We can’t escape the rain. It is intrinsic to our land. For something is that the Galician has more than a hundred different words dedicated to the phenomenon. But, precisely for this reason, we know well that rain is not an impediment to making a good plan, sometimes even certain activities are more enjoyable if a little water falls. In addition, it never rained that it did not clear…
For example, why not take the opportunity to catch up on artistic issues? In addition to the exhibitions in the galleries and foundations of the main cities, we have several museums and centers that program contemporary art, such as the MARCO in Vigo, the CGAC in Santiago, or the Ciudad de la Cultura, in Santiago as well. All of them with good libraries of art and life beyond the exhibitions: seminars, screenings, concerts…
A little art and… a little science: great complement. Entertainment and knowledge by the scientific and interactive museums scattered throughout Galicia. Scientific museums in A Coruña: House of Sciences, Domus, Aquarium Finisterrae; MUNCYT (A Coruña); Museum of the Sea (Vigo); Interactive Museum of History of Lugo; Exponav (Ferrol); Naturnova (Vigo); Natural History Museum (Santiago de Compostela).
If it does not rain a lot, we can take a good bath… with warm water, of course. Thermal tourism in the rain has a lot of charm, it is worth trying it. There are good hot springs in Outariz (Ourense) or in Preixigueira (Ribadavia), for example. If we prefer something more sophisticated, with more health and beauty services and therapies, without leaving the water, we can go to a spa (Mondariz, Caldas de Reis, Lugo…), or to a thalasso (Sanxenxo, Oia, O Grove…). Nothing better to relax. (Another more adventurous option is diving).
And, if we are full of water and rain, why not forget about everything underground? It is a good opportunity to bet on underground tourism, or rather archaeological, visiting Roman sites. We can go down to the Salinae de Vigo center, the only conserved and musealized solar evaporation marine saline in the entire Roman Empire. In Lugo, a few meters below the city, we traveled 2,000 years ago and found ourselves in the Domus del Mitreo, the remains of an important Roman domus with a temple dedicated to Mitra included, in addition to the foundations of the wall, of course. In the same city there is another museum domus: the House of mosaics.
Continuing with archeology, let’s not forget the PAAR (Campo Lameiro Rock Art Archaeological Park), with the mountain full of petroglyphs, and even the recreation of a town from the Bronze Age. In addition to learning about prehistory in a very educational and entertaining way in the museum, there are always workshops or activities that make us the perfect plan.
Well, you don’t have to go into places all the time, there are coats, boots and umbrellas. A walk through some of the pazos, monasteries or castles, especially with camellia gardens, which they say are enhanced by the rain, is another good plan. Examples ?: Cistercian monastery of Oseira, in Cea (and on the way back we bring a bread); Sobrado, in Terra de Melide (and we took the opportunity to bring ourselves a cheese), or Pazo de Oca, famous for its gardens, in the Ulla valley (from here, wine).
A typical plan that never fails is to see it rain in Santiago. That’s it is. They say that it is how the soul of the city is really known, that if it does not lack something. The reflections in the stone, the arcades, the romantic air… And if it is raining cats and dogs, we can go to the cathedral once more, which never tires us. A bit the same thing happens to Mondoñedo. And to Betanzos… There are cities that have to do with rain, like Seattle.
So much walking… And what about gastronomic tourism? And what about wine tourism? You have to rebuild your bodies after getting wet. Almost at any time of the year we have a good fair to taste the produce of the land and, incidentally, get to know new places. When it rains, under the tent, there is no problem. Fairs of cheese, honey, chestnut, mushroom, butelo... everything. If we want to delve into the subject, there are also interpretation centers and museums: Ethnographic Museum of Bread, in Sarria; Center for the dissemination of cheese and honey, in Arzúa; Interpretation Center for Wine and Lamprey, in Arbo; Chestnut Interpretation Center, in Riós, Ourense…
By the way, in terms of wine tourism, in addition to being able to shelter in the wineries and satisfy our appetites, the covered catamarans in the Ribeira Sacra allow interesting excursions even if it rains a little.
And, finally, we can leave the house and go into another house, gossiping a little in the lives of other people and other times. We mean the house-museums, of course, not the neighborhood ones. Here is a selection: that of Rosalía de Castro, in Padrón; that of Pardo Bazán, in A Coruña; that of Picasso as a child, in A Coruña too; that of Cabanillas, in Cambados; the House of Poets, in Celanova; that of Otero Pedrayo, in Cimadevila, Ourense; that of Pondal, in Ponteceso; the one in Cunqueiro, in Mondoñedo … There are even those who have more than one, like Valle-Inclán: one in Vilanova de Arousa and another in A Pobra do Caramiñal.
