Eiras is located in the South of Galicia in Spain separated from Portugal by the Miño (Minho) river. It’s not a city, not even a small village, it is a place. A place with houses and country estates linked mostly by narrow streets and crossed by a small road that connects in on one side to a highway that leads to the town of A Guarda and the Atlantic Ocean and on the other side ends in a roundabout that offers the traveler the option to go north in Spain or move on to go to the city of Tui or turn right, to cross the International Friendship Bridge and go to Portugal. In Portugal, turning right at the end of the bridge the traveler will find the picturesque town of Vila Nova de Cerveira, and going a little further, the traveler can see Eiras across the river. A car ride from Eiras to Vila Nova de Cerveira, takes less than 15 minutes.
Near the International Friendship Bridge on the Portuguese side, there is a high mountain called simply Serra that offers a spectacular view of the Miño river, on the right entering the peninsula and on the left reaching to the sea. On the river path one can see several islands and villages of Portugal and Spain.
It is very common for the residents of Eiras and surroundings to visit Portugal. There is no restriction, no border checkpoint, you don’t even see a policeman. The only thing that the traveler has to pay attention to is the time. The time zone of Portugal is one hour less than Spain and although they are next door to each other, the South of Galicia and North of Portugal have different time zones. The time difference actually helps a lot. Spanish people tend to make meals later than in Portugal. Typically, restaurants in Spain open for lunch only after 2 P.M. while in Portugal they start serving lunch at 1 P.M.. That means that the Portuguese can go to lunch in Spain at their normal time and Spaniards can have lunch in Portugal at their usual schedule.
In the central part of Eiras you don’t find cafés, restaurants or shops, only an old church called San Bartolomé de Eiras built in the year 1791 and a monastery built in 1816 which was for a while residence of the parish priest, then abandoned, today transformed into a rural hotel, very charming, elegant, ideal to spend a few days of rest, called Casa Rural Abadia Eiras. History tells that during the middle ages this region was called Axeyras, which later became Eyras, and finally Eiras and that there was a church on the banks of the river called San Bartolomé de Axeyras which due the floods was relocated up to the current location.
Near the center, hidden between houses, there is an excellent restaurant called O Lagar en Eiras, which uses seasonal ingredients in the preparation of dishes, in other words fresh ingredients. It is a cozy restaurant, which was in some time past a grapes’ mill processing site for wine preparation. O Lagar en Eiras offers typical Galician dishes and a delicious white wine from the region.
In the short time we’ve been in Eiras we heard stories of pirates who in times past sailed up the river Miño forcing coastal residents to move from the banks of the river to higher places. We also heard reports of the difficult times that led many young people in the region emigrate to the new world. A little further up from Eiras passes an avenue named avenida Brazil exactly in honor of Galicians who emigrated, most never to return. We have also heard accounts of the Spanish civil war and how that part of Spain was important to get goods and products from Portugal during the war.
Going further back it brings the desire to learn more about the Galician language, culture of the region and ancient peoples who passed through like the Vikings, the Romans, The Arabs and the original Celts about whom there are archaeological sites near Eiras.
I and my family in Brazil, in Spain and now in the United States, are the Eiras of Eiras. I know there are other communities in Spain and Portugal called Eiras, but I don’t think any is as interesting or more impressive as our Eiras. I don’t know who came first if the place name or the family name. It is clear that the name of the place is older than the old Church, but it would be older than the name of the family? Does the family name originate in a foundling baby left at the door of a house, or the door of the monastery or even the at Church, which by not knowing who the parents were, received as surname the name of the place?
From what I’ve read, the name Eiras means a golden field of wheat. As I have not seen a wheat plantation in Eiras, I prefer to believe that the place name came from a Celtic family, nomads that passed through the region, were amazed by the beauty of the place, and decided to settle there, probably during the Bronze age, a few millennia ago. Who can tell?
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