Made in Fofán – Fofán, Galicia 2017

Date of visit: Saturday, April 29, 2017

“Galicia is Different.” That phrase is seen a lot in social media and it’s quite true. Galicia is full of unique places, people and things to do. One unique place to visit is the aldea (village) of Fofán. We first visited Monica and Juan’s charming stone house in the hills of the O Salnés region in 2015 (read all about that visit here). Since then, the industrious couple have made many noteworthy changes to their quirky little agrochic haven:

1.  The 2016 fall harvest was fruitful with the arrival of this sweet little bundle to Fofán – baby Carmen! This captivating little beauty loves everyone who visits.

Juan, baby Carmen, and Monica welcome visitors to their home in Fofán.

2. Two guest rooms have been welcoming visitors in the main house for some time now via AirBnB. Both done in clean, crisp white, guests will feel quite at home in either of these rooms on the house’s main floor. I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to sleep here and wake up to that delicious, fresh-baked bread smell wafting in from the kitchen just down the hall!

3. Monica now hosts bread making classes in the kitchen at Fofán. The home’s kitchen isn’t for show – it’s a true working kitchen. Monica continues to make her legendary pan de calabaza (pumpkin bread), and now offers various bread making classes by appointment. We participated in an “international” bread making class. Other classes are geared towards artisan bread, pastry, Galician empanadas, and even classes for kids to come and try their hand at crafting homemade bread.

Here I am getting my hands dirty making Chinese ‘bao‘ buns, stuffed with a delicious mix of ground chicken, ginger, garlic, and scallion. The bao were then placed in a bamboo steamer for about 20 minutes until ready. The best part of the class? Sampling the delicious product!

The Chinese bao and Italian foccaccia that we made during the class are on the left. Monica’s signature bread, the pan de calabaza is on the right.

Delicious homemade Focaccia in three easy steps:
Make the dough.
Spread it out by hand with good olive oil and fresh herbs (rosemary here).
Bake to perfection in the oven with a bit of steam.

Monica and MyLifeOnVacation pose with the freshly griddled Tunisian black olive flatbread.

4. Monica and Juan are frequent international travelers so inspiration from exotic locales feels right at home in the aldea. As pictured above, we made Tunisian flatbread, Italian focaccia, and Chinese bao during the international bread making class. We then learned about some of that international luxury was also coming to the lower level of the house in the form of a Turkish bath / hammam. The basement was extended to be the home of the new sauna. Since this photo was taken, in April 2017, the construction has been completed: windows and doors of the cellar (pictured below) were installed and the Turkish bath / hammam is operational at the time of publication of this post.

The basement at Fofán, now home to a relaxing Turkish bath.

5. A bonus of the basement expansion is this gorgeous new terrace above, situated right off of the kitchen. With a quaint white picket fence, ample seating, gorgeous Portuguese tiles, and fantastic hillside views, this is a completely inviting place to relax and soak in the peace and tranquility of the aldea below.

Visitors will enjoy this beautiful large patio overlooking the entire village. One can actually see the ocean from the house! Looks like the perfect spot to enjoy a bottle of wine.

How about a closer look at that Portuguese tile on the new terrace? Gorgeous! And our Eferro zocos (wooden clogs – in this case sandals and boots) look great too! I’m wearing newly acquired sandals and Monica is sporting her custom-made wedding boots.

6. The wide variety of trees and plants impressed us during our first visit back in 2015 – more than 30 different varieties. Since then there are even more plants, trees and crops being planted. In addition to the existing greenhouse, two new structures are now on the property in Fofán: a bunny hutch and chicken coop!

Cute bunnies in the hutch and productive heritage chickens in the coop.

You never know what’s going to be growing in the village: During our visit, fresh herbs, artichokes and strawberries were in season. We enjoyed sampling the sweet fresh picked strawberries immensely.

7. There are hórreos all over Galicia, but very few have been transformed into a comfortable guest room that one can stay in.  Talk about a unique opportunity at Fofán!

8. But the most notable change since our 2015 visit has got to be the acquisition of Galicia’s “largest bottle of Albariño”!  It was originally a boat (constructed in 1999 to promote the Camino de Santiago) and is now affixed to the land here in Fofán. A local artist from Coruña was brought in to paint the “label” of the wine bottle. Since these photos were taken in April 2017, all of the construction work has been completed and the bottle is ready for guests to stay in this utterly unique lodging.

The local newspaper published this great article titled “Sleeping inside a bottle” in June 2016, which shows the final look of the bottle inside and out. In addition to offering the entire bottle for guests to rent overnight, they plan to also use the sitting area to host wine tastings, or other events, in the garden. Let me guess …. tastings of Albariño wine??

Photo courtesy of MadeinFofán.

As mentioned above, one can actually see the ocean from Made in Fofán.  As the map above illustrates, they are conveniently located to a variety of interesting towns in the O Salnés region:

 

 

 

• Meaño (13 minute drive) The closest destination wineries are in Meaño, a mere 13 minutes away from Fofán.
• Cambados (15 minute drive) The noble old town of Cambados is known as the “Capital of Albariño” and was named a “Cidade Europea de Vino 2017” (2017 European Wine City). Their annual Albariño wine festival, the first weekend in August, is one of the most highly anticipated events of the year in the region.
• Portonovo (18 minute drive) Just on the other side of Sanxenxo is the beautiful Baltar Beach in the town of Portonovo. Calm waters welcome visitors of all ages.
• Sanxenxo (20 minute drive) In the mood for a party atmosphere? Look no further than Sanxenxo, the “Marbella of Galicia”. Expensive yachts populate the marina and Silgar Beach fills with local and international tourists all summer long. From here one can even catch a boat to explore the island of Ons.
• Combarro (21 minute drive) Try Combarro for a quiet and quaint atmospheric fishing village with a beautiful port and winding alleyways.
• O Grove (30 minute drive) O Grove is known as the “paraiso de marisco” shellfish paradise and worth a visit explore and enjoy their many beaches (especially the longest, Lanzada Beach) and many (many!) seafood restaurants.

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Made in Fofán
Lugar de Fofán 8, Armenteria
Meis, Galicia, Spain
+34 622 098 721

Website: www.madeinfofan.com/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/madeinfofan
Twitter: www.twitter.com/madeinfofan
Email: madeinfofan@gmail.com

See links to AirBnB listings here: SleepInFofán

English spoken: Yes

For more information on the O Salnés region, please visit: www.osalnes.com/en

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As Garzas – Malpica, Galicia

Date of visit: Friday, April 28, 2017

(Image credit: National Geographic)

Galicia’s Costa da Morte (Coast of Death), stretches all along the northwestern coast of Galicia from the village of Muros (the “x” at the bottom of the photo to the left) all the way up to the village of Malpica (the “4” at the top of the photo). While the name is a bit unfortunate for marketing purposes, visitors to the Costa da Morte need not be afraid. It’s named for the numerous shipwrecks that used to take place back in ye olde seafaring days. The miles and miles of coastline is a nature lover’s paradise with unspoiled rocky shores and gorgeous views aplenty. The map to the left is borrowed from this National Geographic article that goes into more specifics about the many sights to see on this part of Galicia’s coastline.

We enjoyed a lovely full day exploring the Costa da Morte, including a visit to the lighthouse at the End of the World (in Fisterra), fabulous lunch at O’Fragon Restaurante (read more about that here) and stops at the Ézaro waterfall (near Cee), and Muxía.  As evening approached we made our way to As Garzas Restaurant near Malpica, and enjoyed watching a perfect sunset right from our table against the windows of the front dining room.

This Michelin starred restaurant is situated in the main floor of a bungalow style house just meters from the rocky shore. As soon as we entered, María José Sánchez, wife of Chef Fernando Agrasar, made us feel right at home. She runs the front of the house and speaks English wonderfully. After our warm welcome, she very helpfully explained various menu items. As was the case earlier in the day, we opted to order a la carte rather than taking advantage of either of Chef Agrasar’s extremely appetizing tasting menus featuring their contemporary Galician fare.

 

As Garzas menu above. A la carte in the center and tasting menus on the right.

 

Getting things started was an aperitif of empanada casera de xouba (homemade mackerel empanada) served on these darling fish shaped wooden plates. This was the lightest, crunchiest empanada pastry I’ve had.

 

The Galician bread on the left side of the serving tray, described as “pan de toda la vida” (good old Galician bread), had a really satisfyingly crispy crust and wonderful flavor. The bread on the right side of the serving tray was another excellent house made bread with frutos rojos y pasas (nuts and raisins). Beautifully presented sweet cream Prestes butter with sal negra (black salt) paired perfectly with these honest artisan breads. There was a symphony of crunching coming from our table with the crispy empanada and these two excellent breads. Hands down, this ended up being the best bread of the trip. Given the overall excellent quality of Galician bread in general, this is high praise, indeed.

Cheers to a wonderful day on the Costa da Morte and a beautiful evening at As Garzas.

Salvaxe – blend

Ribeiro

Serious and elegant white blend from the subzone of Gomariz in the Ribeiro D.O, the 2013 Salvaxe is made from old vines (between 60 and 80 years old) of Lado, Silveiriña, Albariño, Godello, and Treixadura grapes. This small production wine paired perfectly with the seafood options that made up our meal.

Croquetas caseras de bacalao al Pil-Pil (Salt cod aioli croquettes).  These croquetas satisfied with a creamy, mild flavored cod.

Zamburinas, verduritas tostadas, aguacate y espuma de puerros (Variegated scallops, roasted vegetables, avocado and leek foam)

The whole menu is brimming with fresh seafood, the specialty of the house. Mr. Vacation proclaimed “This is why you come to Galicia!” when this stunning plate of local sweet grilled scallops and cold grilled vegetables accented by a sweet leek sauce, avocado purée, fresh peas, and tomato jam hit the table. A stunning dish.

Cigalas y alcachofas estofadas (Langoustine and stuffed artichokes)

Vieira con parmentier de champiñón (Scallop with mushroom bisque). This was so incredibly flavorful. Pass more of that bread to sopetear (sop up), por favor!

Raya y asado de sus espinas (Skate fish and broth of the bones). The fish here and in the dish below were both perfectly done, a su punto.  The skate accompanied by intensely flavored spinach.

Merluza, puerros asados, su caldo y perlas de trufa (Hake, roasted leek, its broth and truffle pearls)

All of the homemade desserts were tempting, but in the end we selected two of our favorite desserts of this trip: torrija and chocolate soufflé.

Torrija de pan de frutas con helado de flan de huevo (Fruited bread torrija with egg flan ice cream)

Torrija has been discussed many times in this blog (like here and here) – it’s my favorite Galician dessert. As Garzas’ version is similar in style to the one we had at Bido in A Coruña, cool and creamy on the inside with a crunchy darkly caramelized sugar top.

Soufflé Coulant de chocolate con natillas caseras (Chocolate soufflé with homemade custard). This trip to Galicia was book-ended by visits to Paris, so soufflé was one of the themes of our trip. This excellent version of decadent rich chocolate soufflé with a vanilla sauce was on par with those we had in France.

More tasty treats with coffee service was the perfect end to the evening’s luxurious meal.

We felt so at home here at As Garzas. That is, if our home featured beautiful embroidered linen napkins, gorgeous views of the Atlantic Ocean, impressive tableware, and the highest quality wine and seafood! It was so difficult to leave. As it turns out, one actually doesn’t have to leave after a wonderful evening – As Garzas is also a bed and breakfast with 4 guest rooms just upstairs from the dining room! The thought of that bread for breakfast in the morning is so tempting. Next time we will have to stay overnight to fully enjoy this beautiful home and the warm hospitality offered within.

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As Garzas
Porto Barizo, 40, 15113 Barizo – Malpica, A Coruña (map)
+34 981 721 765

Website: www.asgarzas.com
Website B&B: www.asgarzas.com/es/alojamiento/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/As-Garzas
Instagram: www.instagram.com/asgarzas

English spoken: YES

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Vila de Cruces (Merza, Carboeiro) and Silleda, Galicia – Saturday Afternoon Adventures

Saturday, May 16th, 2015 

It was 2:30 in the afternoon by the time I made it out to the La Coruña airport to pick up my Avis rental car, a cute little white Fiat 500.

 

Beep, beep. Cute car, but not much vroom, vroom.

One thing that surprised me this year is that I met several people who had actually been to Arizona.  When I visited Galicia last year and would mention that I was from Arizona everyone knew where it was, often saying “ah, el Gran Cañon”, which they knew from TV and movies.  But this year, I was surprised when a gentleman working at the airport started telling me about his experiences visiting Arizona, Route 66, the Grand Canyon, and Southern California in his annual trip to visit the United States.  He even planned to return to Arizona next year to travel all of Route 66.

With the destination plugged into my Map app, I set off in the trusty little Fiat, a car I would drive for the next 15 days.  What was supposed to be a quick 1 hour and 15 minute drive from the A Coruña airport (located in the A Coruña province of Galicia) to Casa Goris (my hotel for the evening, located in a little place called Merza, between Silleda and Vila de Cruces, in the Pontevedra province) somehow took me a few minutes more than 2 hours.

It took me 1 hour to get to Santiago de Compostela, and another hour to Casa Goris. Perhaps a couple of wrong turns … and I did make a stop for the bathroom (and directions!).

 

But the views were beautiful – photos taken while driving 65 don’t do justice.

A little before 5 p.m. I finally arrived at Casa Goris, a charming and quirky little family run Casa Rural.  A casa rural is a rural B & B, usually (almost always) family run.  There are so many charming casas rurales in Galicia (one website showed more than 700!), I was so happy to get to stay in several more during this trip.

Front entrance of Casa Goris.

My cute second story room. So charming!

After dropping off my bags, I went to meet up with José from Turismo Verde de Galicia.  Turismo Verde de Galicia (Turvegal) is a group whose goal is to share information about the history, culture, and traditions of Gaicia and to highlight otherwise little-known special places that may be off the beaten tourist path. Those were exactly the types of places we spent the rest of the afternoon visiting.

One of the traditions that I was excited to see was the very unique handmade wood and leather clogs (zocos) at eferro.  Elena Eferro is a third generation shoe maker, still working in the old fashioned methods to make these gorgeous, playful boots by hand. They have recently celebrated 100 years in operation!

The business was started in 1915 by Elena’s grandfather, Perfecto, who sold the clogs door to door until 1936 when the shop moved to the area where the current workshop is located. While these boots fell out of fashion for a bit in the late ’70s, they are now all the rage – a blend of classic traditional design with modern style and innovation (those patterns! those colors!), not to mention being very comfortable. Elena wasn’t in the shop on this Saturday afternoon, but we had a very nice visit with the folks who were minding the store.

This way to eferro …

Gorgeous handmade boots all lined up.

How cute! Little “piggies”!

Actual treadle sewing machine.

 

All the tools of the trade!

 

Ready to put me to work?

 

John Deere boots! Should have gotten this pair to take back to Iowa!

Our next stop was a short drive away, the beautiful Mosteiro de Carboeiro, an historic late Romanesque / Gothic style Benedictine monestary founded in the 10th century (the year 936).  It may have been in its heyday between the 11th and 13th centuries, but I’d argue that it had a pretty good year in 2015 when it was featured in Enrique Iglesia’s video, “Noche y de Día”.  As a matter of fact, the video does an excellent job featuring many beautiful areas of Galicia (there are so many!), and is worth a look:

Full video for “Noche y de Día”, Enrique Iglesias: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=m3We7p78XTo

Short video of Enrique thanking Galicia: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VnyuJYerWBc

Exterior, entrance

Beautiful interior

 

Interior

The light is amazing in here – too bad I only had my iPhone.

 

More exterior views.

View from the second floor tower.

 

Exterior

Beautiful hiking opportunities around the property, along the Deza river.

Our next stop was along the river Ulla, to see a picturesque Insua, a river with little islands. There was a stone marker on display with a lovely poem written by the famous Galego author Xosé Neira Vilas about the river and this area, his homeland.

The river Ulla.

Beautiful ode to his homeland, a poem by Xosé Neira Vilas. “Water, stone, sun and wind …”

It turns out that Mr. Neira Vilas lives just a short distance from where we were, in the village of Gres.  So, what the heck, we stopped by to see if he was at home.  It turns out he wasn’t, but it’s a very nice spot with a beautiful view.

Sign on the Xosé Neira Vilas Foundation building, which houses a small museum, library, and events space.

Beautiful views!

From every direction beautiful views!

 

I bought a copy of Señor Neira Vilas’ most famous book, “Memories of a Peasant Boy”. It’s written in Galego, so I haven’t quite read it yet!

By this time, it was getting to be evening and we had tickets to see a show in the nearby town of Silleda.  Artist Luis Davila (whose daily cartoon strip appears in the  Faro de Vigo newspaper) and actor Carlos Blanco have a show that they perform periodically called “Menu del Día”.

 

“Menu del Día”

The format was something I’ve never seen before.  The artist, Luis Davila, was seated at the drawing table using the computer to draw (from scratch or expanding upon an existing cartoon) images which were displayed on the screen behind actor Carlos Blanco, who had the microphone and spoke to either the cartoon itself (explaining or expanding upon the joke), or relaying his own stories of growing up and being Gallego.  One particularly memorable skit had Mr. Blanco donning a typical housecoat worn by the Galician grandmothers as they work around the house (speaking with a grandma voice and everything).

I should probably mention here that this entire performance was in Galego (Galician) language.  While my Spanish is somewhere between “fine” and “I get along ok”, I only understand as much Galego as I do because it’s like a cross between Spanish and Portuguese (I majored in Spanish and studied Portuguese for two years in college).  Even with that, this was a fast-paced, energetic show.  Immediately afterward, I reported understanding about 50% of it.  As we told more people about the show, I fessed up to understanding less and less – it was probably more along the lines of 30% that I understood from a language perspective, but the energy and history and emotions being conveyed transcended language.  See the final photo with these two artists dancing along with traditional music, and you get the idea.  It was a fantastic show and the whole crowd truly enjoyed it.

The stage is set. Mr. Davila’s drawing table on the left.

There was a LOT going on here, not that I understood much of this one, but I think the phallic symbol speaks for itself!

 

Here, Carlos explains and expands upon the humor of some of Luis’ cartoons, adding in some of his own anecdotes of growing up in Galicia.

The show took place just days after BB King and a local Galician man called “Zapatones” died. Zapatones was well known for dressing up in a Pilgrim costume around Santiago de Compostela to greet and take pics with arriving Pilgrims. This cartoon shows these two beloved entertainers taking selfies and having a great time in heaven.

 

The two artists together: Luis Davila (l) and Carlos Blanco (r). Those kilts!

Spectacular ending – traditional music and dancing!

It was 11 p.m. when the show ended.  We stopped to say hello to Mr. Davila (José knows him) in the lobby and then, well, dinner of course!  The restaurant, O Refuxio, was fortunately less than 100 meters from my hotel.  I’ll tell you all about it in the next blog post!

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