Supposedly Galicia does not suffer from an excess of tourism, but given
the swarms of visitors and an overflowing coach park we experienced on a
wet Sunday in November, I dread to think what it must be like in summer.
San
Andres can be a very pretty village when the sun shines, as evidenced by
many of the online images found elsewhere, equally photogenic viewed
either from within the village looking out to sea, or from above in its
hillside context. However, whilst it is quaint and picturesque
even in the rain, it is also utterly dismal as the storms lash its
sorry walls unhindered, from thousands of miles of uninterrupted
Atlantic.
I was
first attracted by the unusual construction aesthetic, the "almost
whitewashed" look (as well as the dramatic situation). I am not
sure whether the over-enthusiastic pointing is a vain attempt to
waterproof the stonework, an attempt to render the surface with
insufficient material, or simply sloppy workmanship, but it was the only
place I came across this photogenic, if futile, technique.
Inside the church and memorial chapel is evidence of their relationship
with the sea, a losing one I suspect from the number of candles versus
"thank you for saving my life" relics. |