Veiga do Seixo is a village in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Riós Riós is a municipality in the Spanish province of Ourense Ourense (; es, Orense ) is a city and capital of the province of Ourense, located in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, northweste ...

, in the province of

Ourense Ourense (; es, Orense ) is a city and capital of the province of Ourense, located in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, northwestern Spain. It is on the Camino Sanabrés path of the Way of St ...

, Galicia, north-western

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Because it is linked to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

by a bridge over the , the place was traditionally used for illegal trade and smuggling.

Administrative division

Veiga do Seixo belongs to the parish church of Castrelo de Cima with the villages of Covelas, As Lapedas (already disappeared), O Mourisco and San Payo. The village is on the border with Portugal (Cisterna).

Climate

The village and the surrounding area of Riós has a pronounced Mountain-Mediterranean climate with cold winters and very dry and hot summers, during which devastating fires often occur.

Fauna and flora

Veiga do Seixo is home to many rich species of flora and fauna. Flora include the holm oak (''

Quercus ilex ''Quercus ilex'', the evergreen oak, holly oak or holm oak is a large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the ''Ilex'' section of the genus, with acorns that mature in a single summer. Description An evergreen tr ...

''), turpentine tree (''

Pistacia terebinthus ''Pistacia terebinthus'' also called the terebinth and the turpentine tree, is a deciduous tree species of the genus ''Pistacia'', native to the Mediterranean region from the western regions of Morocco and Portugal to Greece and western and s ...

''), Montpellier Maple (''

Acer monspessulanum ''Acer monspessulanum'', the Montpellier maple, is a species of maple native to the Mediterranean region from Morocco and Portugal in the west, to Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel in the east, and north to the Jura Mountains in France and the ...

''). Among the fauna are the European bee-eater (''

Merops apiaster The European bee-eater (''Merops apiaster'') is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It breeds in southern and central Europe, northern and southern Africa, and western Asia. Except for the resident southern African populatio ...

''), red-rumped swallow (''

Hirundo daurica The red-rumped swallow (''Cecropis daurica'') is a small passerine bird in the swallow family. It breeds in open hilly country of temperate southern Europe and Asia from Portugal and Spain to Japan, India, Sri Lanka and tropical Africa. The India ...

''), European roller (''

Coracias garrulus The European roller (''Coracias garrulus'') is the only member of the roller family of birds to breed in Europe. Its overall range extends into the Middle East, Central Asia and the Maghreb. The European roller is found in a wide variety of hab ...

''), and a rare type of gecko, (''

Tarentola mauritanica ''Tarentola mauritanica'', known as the common wall gecko, is a species of gecko ( Gekkota) native to the western Mediterranean area of North Africa and Europe. It has been introduced to Madeira and Balearic Islands, and the Americas (in Mont ...

''), which is especially difficult to find in other parts of Galicia.

Demography

The demographic evolution of Veiga do Seixo is marked by the abrupt fall in the population occurred during the decades of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and similar to many other villages in Galicia where there was a massive emigration to bigger and more industrialized Spanish territories like the Basque Country, Catalonia and Madrid. It was also remarkable the number of people that emigrated to Switzerland and Argentina, also known as the fifth Galicia due to the enormous number of Galicians in that country. Nowadays the risk of depopulation is alarmingly high with almost all the inhabitants being over 65, a very low birthrate and few possibilities for young people to develop any career. The village also does not have any infrastructure.

Transport

There is no public transport at all, such as buses or trains and the only way to travel around is by private taxi. The closest train station is A Gudiña, 20 km.

Folklore

The patronal feasts are celebrated on 26 and 27 July in honour of the patron saint of the village Santa Ana, or Santiña as the locals call it. The celebrations are possible thanks to the money gathered from all the people of the village. It is typical before the music starts to prepare the mystic drink of Queimada while reciting the magic hum to get rid of the evil eyes, bad spirits and witchcraft. It is known that a long time ago a big carnival was celebrated in the village with handmade masks and costumes called vellaróns. Although the traditions have been lost with the passing of the years, the parish church of Riós is trying to recover them within the framework of the famous Carnaval of Verín.

Leisure

Even if Veiga do Seixo is a tiny village it has many attractive things to offer such as the European Route of the chesnut or a river pool in the summer. It is also the only village in the area with two bars, both of them offering groceries. {{coord, 41, 38, N, 7, 35, W, type:city_source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title Towns in Spain