The afternoon I arrived I walked around the central part of town until my room was available. Along the banks is a large fish market selling all manner of seafood. The fish are scaled and filleted before your eyes, the waste and offcuts thrown into the river, and the colony of sealions that hang around in the river take care of the rest.
Further down the bank is a submarine, I would tell you more about it but the 40min tour I took was completely in Spanish. All I know is that it was made in Scotland and wasn’t designed to accommodate giants like myself. Still, it was interesting to stoop around in, and the sealions appreciated a hot metal surface to bask on.
That night the hostel organised a going away party for one of the seasonal workers it employs. Being the only ’Strayun there it was decided that I was to be in charge of the BBQ. It wasn’t a bad job, they made sure my glass was never empty of home-made sangria.
I walked around town the next day visiting the museums and parks in the area, and worked up an appetite in preparation of my visit to the famous German brewery (Kuntsmann Cerveza) in the area. I wasn't dissapointed... The best part? The beer came out in a 2.5L glass columns with a tap at the bottom. Great way to drink beer!
The next day I ventured out to some of the outer forts and castles with some Germans I met the night before. A bus and several small ferrys took us between forts, most were heavily damaged during the previous centurys earthquakes but in most places the walls and parapets survived, if the buildings did not. It was a wet and overcast day but still quite pretty. Ate some local fruit from the many trees along the trail, also partook of some extremely fresh seaweed to appease a local couple that showed us around their native gardens. Once again I visited the brewery, this time we ordered a 'taste test' of beer. My favourites? The honey beer and the blueberry beer.
Explored the town some more, walked through the grounds of one of the many universities in the area. For a 'college town' it was remarkably sedate on Friday and Saturday night, walking home around midnight the pubs and clubs seemed deserted. Maybe they were all arrested during the protests the previous day?
More photos here
