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Galicia (3)

Outdoor leisure activities are countless in Galicia. Many of these activities are related to the Jacobean Route but others are not. Nautical sports, trekking and fishing are among the favourite activities among visitors. Sailing can be practiced in Corunna, Cambre, Vilagarcia de Arousa, Vigo, Baiona or Rianxo. There are also tourist cruises in the Galician rias, from Foz to O Grove. Some sea lanes, like the one of ‘Ria de Arousa’, allow, in addition, to contemplate the marine bottom. On the other hand, Cangas and Pontevedra are ideal destinations for canoeing, and in the Miño, Lérez or Ulla rivers other sports like kayaking and rafting can be practiced.

Galician celebrations have a special colorful taste and are accompanied by bagpipe music. The procession of coffins that is celebrated in A Pobra do Caramiñal is an example of millenarian old traditions: on each coffin of the procession sits a shrouded local resident that has escaped a serious disease during the last year. Other festivities with a religious character also attract the travellers´ attention, like the numerous pilgrimages to San Andres de Teixido. On the other hand, "rapa das bestas", a celebration in which people try mount half-wild mount horses to cut their hairs, mark them and sell them, is another example of the Galician local colour. Around this event great cattle fairs are held with lively folkloric dances.

According to tradition, the sea lane of Mar de Arousa was the one that the remains of Apostle Saint James Apostle had to travel to arrive at this region. His disciples transferred his mortal remains to the port of Iria Flavia to bury them under a stone. Some of the most festive Galician traditions are celebrated along the itinerary of this legendary route, like the Viking Pilgrimage of Catoira, where every first Sunday of August a performance is held with a battle for the possession of the West Towers.

Gastronomy in Galicia is based on seafood. Numerous species of shellfish are linked in many occasions to their locality of origin, like oysters from Arcade, barnacles from "Costa da morte" or clams from Carril de Villagarcía de Arousa. Crabs, lobsters, spider crabs, cockles or ‘vieiras’ complete this varied sample of Galician gastronomy. Galician fish is also very present: turbots, hakes, soles or monkfish are present in the marine diet of this region, in which boiled octopus stands out, served in a traditional way with olive oil and paprika.


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Pulpo a la Gallega

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