Galicia’s Four Provinces Explained
We get this one a lot. People assume that because we live in Galicia and near the Ribeira Sacra, we must live in Ourense. It’s a fair guess, since Ourense province holds a large part of the Ribeira Sacra and…
Michel
What Wildfires Do to Galician Nature
This year we watched two sizeable wildfires burn uncomfortably close to our village. Close enough that we packed a bag “just in case,” close enough to smell the smoke for days, and close enough that we started paying much closer…
August in Galicia: Tourists, Traffic, and the Places That Go Quiet
August changes Galicia. It’s the one month where the region’s population seems to double almost overnight, and by now, living here, we’ve learned to read the signs: the supermarket queues get longer, the N-VI fills up with cars carrying license…
Moving Your Belongings to Galicia
One of the first practical questions anyone emigrating to Galicia runs into is a simple one: what do you do with everything you own? Do you hire a removal company to bring it all across Europe? Do you rent a…
Water Scarcity in Galicia: What’s Happening in 2026
Galicia has a reputation as Spain’s green, rainy corner the region where umbrellas outnumber sun hats. So it might come as a surprise that in August 2026, dozens of Galician municipalities are under official drought alert, with restrictions on things…
Where Cows Outnumber People: Rural Lugo’s Strange Statistic
The first time we heard that some Galician villages have more cows than residents, it sounded like the kind of exaggeration people make about the countryside to sound charming. Then we looked at the numbers, and it turned out to…
The Mysterious Bangs at Night
The first few nights we heard it, we assumed someone was out hunting. A sharp bang, somewhere out over the fields, repeating every so often through the dark. It felt strange for that time of night, and we found ourselves…
From Chantada to Fondós
We didn’t have much of a plan, just an idea: follow the road out of Chantada around sunset and see where it took us. That turned out to be a good call. The route runs along the edge of the…
Day Trips in Galicia: Discover the Best of the Region in a Single Day
Galicia is a land of contrasts: rugged coastlines, centuries-old cathedrals, lively port cities, and hidden villages that time seems to have forgotten. If you only have a few days to explore, you don’t have to choose between all these highlights.…
Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela: History, Architecture & Visitor Tips
Santiago de Compostela is about an hour and a half from our village in the Ribeira Sacra, and the cathedral at its heart is the reason the city exists at all. It is the final destination of the Camino de…
Ancient Megaliths: Prehistoric Stone Monuments
When most people think of Galicia, they imagine the Camino de Santiago, dramatic Atlantic cliffs, green mountains and delicious seafood. But hidden among forests, farmland and remote hilltops lies another treasureone that is thousands of years older than Roman roads…
Are There Bears in Galicia?
When people picture Galicia, they usually think of the coast, the rain, and green hills, not wildlife encounters. So it surprised us to learn that brown bears do, in fact, roam parts of this region, right in the province where…
Fervenza do Mácara: A Hidden Waterfall
Not far past Castillo de Pambre, where the Pambre River meets the Ulla, lies a small stretch of rapids and waterfalls known locally as the Torrentes do Mácara. We came across it after visiting the castle, and it turned out…
Castillo de Pambre: A Medieval Castle in Rural Lugo
Tucked away in the countryside of Palas de Rei, in the province of Lugo, Castillo de Pambre is one of those places that barely shows up on the radar of most visitors to Galicia, yet it is one of the…