Vigo

Today was a late start so I felt well rested when I headed out to explore the city. My first impression is that Vigo is like Bath on steroids where hills are concerned: wherever you stand you can look around and see an ascending street; while any gaps between buildings seem to afford a downward view. There are even escalators and moving walkways around sections of the city should you not wish to climb steps or walk up steep streets.

Moving Walkway

My Baedeker guide tells me Vigo had a population of 30,000 in 1913. Now it is over 300,000. The modern expansion up the hills around the Vigo bay seems to have been centred on cars, concrete and consumerism. The area around my hotel (and I am not far from the old town) has that grey and dense communist drabness about it despite some older buildings trying to add character with ornate windows and wrought iron balconies. And the width of the roads and the number and speed of the vehicles (despite the twists and inclines), along with the quantity of pedestrian lights here suggests car is King, at least in this part of the city. It is a far cry from León.

Vigo - 1913

After coffee with a German walker I met on the coach yesterday it was downhill into the old town, wandering its narrow, steep streets until the waterfront. Lee did not stay in Vigo but on arrival he described it as '…old and as bleached as the rocks around it.' and '…full of people sleeping in doorways…like bodies washed up by the tide.' At first glance he would not recognise it today: the view I had as I looked back from the water's edge was of mostly drab and boxy concrete and glass, while the doorways were no longer full of the sleeping poor but of a richer set who had descended on the city from the docked cruise ship behind me to shop and explore.

From the waterfront 

Behind that veneer though lay the old town and Vigo's history. I climbed back up through the narrow streets to the seventeenth century San Sebastián fortress, built to defend old Vigo from English pirates and now completely surrounded by the modern city. A little further up is the much larger Castro Castle and gardens, contemporary with San Sebastián and another element of the city's defence at that time. The gardens are a pleasure to wander around and the views to the bay from this high point are impressive, though sadly spoilt by a modern tower block in your direct line of sight.

San Sebastián 

View from Castro Castle

I have given myself two full days here in Vigo, in part to take stock after the frustrations of getting here but mainly to give me time to explore a city new to me and to finish some planning without feeling rushed. So this afternoon I headed back to complete some of the latter, in particular my route for the first couple of days: my road atlas doesn’t show all my options in the hills I will be crossing but you can guarantee those hills will prevent my more informative navigation apps from working when I need them most.