Vigo

Vigo

Today our fellow pilgrim, Fermin from Vigo, came to pick us up at Santiago and took us for a tour along the coast and to some of his favourite beachs. He took us to an island with expansive houses and other places he had enjoyed. It was raining really hard so it wasn’t as nice as it could have been if we had been able to walk. However, it was beautiful even in the rain and we had a good time driving to Vigo with Fermin. He taught himself English and he said we should speak English as much as possible to give him practice. However, in the end mostly Spanish was spoken so I was silent. Good for me. I should have taken advantage of the fact that Eric speaks Spanish to learn the language many years ago. Now I listen a lot and I’m getting the gist of things.

Fermin helped us find a pensionas in the old town and said goodbye. Ana from Cuntis, who was at her mother’s in Vigo with Anton, texted us and we met her in the big central mall. We walked the streets and since she was raised in
Vigo, she told us the history of buildings and their years of origin and stories about the people who had lived there. It became evening and had stopped raining so we were content to walk the streets by lamp light. We walked around plazas where Romans had walked. We saw the big port and the huge cargo ships. We went by a children’s book store and she said that they had the best books and her friend worked there.

Anton worked up an appetite by climbing up and jumping down each and every bench or low wall in our path. Finally we strolled into a favourite cafe of Ana’s and Anton’s. The waiter knew them and kept up antics for Anton. I folded Anton a paper hat out of napkins. He sang a song about the yummy moon made of sugar and honey and fruit. Many animals (thus many verses) tried to lick the moon. The only one to succeed was the mouse. So that’s why the moon looks like mouse cheese. It was so cute. He just kept singing and singing all the verses in perfect Galatian which is distinct from Spanish. He knows both languages at age 3. He raised his chin and sang to the ceiling. It was so endearing. Tears came to my eyes. What a little man, so mature, yet so sweet. I wanted to give him a hug, but of course I would have needed his permission.

Anton’s favourite dish is Pulpo. He couldn’t wait for it to be served. He was so happy to take his toothpick and stab the pieces and put them on his plate. Then Ana would cut them up and he gobbled them down. Ana also eats fast and good quantities for being such a small, thin person. I gave him a little compass on a wristband as a present. Eric gave him an American penny. He was very happy with his gifts. Ana said that Alberto, Anton’s father, had a coin collection. So now Anton had his first coin for his own collection.

We all got along so well. I asked if I could be Anton’s American Grandma.

03/30/10

Still in Vigo, we went out and wandered around the streets that Ana had shown us the night before. We could see the ocean and again the huge boats carrying cargo containers coming and going, passing each other. Funny, I will never again be able to look at cargo containers and not start figuring out the layout of a possible house in my head.

We stood in the plaza and watched the Spanish people interact. Everyone was talking at once. They stood in little groups in animated conversation while their children ran around and played. They were all so very stylish and the children were all well equipped with scooters, butterfly wings and tiny doll strollers. The children had the cutest little clothes. Ancient buildings and a cathedral were their casual backdrop. The stones under their feet had been trodden by Roman feet and laid by Roman hands. They relaxed in the outdoor cafes under awnings, sipping espresso from tiny cups. I was enchanted by the scene. The sky was blue with voluminous clouds all shades of white and grey. The rain seemed inevitable but they didn’t let that dampen their spirits. They walked their dogs and chattered like birds.

We bought some bread, orange juice and chocolate, just the essentials. We walked past the book store where Ana had told us her friend worked. We went in. It was nearly lunch time, about 2:00 PM. We met Ana’s friend whose name was Sandra. I bought one of the most creative pop-out books I’ve ever seen. She locked the shop door and asked us to walk with her to her bus. At the very last opportunity to exchange one more bit of information, she said that the people who owned the book shop published children’s books. I was so excited! I want to publish some children’s books. She showed us the web address and hopped on the bus. We waved and she was gone.

We spent the night in the same place as the night before. It had a loose board in the floor and every time I stepped on it it let out a noise that sounded like the shot of a gun. It never failed to startle me.