Fernando: A SATURDAY AFTERNOON IN RIBADAVIA

Some years ago I was working in in Galicia. I must admit that I really have fond memories of the place because it is an amazing place to live in. Apart from its breathtaking coastal areas, unspoiled beaches and well-known landmarks, Galicia has surprising places and villages off the tourist traps, unknown to many people, where you can find very friendly locals, delicious food and inviting landscapes. 

During the time I spent there I used to travel to remote little villages as well as bustling cities and big villages in order to know more about what life was like in that particular part of the country that I love so much. So on a cloudy November afternoon, after an early lunch, I drove with three colleagues of mine to Ribadavia in Orense’s province. We enjoyed ourselves while wandering around the village and its surroundings, visiting the main tourist attractions and shopping for exotic local stuff in an open market. 

At 9 pm, as we were about to leave the village, we stumbled across a stone building with no windows and a big wooden door, which apparently seemed to be a small chapel, although there were no crosses or religious symbols outside that indicated it could be. We could hear male voices singing from inside, so we guessed that it was presumably a choir doing some rehearsal. One of my colleagues, curious enough to know was going on inside, pulled the door smoothly. We saw a group of middle-aged men sitting in a rectangular wooden desk full of food and drinks. On seeing us they stopped singing immediately.” Sorry, we didn’t mean to disturb. We wrongly thought that this building was perhaps a chapel. Please, carry on with the party"- said my colleague. One of the men stood up and told us “Come in, we have an excellent wine that is worth tasting”. We politely refused the invitation, but the man insisted on his offer.  He said to us: “On the left there is red wine, the white wine is on the right and there is also some cheese and pasty on the cupboard on both sides", so we guessed that the place could be either a bar or a wine shop.

We diffidently approached the cupboard where there were several chipped taziñas and filled them with wine. It was extraordinarily tasty and so were the cheese and the empanada. The men continued enjoying the party oblivious of our presence and the one who was apparently in charge seemed to take no notice of everything we were drinking and eating. Therefore, I wrote down in a small piece of paper everything that we drank and ate. The wine was extremely soft and light as usual in that kind of wine (Ribeiro) so we almost gulped down the two first taziñas and, after drinking several more, we ended up joining the party. We had good fun, as the men were making amusing comments and telling jokes, some of them in gallego. In fact, though they were speaking the language most of the time, it wasn’t a problem for us at all because we could understand it easily, and all of us liked the Galician language.

At 10.30 pm, after an exchange of pleasant, polite comments among us, all the men stood up and said goodbye. They left the building apparently in a hurry, considering the mess on the table, where there were some leftovers, half empty taziñas, an untouched piece of bread, a cardboard box full of red apples, as well as homemade apple pie, a small box of cigars and many other things together with dirty dishes. We immediately thought that the man in charge would come back soon in order to clear up all the stuff. Nevertheless, after half an hour no one did, so we went outside in the hope of seeing someone but the street was completely deserted and silent. The only sound was a dog barking into the distance.  We were alone and, much to our surprise, we found out that the entrance door could only be locked from inside the building and obviously we didn’t want to leave the bar without locking it. So, to our astonishment, we were holding the fort of a wine shop for a while. In the meantime, we refilled our taziñas once again and, truth be told, we were almost drunk and having a great time. 

At 11.30 pm we still soldiered on, but we had to make a decision sooner or later. At midnight, we heard the sound of a door opening just behind one of the barrels. We stood up immediately and ran towards there. A tall, well-built man in his early seventies appeared in the threshold of a hidden door. He had grey hair and blue eyes and, though he was wearing a creased shirt, there was something smart in his presence. “Good evening, gentlemen”, he said to us. “It is two minutes past midnight and I’m afraid I have to close our wine cellar right away. I have a date with a very attractive lady and I just can’t wait to see her”. And he immediately started quoting famous sentences from well-known writers which spoke about love. We had a nice chat with him.  He seemed to be a learned person indeed, actually a retired man who spent his time growing his vineyard and sharing the wine with his friends. He lived in a house next door which had a direct access to the cellar. He told us that his friends would come back tomorrow morning to tidy up. He refused to take any money from us but we reached an agreement and left some money inside an empty cigar box as maintenance expenses before saying goodbye.

On our way to where the car was parked, we found a fountain in the middle of a park. I put my head under one of the streams. The cold water cleared my head and my body somehow to help me drive sober. I’ve always been a careful driver and right then I wouldn’t dare be drunk at the wheel for two reasons: it is too risky and also you can put your life and the lives of others in danger.  At about four we managed to go back home safe and sound.

It was an unforgettable experience which perfectly encapsulates my idea of traveling. Every trip means for me knowing new places, meeting new people and living experiences that otherwise I wouldn't live at home and, inevitably, open my mind and my readiness to embrace change.

Fernando, I really love this post, congrats! It perfectly illustrates what "the tiny wonders of life" mean, very much like we discussed in our lessons today. It's only a shame you did't take any pictures of the lively choir or the party you shared with those welcoming villagers.

So come on, guys. Can you share with us any more travel experiences like this? I'm sure you can recall a few, can't you?