We rode in our bus today out to the coast and took a walking tour of Pontevedra. The town has a lovely river near by.

The old town is well preserved with shops and buildings that were once homes. Many of the buildings Were left vacant and soon fell into ruin in the recent past.

Now the town has decided to try to keep the buildings occupied so they don’t fall into disrepair.

There was some heated discussion when the new modern styled street lights were installed. There was a contest involved with different ideas to be looked at. The winning entry is very modern for an ancient town, but the city fathers made their choice. Not everyone was pleased, not surprising.

We then drove out to the seaside town of Combarro and were met by a slender woman of around sixty, I suppose, who works their gathering shellfish in the local cooperative.

The men do this from small boats while the women do the same from the beaches around the edge of the wide lagoon or bay. They rake the beach to reveal the shell fish.

Different types of shell fish are harvested at different times of the year.

They are also floating beds out in the middle of the blue harbor with ropes hanging down the rafts for muscles to grown on.

It is a quaint and beautiful town. The Spanish spoken here is familiar to me. I could understand most of it or at least I was familiar with most of the words.

The town’s inhabitants also have stone granaries called horreos that resemble large coffins on legs. They have collars around their legs to keep the mice and other varmints out of the grain.

These small stone boxes are registered as historic buildings and the city must be notified when they are sold or moved. They are about four feet tall and four or five feet wide by around six or eight feet long. They are vented so the ocean breezes can pass easily through them to keep the grain dry and safe.

We had a fine lunch of seafood and wonderful bread again. Are you seeing a trend here with the food yet?

The homes are made of granite and the roofs are covered with red clay tiles. The geraniums hanging from the window boxes and planters ad the perfect touch to make these towns so picturesque.

The weather here is perfect today and we have nothing to complain about. The sky and the sea is a clear blue color.

That is good thing on a vacation for us and the guide.

Who knows what is happening behind the scenes, however.