© Richard Randall

VIGO

Although we hadn't driven that far from Santiago de Compostella, and we didn't need to stretch our legs we thought we would stop and have a look at Vigo. Situated right on the coast there were lots of fishermen who sell the days catch at the market, and there were women with plates of fresh oysters for sale. There were shops selling kitsch marine souvenirs on Rua Carral, and some bars there too. Obviously seafood is the main food on many of the restaurants menus. The Marisqueria Bahia restaurant on Rua da Pescaderia is allegedly the largest seafood joint in Spain. Apparently it can seat up to 1200 people, but as we are very wary of fish since some unpleasant incidents in the past we stayed well clear of the place! There is no need to go hungry in Vigo as practically everywhere serves tapas so you can nibble on as much or little as you like.

Ria de Vigo

Across the steep ridge of the Morrazo peninsula is the amazing view over the Ria de Vigo, one of the most awe-inspiring natural harbours in the world. Long ago this region was a hotbed of witchcraft, there is a tale of a women who was accused of trafficking with the devil by the Inquisition in the seventeenth century. But she proved her claim that she was a meiga; herbalist with healing powers, so her sentence was that every Sunday she had to stand outside the Cangas church in her oldest clothes. There are charms against witches in the shape of a clasped hand on sale everywhere in Galicia.

TARRAGONA

Tarragona is situated on the coast not far from Barcelona, and although we keep saying we will we have yet to visit Barcelona. Originally established by Iberians and then Carthaginians, later used as a base for the Roman conquest of the peninsula, which began in 218 BC with Scipio's march against Hannibal. Under Augustus Terraco became capital of Rome's eastern Iberian province, becoming a most cultured city of Roman Spain. At its peak there were a quarter of a million inhabitants. Many monuments were built and there are some great Roman remains as well as some interesting museums left today. Today Tarragona is split into two sections, the medieval walled upper town and the modern are below. The Rambla Nova is at the heart of the upper town and it was there that we found lots of good restaurants and cafes. The Rambla Vella which runs parallel to the Rambla Nova is where we visited Tarragona's Roman past. There are temples, a theatre and ampitheatre. You can find out all you need to know about these sites at the tourist office which is situated at c/Major 39 (Open July-Sept Mon-Fri 9:30am-8:30pm, Sat 9:30am-2pm and 4pm-8:30pm, Sun 10-2pm; Oct-June Mon-Fri 10am-2pm and 4:30pm-7pm, Sat 10am-2pm, Sun 10am-2pm; Tel: 977 250 795, www.fut.es/~turisme). Apart from the cathedral all of the sites in Tarragona are closed on Mondays. Richard and I both thoroughly enjoyed our time in Tarragona, exploring the ancient monuments and the great selection of shops and restaurants. We stayed at the Imperial Tarraco Hotel, Placa Imperial Tarraco 5, Tel: 977 233 040, www.imperial@tinet.fut.es. Described as the best and most expensive hotel in the city, modern in a great position, perched on top of the cliff looking out over the sea. We chose this hotel simply because whilst we were driving around Tarragona looking for somewhere to stay, the location seemed excellent, and there was a huge secure car park at the front of it, and as we are both rubbish at parking it seemed perfect! The hotel was lovely, I wouldn't describe it as modern though, it felt like we had stepped back to the 1970's. The staff where very friendly and our room was great. The lovely man on reception upgraded us to a huge room with separate lounge area, large bathroom and a balcony with fantastic views down over the sea and the Roman remains of the Ampitheatre, we couldn't have been happier.

Museu i Necropolis Paleocristians

The Necropolis is just out of the centre of town, and it was from there that pagan and Christian tombs were uncovered from a period spanning from the third to the sixth century AD. These are now contained in the interesting Museu i Necropolis Paleocristians, (Open June-Sept Tues-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 10am-2pm; Oct-May Tues-Sat 10am-1pm and 4pm-7pm, Sun 10am-2pm). The museum is lined with sarcophagi and there were some mosaics. Outside are covered trenches and the stone foundations. There were also amphorae, inscribed tablets, plinths, the remains of a mausoleum and some examples of Visigothic sculpture. St Paul preached there and after the break up of Roman power the city became an important Visigothic diocese.

Forum

Tarragona also has two Forums to visit, the remains of the ceremonial 'provincial forum' are not that extensive but there are more solid remains of the 'local forum' the western side of Rambla Nova. This site (Open April and May Tues-Sat 10am-1:30pm and 3:30pm-6:30pm, Sun 10am-2pm; June-Sept Tues-Sat 9am-9pm, Sun 10am-2pm; Oct-March Tues-Sat 10am-1:30pm and 3:30pm-5:30pm, Sun 10am-2pm), is definitely worth a visit to see where once would have existed temples and shops all set around a porticoed square. Having been split by a road and now connected by a footbridge, you can see house foundations, four columns, a water cistern and fregments of stone inscriptions.

Ampitheatre

At the seaward end of the Rambla Vella is the wonderful Amfiteatre (Open same hours as the forum). This is situated in the green slopes of a hill beneath the Imperial Terraco Hotel, which is where we stayed. The original seats are the tiered ones that back onto the sea, the other seating was reconstructed in 1969-1970, at the same time as the tunnels and buildings.

Cathedral

The cathedral (Open mid-March to June Mon-Sat 10am-1pm and 4pm-7pm; July to mid-Oct Mon-Sat 10am-7pm; mid-Oct to mid-Nov Mon-Sat 10am-12:30pm and 3pm-6pm; mid-Nov to mid-March Mon-Sat 10am-2pm) is in the medieval old town situated at the top of a flight of steps. Looking at the cathedral you can see the transition from Romanesque to Gothic forms. The facades Gothic portal is framed by Romanesque doors, crowned by a cross and an ornate rose window.

Casa Museu de Castellarnau

Tarragona has some great museums including the Casa Museu de Castellarnau (Open June-Sept Tues-Sat 9am-9pm, Sun 10am-2pm; Oct-May Tues-Sat 10am-1:30pm and 4pm-6:30pm, Sun 10am-2pm), on c/Cavallers 14. The interior courtyard is beautiful with stone coats of arms built over Roman vaults and arches, also collections of coins and jars.

Museu Nacional Arqueologic

There were some great collections to be seen at the Museu Nacional Arqueologic (Open June-Sept Tues-Sat 10am-8pm, Sun 10am-2pm; Oct-May Tues-Sat 10am-1:30pm and 4pm-7pm, Sun 10am-2pm; € 2:40). Everything in this museum is exhibited well, in the basement there was a section of the old Roman wall preserved in situ. The other floors have detailed displays of the other remains in the city accompanied with informative text and photographs. There were also displays of sculpture, jewellery, ceramics and some anchors all housed in separate rooms. There were some very interesting mosaics illustrating the different stages between the simple black and white designs from the first century AD right up until the more intricate multi coloured patterns from the second and third centuries.

Roman Aqueduct

Outside of the city walls of Tarragona is the Roman Aqueduct which would have bought water from the Riu Gayo, a distance of about 32km. The most impressive surviving section of this is almost 220 metres long and 26 metres high, situated in an overgrown valley in no mans land. Known locally as El Pont del Diable (Devil's Bridge) because of the Spanish habit of giving all praise to the Devil as Pontifex Maximus.

Caribbean

Sundries

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