Lunch in Cangas

So this last Saturday a couple friends and I decided to cross the Ria de Vigo and head to the town of Cangas on the other side.  We planned to have lunch there and do a bit of exploring.   Unfortunatly we were pretty tuckered out from the night before so we didn't get too intense in our explorations, but we did find some interesting things while we were there.  

This is the Puente that I cross every day to get to my school.  It was a bit foggy Saturday morning but some of the locals told me it looks like the San Francisco Bridge.  

I love taking pictures of all the random boats tied up at the port.  They all seem to be so colorful.  

While walking through the town we came upon a church with this memorial on the side of it.

Now many of you may not be familiar with the political history of Spain, but this memorial is honoring the soldiers that died while fighting under the command of general Ferdinand Franco.  The era of Franco lasted from the mid 1930's until his death in 1975, and can be a very uneasy topic to talk about with Spaniards.  While Franco was essentially a dictator of Spain that worked in conjunction with Mussolini and Hitler during the 1930's.  His rule of Spain encouraged the practice of the Catholic church, and discouraged all other religions.  This right-winged dictatorship dealt ruthlessly with opposition.

After Franco's death in 1975, Spain has developed into a very liberal country.  There is now an overwhelming amount of acceptance and tolerance of varieties of people.  There are some families who are uneasy with their families pasts of whether they helped Franco or not.  Because of this, I have very seldom seem any memorial or monument of this nature.

"Fascistas Asesinos" Literally means Assassinated Facists.

"Ni Olvido, Ni Perdon" Literally means Never forget never pardon.

The graffiti and paint splatter on the side of this Catholic church is a strong representation of the feelings felt toward this time in history.

This statue was on display across from the monument on the church.  It is much older than the history of Franco, but is still interesting to look at.  

After lunch and exploring Cangas, we came back to Vigo.  I took this quick picture to show one of the busiest streets in the city, Calle Principe.  Spaniards really do enjoy taking a stroll through the shopping district.