups during our harvest. It’s not that we are particularly unsociable (as I would like to think that those who do visit us are always extended a warm welcome), it’s simply that there are so many things going on, many of which can be unpredictable. I simply wouldn’t want to tie myself down with a bus, or even carload of visitors – it would just be too distracting.

Having said all that, I do hope that we actually have a harvest this year – the weather, I have to report, has really turned against us. After months of fine weather we are now experiencing heavy rain and high winds. I was on the phone only the other day to one of our contacts in the States when I used the expression “the lull before the storm” in my conversation. What I really meant by this was that with everything now ready we are simply sitting back waiting for the optimum time to start picking, rather than implying that there was actually some seriously bad weather on the way. Unfortunately, in the end, we got the latter.

The good news is that the state of the fruit before the rain was extremely healthy, which, in the first instance, will certainly help to slow down the potential onset of any disease. The only problem might be is that if this inclement weather persists then the juice could be a little diluted. Our vigil continues……

On Saturday we were trapped in our own home once again by the return of the Vuelta a España (the tour of Spain cycle race). The first stage of the event was a team time-trial past our front door – well, actually, to be more accurate, between Vilanova de Arousa and Sanxenxo (where we live in summer). The start of this stage was quite dramatic as the teams departed from a glass topped pontoon built especially for the occasion on one of our Rias, and was quite amusing in that the cyclists had to be ferried to the start line by boat – a world’s first I’m sure!

Today we are trapped by the Vuelta once again, but this time in the Bodega, as the race passes through the village of Barrantes where we are located. There is however, a difference between today and Saturday. On Saturday, which was the team time trial, we had groups of riders passing every four minutes for a period of about 1½ hours, which at least made the day a bit more interesting. This afternoon, when they pass through Barrantes it’s possible that the entire peloton can pass in a matter of a few seconds – a lot of inconvenience for a split second of entertainment! (Click on photo to see more detail)

On Saturday we were trapped in our own home once again by the return of the Vuelta a España (the tour of Spain cycle race). The first stage of the event was a team time-trial past our front door – well, actually, to be more accurate, between Vilanova de Arousa and Sanxenxo (where we live in summer). The start of this stage was quite dramatic as the teams departed from a glass topped pontoon built especially for the occasion on one of our Rias, and was quite amusing in that the cyclists had to be ferried to the start line by boat – a world’s first I’m sure!

Today we are trapped by the Vuelta once again, but this time in the Bodega, as the race passes through the village of Barrantes where we are located. There is however, a difference between today and Saturday. On Saturday, which was the team time trial, we had groups of riders passing every four minutes for a period of about 1½ hours, which at least made the day a bit more interesting. This afternoon, when they pass through Barrantes it’s possible that the entire peloton can pass in a matter of a few seconds – a lot of inconvenience for a split second of entertainment! (Click on photo to see more detail)

On Saturday we were trapped in our own home once again by the return of the Vuelta a España (the tour of Spain cycle race). The first stage of the event was a team time-trial past our front door – well, actually, to be more accurate, between Vilanova de Arousa and Sanxenxo (where we live in summer). The start of this stage was quite dramatic as the teams departed from a glass topped pontoon built especially for the occasion on one of our Rias, and was quite amusing in that the cyclists had to be ferried to the start line by boat – a world’s first I’m sure!

Today we are trapped by the Vuelta once again, but this time in the Bodega, as the race passes through the village of Barrantes where we are located. There is however, a difference between today and Saturday. On Saturday, which was the team time trial, we had groups of riders passing every four minutes for a period of about 1½ hours, which at least made the day a bit more interesting. This afternoon, when they pass through Barrantes it’s possible that the entire peloton can pass in a matter of a few seconds – a lot of inconvenience for a split second of entertainment! (Click on photo to see more detail)

On Saturday we were trapped in our own home once again by the return of the Vuelta a España (the tour of Spain cycle race). The first stage of the event was a team time-trial past our front door – well, actually, to be more accurate, between Vilanova de Arousa and Sanxenxo (where we live in summer). The start of this stage was quite dramatic as the teams departed from a glass topped pontoon built especially for the occasion on one of our Rias, and was quite amusing in that the cyclists had to be ferried to the start line by boat – a world’s first I’m sure!

Today we are trapped by the Vuelta once again, but this time in the Bodega, as the race passes through the village of Barrantes where we are located. There is however, a difference between today and Saturday. On Saturday, which was the team time trial, we had groups of riders passing every four minutes for a period of about 1½ hours, which at least made the day a bit more interesting. This afternoon, when they pass through Barrantes it’s possible that the entire peloton can pass in a matter of a few seconds – a lot of inconvenience for a split second of entertainment! (Click on photo to see more detail)

I mentioned just the other day that there had been much serious drinking at the Albariño Festival, and questioned whether this was really a positive advertisement for our denomination or not. It is claimed that some 90,000 bottles of our local wine were consumed in four days, and if this figure is correct, then it is perhaps understandable why there were so many “happy” people falling about! This number represents roughly 6 full 40ft containers of wine, which in turn equates to 30 pallets a day, sold by only 44 stands….. not bad going!

On Saturday night/Sunday morning there was a very interesting and somewhat usual occurrence in the Ria of Arousa. Many of the river estuaries (Rias) of Galicia are dotted with large wooden platforms used for farming mussels – beams made from eucalyptus trees fastened on top of several floats and anchored to the sea bed by a concrete block. From each raft hang a number of ropes where the mussels grow. During the spawning season the mussel larvae float downstream until they attach themselves to the ropes of the platforms, or sometimes they are transferred there by hand by the mussel farmers themselves.

Last Sunday morning at 1.30am one of the platforms had a rather unusual visit when it was ‘mounted’ by a motor cruiser travelling at speed down the river! The boat hit with such force that it was left completely high and dry on top of the platform. There were twelve people on board at the time, and two of them were injured (we don’t know how seriously), but suffice to say that the survivors had to be evacuated by an air-sea rescue helicopter.

The occupants of the cruiser had been attending the albariño festival….. probably enough said. 

I mentioned just the other day that there had been much serious drinking at the Albariño Festival, and questioned whether this was really a positive advertisement for our denomination or not. It is claimed that some 90,000 bottles of our local wine were consumed in four days, and if this figure is correct, then it is perhaps understandable why there were so many “happy” people falling about! This number represents roughly 6 full 40ft containers of wine, which in turn equates to 30 pallets a day, sold by only 44 stands….. not bad going!

On Saturday night/Sunday morning there was a very interesting and somewhat usual occurrence in the Ria of Arousa. Many of the river estuaries (Rias) of Galicia are dotted with large wooden platforms used for farming mussels – beams made from eucalyptus trees fastened on top of several floats and anchored to the sea bed by a concrete block. From each raft hang a number of ropes where the mussels grow. During the spawning season the mussel larvae float downstream until they attach themselves to the ropes of the platforms, or sometimes they are transferred there by hand by the mussel farmers themselves.

Last Sunday morning at 1.30am one of the platforms had a rather unusual visit when it was ‘mounted’ by a motor cruiser travelling at speed down the river! The boat hit with such force that it was left completely high and dry on top of the platform. There were twelve people on board at the time, and two of them were injured (we don’t know how seriously), but suffice to say that the survivors had to be evacuated by an air-sea rescue helicopter.

The occupants of the cruiser had been attending the albariño festival….. probably enough said. 

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.

There is good news and bad news here in Galicia as Christmas approaches. The good news is, firstly, that the world didn’t end on Friday as predicted in the Mayan Calendar, and then secondly the local seafood prices have remained more stable this year. The latter is actually quite important news in Galicia as seafood forms an important part of the traditional Christmas menu for us. Under normal circumstances supply and demand would push prices through the roof at this time of year, but possibly, owing to the the deep recession that we have, the demand this Christmas has been somewhat subdued. In previous years some of the most sought after seafood has achieved quite astronomical levels – percebes (sea barnacles) for example, were changing hands at around 200 Euros per kilo! This year however, whilst the market has softened a little, it is still possible to pay between 100-150 Euros for percebes in some local towns. Fresh camarónes (shrimp) are still commanding prices of around the 100 Euro/kg mark, cigalas (crayfish) can be found at around 80 Euros, and nécoras (crab) are between 50-60 Euros/kg. 

The bad news is that our Christmas holidays have been, and will probably continue to be, extremely wet – perhaps not quite as wet as other parts of Europe, but we have still experienced some significant rainfall. For the first two weeks of this month it rained almost non-stop, producing more than double the volume for the entire month of December last year. Only last week we suffered torrential, horizontal rain, driven by winds of over 90kph (56mph), but having said that the poor people of New York and the U.S. east coast will probably dismiss that as insignificant.

I should finish by saying that the vineyard in the newspaper picture is not ours – our soil is pretty wet, but I’m happy to say that we are not flooded.

There is good news and bad news here in Galicia as Christmas approaches. The good news is, firstly, that the world didn’t end on Friday as predicted in the Mayan Calendar, and then secondly the local seafood prices have remained more stable this year. The latter is actually quite important news in Galicia as seafood forms an important part of the traditional Christmas menu for us. Under normal circumstances supply and demand would push prices through the roof at this time of year, but possibly, owing to the the deep recession that we have, the demand this Christmas has been somewhat subdued. In previous years some of the most sought after seafood has achieved quite astronomical levels – percebes (sea barnacles) for example, were changing hands at around 200 Euros per kilo! This year however, whilst the market has softened a little, it is still possible to pay between 100-150 Euros for percebes in some local towns. Fresh camarónes (shrimp) are still commanding prices of around the 100 Euro/kg mark, cigalas (crayfish) can be found at around 80 Euros, and nécoras (crab) are between 50-60 Euros/kg. 

The bad news is that our Christmas holidays have been, and will probably continue to be, extremely wet – perhaps not quite as wet as other parts of Europe, but we have still experienced some significant rainfall. For the first two weeks of this month it rained almost non-stop, producing more than double the volume for the entire month of December last year. Only last week we suffered torrential, horizontal rain, driven by winds of over 90kph (56mph), but having said that the poor people of New York and the U.S. east coast will probably dismiss that as insignificant.

I should finish by saying that the vineyard in the newspaper picture is not ours – our soil is pretty wet, but I’m happy to say that we are not flooded.