Some images from Galicia that recall Tolkien's advice: “Beware of the Sea!”

I am extremely fortunate to live in Galicia, the most beautiful region in Spain. And to this luck I add another privilege.

A golden sunset on the beautiful beach of Patos and a quote from 'The Little Prince'
Patos beach, the beautiful surfer's paradise on the southern shore of the Vigo Estuary

That privilege is to live near the coast and to be able to enjoy the sound of the sea with some frequency. It is what I call "the voice of Ulmo", after some words from the British writer J.R.R. Tolkien in "The Silmarillion":

"Ulmo loves both Elves and Men, and never abandoned them, not even when they lay under the wrath of the Valar. At times he wit come unseen to the shores of Middleearth, or pass far mland up firths of the sea, and there make music upon his great horns, the Ulamúri, that are wrought of white shell; and those to whom that music comes hear it ever after in their hearts, and longing for the sea never leaves them again."

This is the music that accompanies us, the inhabitants of the coasts of Galicia, on sunny days and on stormy days, when the sea hits our estuaries with great fury, reminding us that we owe it respect. In this same work, Tolkien captured the meaning that this music had for the elves:

"Ulmo, by the counsel of the Valar, came to the shores of Middle-earth and spoke with the Eldar who waited there, gazing on the dark waves; and because of his words and the music which he made for them on his horns of shell their fear of the sea was turnedrather to desire."

In "The Two Towers," the second part of "The Lord of the Rings," Tolkien put these words into a warning from Queen Galadriel to the elf Legolas about the sea:

"Legolas Greenleaf long under tree
In joy thou hast lived. Beware of the Sea!
If thou hearest the cry of the gull on the shore,
Thy heart shall then rest in the forest no more."

Galadriel was referring to the call of Ulmo, which continued to ring out on the shores, summoning the Elves to the Undying Lands beyond the great ocean of Belegaer. It was to this land that the last Elven ships sailed after the War of the Ring, carrying Bilbo Baggins on one of them.

Here are some images taken at Patos beach, in Nigrán (Pontevedra), on the southern shore of the Vigo Estuary. Whether it's calm, in "surf mode" (like this day) or in a storm, this impressive sound always reminds me of that advice from the old professor: