Day 4 -- Ourense

We left the hotel after the sparse breakfast. Culinary wonders is not a strong suit in Galicia. (the woman was going to pour coffee into the bowl of corn flakes). We drove through the winding roads and found a house that a neighbor said was for sale. It was a lovely big house with a walled-in yard with a very big swimming pool. The location was perfect so we went to our friend Mark’s house to see if he could show it to us. He told us it was sold but took us to another house instead. This house was in the village of Rabade, on the main street. We actually liked this one very much. It is an old stone house hidden under an ugly purple façade. It is pretty big and has a lot of potential even though it needs a lot of work. It has a good size garden and a small barn where Al could have his workshop. This one may be worth considering.

We then drove to the city of Orense - about 60 miles away. On the way Bo called a realtor who agreed to meet us at 4 pm. Ana, the young and fun realtor, then took us to see 4 houses. One was right on the river and you could launch a boat from the property. Unfortunately, the house was not good because it needed a complete overhaul and was on the main road. The next two were so remote they were not acceptable. The final house and property were spectacular. It was like a park. It had a swimming pool, palm trees, vineyards, fountains… Unfortunately the beautiful house had only one bedroom. This burst our bubble. None of the houses she showed us worked out, but we got to practice Spanish with her all afternoon.
Back in Ourense we are enjoying the local night crowd in the outdoor cafes. The historical center of he city is small but really beautiful -- a maze of narrow streets with several gorgeous churches sprinkled here and there.
N.B. Galicia is bilingual. The native population speak Gallego as their primary language but all speak Spanish also.
On the drive to Galicia we passed myriads of solar panel farms. Spain appears to be serious about ecology.