Galicia. Unlike any other place in Spain

It's true: No matter what people say, the southern coast of Spain is still one of the hottest spots in Europe, but there's another beautiful, not so hot (literally speaking) spot for you to explore. If you're searching for a unique, great place to live and invest in a coastline property, you'll love Galicia--and of course Caión. As it says in IdealSpain.com:

"Galicia is now an increasingly popular destination for those Spaniards who don’t want the heat of the Andalucian, Murcian or Valencian summer but do want the scenic beauty and culinary delights. Along the coast, Galicia has a flourishing economy which now includes its own brand of tourism. The coastline is popular with all manner of outdoor activities that cannot be found along any other coast. It is still a place in which you can enjoy Spain at its simplest and its best."

Harvesting seaweed: an eco-friendly fertilizer

Women working in the fields (Caión)

It's not common practice today, but in a not-so-long-ago past, my family, like other inhabitants of Caión still used this marine resource to fertilize their farmland. My dad would go into the water and haul the seaweed towards the beach, while his sisters gathered it into piles on the sand. They always said that this organic fertilizer was what made the potatoes and famous sweet onions of Caión so tasty! Now this tradition is being studied as a natural alternative to other types of fertilizer (news article in Spanish).

Fisherman and daughter gathering seaweed

When the seaweed—called golfe in Caión and other parts of the Death Coast—appeared on the seashore, each person would haul it inland and set it into piles on a part of Salseiras beach called "auga redondo" (round water) or the "ribeira", near the port. The piles of golfe were marked to make sure other late-comers would not take them; then the "owners" of the piles would stuff the seaweed into a square piece of hand-made sack-cloth and carry it on their backs to the farmland, where they would spread the seaweed on the soil. There was no machinery to help with this tough job that both men and women of the village had been doing from time immemorial.

From the property for sale there are wonderful views of "auga redondo" where seaweed still gathers. The villagers used to walk on these mounds of seaweed because they believed it was very healthy and good for their bones. I've done it myself. The smell is bad but not unbearable, so if it's really as good for you as they say it is, then it's worth putting up with! Today some people harvest seaweed from Caión for use as fertilizer, while others gather and sell it to pharmaceutical companies, who value it for its medicinal properties. Follow this link to see a short 3 minute video about seaweed gathering and uses on the Galician coast (in Spanish & Galician).

Pirates just aren't what they used to be!

In an earlier post I talked about the good and bad changes that this village had undergone throughout the years. One of the good changes is that pirates are long gone... at least the old-fashioned kind. Yes, pirates did visit our coast in the past. I wonder where they came from?

Things got so complicated that the Augustine monks who had settled in Caión in the 16th c. decided they could no longer fight against the invaders. They were tired of struggling and recovering from the pirates' destruction of the crops they had so carefully planted and lovingly cared for, so they finally moved to the nearby city of A Coruña.

Now that there are no more pirates to destroy our crops and our houses, it's no longer a risk to live so close to the sea, as close to it as the monks did!

I should say that this is the story that my great-grandparents used to tell my dad and his sisters, because I've read a pretty different story (in Spanish).

Past, present and future: towards a sustainable urban development

I can't believe how much Caión has changed! Some of those changes are positive, others not so much. At times I wish this fishing village were still the isolated, solitary, wild and unique paradise it once was! But then I realize that this romantic idea isn't consistent with urban growth and development, which are not only inevitable, but necessary.

Women mending fishing nets.

Small boat (chalana) arriving at Caión harbor.

Still, as long as that growth and development is responsible, sustainable and respectful of the environment, I'm willing to let go of my romantic ideas—or maybe not entirely. I guess I'm just an urban romantic who's convinced that a sustainable urban development is vital to the health of our own and of other communities.

No one can deny that coastal apartments are, even today, a capital investment. What they should not be is an example of what we call "feísmo urbano" (urban ugliness). Even if we can't prevent others from contributing to the destruction of our historical heritage or our urban and natural resources, I am convinced that we can support and improve our environment through sustainable projects such as the one we could develop on this exceptional plot of buildable land. There's nothing to stop us from enjoying a home here in the midst of an alluring sea and landscape while at the same time making an excellent investment that can help Caión to continue growing and developing in the best and most responsible way possible.

There is very little buildable property left in this fishing village and with the sea as a backdrop! I would personally love to build a small apartment complex or even a private house here, but it's not within my reach at the moment and besides, I'm involved in other projects of a different sort. This is why I am looking for an enthusiastic, enterprising investor willing to purchase the land, accept the challenge and "build" their hopes up high in this wonderful place.

Monuments

This small fishing village can also boast of its monuments, such as the 16th c. Augustine convent located in the main square, of which only the church remains intact. In the same square is the Manor house of Bermúdez de Castro, also from the 16th c. and finally, the shrine of Our Lady of Miracles, which pilgrims visit every year between the 6th and 9th of September.

Whale bones and other stories

My father could still remember when, on a stormy day, the sea would cross the main square of Caión. He also recalled when whale bones were placed there to be used as benches—whalebone seats for a lazy afternoon. You might not know it, but Caión was once a whaling village.

What's in a name?

The name Caión apparently means rock, "enclosed river rock embankment" (now there was a tough translation for you!), although I had heard other options such as "disaster". This last one is hard to understand because this village is certainly no disaster!