Santiago
de Compostela to Sada
Galicia: welcomed by the Sada friends
Hired a car to go from Costa Vella Hotel in
Santiago de Compostela to Sada, about 70 km or 50 miles. We rented a large car
and driver, a black Mercedes. The car pulled up. The high energy waiter at
Costa Vella Hotel who joked he had tried Reed’s cheese poked his head into our
Mercedes taxi and said “the presidents car!” The hotel staffer, a very good guy, was busy at the time with many diners, but took a moment to bid us adieu with a
smile.
We indulged ourselves in the taxi, cost was 95
euros, including the 5 euro tip, after our previous leg, hauling our luggage
and crossing the entire width of Spain in a single day. Our unsmiling Mercedes driver,
a young guy with a good haircut, got us to Sada efficiently. We went around a
first traffic circle in Sada, turned out to be the wrong one, but righted
ourselves and found our way to the side street of Barrie de La Maza. We made
it! .... the ancestral epicenter of the Spanish side of my family.
Pily Pilushky arranged for Marisol to meet us and
she greeted us with customary 2-kiss and her very friendly, welcoming
personality. Before long she was on the phone with Fernando, the brother of
Amparito. Fernando, the retired barber, is someone I had met 8 years earlier at
my parents’ diamond anniversary (60 years of marriage, celebrated in 2009).
Marisol departed and we went to lunch with Fernando.
Fernando took us to a café/restaurant called Curruncho (corner) near the seaside, not
far from the famous traffic circle. We got the “fixed menu of the day” for 9
euros each—and with a bottle of Albarino came to total of 40 euro. We had a
good salad with delicious tomatoes, swordfish and potatoes, a gallego staple,
and flan for dessert. I liked the waitress and enjoyed Fernando’s company. He
has a pleasing presence and expressive hazel eyes. And speaking of eye, he
assured I shouldn’t feel anxious about cataract surgery, which he also
anticipates. We got back to the house and I gave him several shirts (maybe a 3rd
shirt, also from my mother). He interpreted the 3rd shirt as being
for his nephew, Amparito’s son, as it looked larger. We had an odd assortment
of women’s garments and hopefull some of the Land’s End clothes will work for
Amparito.
Pily arranged to come by the Barrie house around
8:30 PM after she finished work. Time got together closer to 9:00 PM and I
befan to fret—and suddenly she knocked and rand the bell with daughter Judit
(Judy), her younger daughter. Judi has become an attractive young woman, 18
years plus just a few days, and is on the verge of high school graduation. Her
English seems very good and she and Pily seemed to enjoy speaking English
around the wooden table with Americanos, Reed and John, at either end of the
table. Judi is a big fan of Harry Potter. She told us how she broke into tears
when she arrived at Warner Bros depiction of the Harry Potter house in London.
She and Pily seemed enamored of London. The trip was Pily’s first time on a
plane, first time out of Spain and first time to ride a subway. They liked the
British museum and especially the Egyptian exhibit. My father, back in
Massapequa, New York, also loved his many visits to the British Museum when my
sister Anne lived there with her family.
We moved on to Patata
Brava, the favorite Sada restaurant/café of Pily and Judy. Judy loves “pig
tongue” (lengua) and Pily likes “pig ear” (oreja del cerdo). Both of these were
new to me. Reed steered clear of “oreja” and I could see why after I tried it.
Not my favorite. “Lengua” was somewhat better but not sure that I’ll rush back to
lengua anytime soon. Pily told me the Spanish saying regarding their love of
pork—“We love everything about the pig, even the way it walks.” Fun to eat at Patata Brava with these gals.
Judy has a dynamic way to express herself. He
face radiates a youthful joy and a total embrace of life. In Toastmaster
terminology I notice she has great “vocal variety” in her expression and that
may work well for her ambition to be an actress—along with her confident
personality and Spanish good looks.
On the way home from Patata Brava we came across Judit’s school friend
Alba, a slender girl. Alba jumped on to Judy the way Yogi Berra leaped into Don
Larsens’s and wrapped his legs around Larsen’s waist after the perfect World
Series game in 1956.
The enthusiastic embrace had to be the most
energetic greeting I’ve ever witnessed.
Alba decided to walk with us to the bank. Judy pointed out the mayor of Sada drinking a beer inside the nearby bar. Pily treated us to a 10 euros bus ticket pass (the discount deal for the bus to A Coruna, good for 10 rides). She prepared us for our journey by bus to A Coruna for the following morning. Both Judy and Alba had the sweetness of small town girls—but with plenty of verve and style. Judy’s mother, Pily, now a grandmother, her older daughter Nerea has a 4 year daughter of her own, maintains the dynamism of a young adult and seems very much in her prime. Las gallegas!
travel day-- 6/22/17
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