I'm planning on taking a side excursion to Galicia after two weeks of plein air painting in Madrid. My painting mentor was born in Galicia and he's really interested in going back there with me. I wish to paint in the area, but I have no idea how bad the mess of the oil spill has affected the region. My trip would be during the second week of May. Can anyone offer any insight as to the progress of the clean up and if I should try looking for another coastal place to paint in? I'm interested in painting old fishing boats and coastal scenes. If somone has any recent pictures in or around Galicia, I'd love to see them.

Carole

GO! Even if it is a mess, the people and the sights there will give you plenty to paint! Besides, you'll be helping by just going there and spending some money in the area- you can't loose!

Trere is a nice route : "La Ruta de los faros
del fin del mundo" total about 135 kms
from La Coruña-Malpica-Laxe-Camariñas-Muxia-
Fisterra .Go and enjoy.

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. Galicia it is.

Carole

hello everybody

my dad says galicias only bad around the costa da morte especially around cabo fisterra comarca area.he also says vigo is just as well off as any other city in spain.also the unemployment which is somewhat a plague in galicia is not actually a problem in vigo.he comes from ortiguiera and says galicias great.galicia has the highest unemployment in spain.but still the good stuffs outnumber the bad.besides my dad immigrated because of franco not galicia(a minha terra nosa da minha alma galega carallo

So happy you are going to Galicia Carole. You are going to LOVE it. It is very different from other parts of Spain and the coastline is gorgeous. The cities and towns are picturesque. I would love to hear ( and see!) your impressions of Galicia when you return. Buen viaje and Happy painting.

You're going to love Galicia!! My best friend lives in the village of Nigran, which is close to Baiona (closest major city is Vigo). The best moments of my life have been spent just sitting in cafes, looking out at the ocean with my friends and wishing I didn't have to go home LOL. I was there over Christmas and while Baiona was affected and some of the beaches we passed on our way to Santiago were as well, her beach and the beaches in Vigo weren't. However she's told me the oil has since arrived but it's nowhere near as bad as in the northern parts of the region. DO NOT miss the chance to go to Galicia - it's still beautiful even without the beaches. The history, the mountains, the people... everything. You're going to love it!

Melinda

Wow. Now I'm really excited about going. I was thinking of making Santiago de Compostela my home base during my stay there. There's a hotel called Ruta Jacobea that I was considering staying in. Does anyone know of it? I figured we could travel up and down the coast by car looking for coastal scenes to paint. If anyone has any better ideas on where to stay or beautiful painting locations, let me know. I'm also interested in painting beautiful architecure and historical landmarks. Any reccommendations on places in the are that I shouldn't miss?

Thanks
Carole

Come to think of it Santiago de Compostela may be too far from the coast. Maybe a smaller village right on the coast. Does anyone know of a decent three star hotel in Galicia near the water?

Carole

Carole, Let me suggest one possibility: Hotel Airiños is in the town of Cangas de Morrazo, across the ría from the city of Vigo. It is a very picturesque town and very accessable to Vigo via a short ferry ride. Cangas is right on the water, it has a walkable paseo maritimo and a nice old section of the city. I am partial to Cangas because it is where my family lives... , but I think you would find a lot to paint. The little towns nearby are all little fishing villages.
Here you can learn a bit about the area too.