Porto

Day 4 of my Globus tour. I don’t think we were very sad about leaving Porto as it was pouring out. From this day until we reached Barcelona at the end of the tour, all the places we visited were new ones for me.

Portuguese Countryside

We drove past the beautiful Portuguese countryside––no rain here. Some of the photos on this album are off–color as the were taken from the light–filtering windows of the bus.

Spanish Countryside

We should have crossed the Portugal–Spanish border when this photo was taken though there was not much change between the two countries except for some slight differences in the houses. We have entered the Galicia area of Spain. Galicia is an autonomous community in Spain and under Spanish rule. Galician, one of the official languages of Galicia, is spoken by about 2.4 million people worldwide but mainly in Galicia. The other official language is Spanish. The population of Galicia is about 2,700,000.

Vigo

Our first stop was at Vigo to climb up the hill of the Castro Fortress for views of the city.

Vineyards

Back on the bus and we passed some Spanish vineyards.

O Grove

Our next stop was at O Grove, for lunch at the marina.

La Toya Island

Our last stop before arriving at Santiago de Compostela was at La Toya Island, a resort. We had drinks and cakes at this hotel.

La Toja (Shell) Church

The major sight on La Toja Island is the La Tojoa (Shell) Church. It is covered entirely in seashells (conchas).

I have put my photos of our drive and stops between Porto and Santiago de Compostela on a slide slide. Go to http://www.peggysphotos.com/virgo–la–toja–island/ (Slide Shows, Western Europe, Spain–2, “Vigo, O Grove, and La Toja Island”).

There are other photos of Portugal on this website from a previous trip that I took to Portugal. See Albums, Western Europe, “Portugal, March 19–April 5, 2008(A) and (B). The albums will direct you to the slideshows.