Spain / Portugal / Gibraltar

A large chair stands behind the altar of the Igreja de Santo Estevão. I was told, that this is the chair of a bishop, who never came. In Tui (Spain), just 4kms away on the other side of the Minho, resides the bishop. The Portuguese would have liked to have him here - and even gave him a chair, but he never moved over.

I had the impression, that the restaurant upstairs closed already some decades ago, Rooms were still offered.

Legends tell that St. James preached here. The town had a bishop's see as early as 5th century and developed well. Within the 10th/11th century it was raided by Vikings and Maurs, so it is no wonder, that the "Catedral de Santa Maria" in Tui (Tuy) seems to be a fortresse still today. The church was consecrated 1225 and is a mixture between romanesque and gothic style.

The gothic tympanum still has some of the original colours. The adoration of the magi, wise men coming from the east. The left one is still talking to Herod, who sits on his throne in a very relaxed way, while the right one is already kneeling in Bethlehem, offering gold, mhyrr or incense.

Three very skinny carnivores (lions? dogs?) on the small rim. They act like acrobats, walking the wire around a pillar at the left aisle of the romanesque "Cathedral de Santa Maria" in Tui.

The gothic cloister of the cathedral in Tui is a very quiet place.

Sunshine in the gothic cloister of the Cathedral de Santa Maria in Tui. Sarcophags line up on the left.

Over more than two hours all walkers admire the picturesque and smelly industrial area of O Porriño. Lots of granite slabs are produced - and thousands french cars are stored here.

What the worldfamous "Flat Iron Building" is for Manhattan is this building for O Porriño. Here is the Grand Cousin: www.flickr.com/photos/25830962@N06/3781497151/

There are many "cruceiros" along the way. Near the village of Mos old and modern times met and mixed perfectly. The scene reminded me of Lenin´s sentence "Communism is Soviet power plus the electrification of the whole country."

Redondela has lots of things to offer. Two giant railroad-bridges cross the town. This one finished in 1876, the second one in 1884. Hightech of the 19th century! An "Albergue de Peregrinos" in the "Casa da Torre" an historic renaissance-building, a 15th century parish-church (open in the evenings) - and the "Nautilus" a formidable but affordable restaurant, where I found the advise of Emilio and Fernando, two spanish gentlemen, - and so had - thanks to them - a remarkable dinner.

A glimpse of the sea on a very rainy day near Arcade.

Walking uphill on the old roman road XIX. The usage over the centuries has clearly left marks here, that look like rails. The gauge of the carts did obviosly not change over that whole time.

Combarro, a little village near Pontevedra, is known for traditional galician storage house, called "horreros". Actually the traditional galician cruceros, always showing two scenes, impressed me more in Combarro.

This church is dedicated to the "Pilgim Virgin Mary" ("Virxe Peregrina"). Built in very late baroque style (1778 ) it features a layout in form of a scallop-shell, the symbol of pilgrimage to Santiago since the early beginnings.

During the "golden era" of Pontevedra, within the 16. century, the guild of fishermen was so wealthy, that they could finance the building of this church. The Renaissance-facade, seen here, was created by Cornelis de Holanda, an artist, who worked all over Galicia. Since 1962 the church is a "Basilica Minor".

It´s raining cats and dogs, while (since about 700 years) a very flexible acrobat under the roof of the "Convento de Santa Clara" shows his - backside.

Shown on the right side of the facade is "Saint Jerome" (Hieronymus, 347-420), who translated the Bible into Latin ("Vulgate"). His attributes are the lion and the skull. Here he is wearing glasses! Pretty modern for a carving from around 1550.