Feliz Navidad

Merry Christmas to everybody at home. I hope you all are having a fantastic holiday.

It never really felt like christmas for me without the snow and cold days, but I did celebrate... a lot. Raquel's family is all about the family meals, so we had a dinner at grandma's house on christmas eve with the entire family at about 10:00 to 12:00 (two hours of eating), followed by visiting and a secret santa gift giving. The next day, a lunch, which was four plates large, not including dessert, at around 2pm. In this short period of time I probably ate enough food to feed a small army. The next day my stomach was not feeling too good, so I stayed off 'the food' for a while. The next family meal is on the first of January and, to be honest, I am a little scared.

I erected and decorated the grand awesome 1.5 meter artificial christmas tree at the home of Raquel's parents. We put it on top of an old 0.5m water filter, so it does look somewhat substantial. Raquel and I, along with a guy from Senegal, dressed ourselves like the three kings for the students of Raquel's mother. Because over here, thats who brings the gifts to the children... not santa. So we dressed up, I read a speech in front of them all (in spanish), we asked them what they wanted for christmas and took their letters. The day of the three kings is not until the 6th of January. This is the day of the year that all the Spanish children look forward to.

After christmas, Raquel and I took the car for a day and drove to a couple different parts of the northern coast of Galicia. Check out the pictures and tell us what you think. Next week we will be in the Canary Islands, enjoying sun, sand, and all the benefits of all inclusive...

Enjoy your new years celebrations and have a drink or two for us... or a grape.

We miss you..
Warren and Raquel

Vamos a la Playa

Well, we have had a few days of really nice weather, so we spent our time in Redes, a very small village where Raquel's family has a house. It is about 20 steps from the beach and has really nice views of the bay (Ria de Betanzos). The winter here feels like the summers back home, but I have been told that this is not normal for this time of year. I guess we are lucky. We spent our time visiting different beaches along the north coast of Spain, stopping at restaurants along the way to have a coffee or beer, or playing a bit of frisbee. I have been having a few cravings for the food over here, so we had to satisfy those...of couse:

Pulpo (octopus),
Tortilla (Spanish omelette),
Paella (Rice dish with many other things),
El Cafe,
Mariscos (seafood),
Queso de tetilla (cheese),
Empanada (Ask Matt),
Cervezas (Muchas),
Vino (Mucho),
Churros (no translation).

I know I have a lot of cravings, but most of these things we don't have in Canada. I will probably be a little heavier when I get back, or maybe not because the tapa's are very small here.

In the coming weeks we plan to visit more of Raquel's family in a city called Vigo. It is a bit closer to Portugal, but still on the coast. It's supposed to be a good place for surfing and windsurfing, so I hope the water is not too cold.

Take it easy,
Warren

We made it! My second home and Raquel's first. Its good to be here after 20 hours in airports and planes, but we are still sleeping during Canadian days (8 hours later than Spanish days). The days feel very short and they are really busy from all the visiting with Raquel's family. My brain is already tired from thinking in Spanish most of the time. I don't realize it right now, but i'm sure I am learning a lot of the language. It has been raining a lot of the time since we arrived, but when it isn't raining, it feels great to be outside without freezing and feel the sun on your face. We miss everybody in Canada and hope all is well with everybody there.