Galicia has an unique character quite unlike anywhere else in Spain and this is all thanks to its Celtic heritage. Visitors to this part of Spain can expect to discover a mystical place where women have professions that exist nowhere else in the country like "good witches " and mussel collectors.
Galicia is one of the most remote regions of Spain, even the ancient Romans rarely ever made the journey there. But the Celts who arrived in Galicia about 600 BC did leave their mark. Evidence of their presence can be seen all over Galicia. Pallozas ( round, pre roman stone huts with cone-shaped thatched roofs can be found near many villages. Ox carts and wooden ploughs are also familiar sights. Galicia's musical heritage is characterized by an instrument called the Gaita, a type of bagpipe. Galicia has a strong christian heritage evident from the way of St James (the camino) but the region's pagan past has not been entirely forgotten and many people still believe in Meigas (witches), who are considered successors of the Druids. In the town of Combarro, the meigas are a part of everyday life and are not just something to entertain the tourists with. If someone becomes ill or if rain threatens the harvest, the locals will go to church and pray to Saint James and than visit a meiga, most fishermen have their boats blessed both by a priest and by a good witch before they set out to sea for the very first time.
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