Our Collaboration with AEMS

I want to tell you how fishing became my greatest passion from childhood.

From a very early age, my father would take me on his bicycle to fish in a nearby river — we had no car, so the bicycle was our means of transport. There he taught me how to cast a rod. I quickly caught my first fish, but the one truly hooked was me, and my passion was born. As soon as I was independent, I was constantly travelling, accumulating fishing experiences in different places, until I finally moved to Huesca and discovered the magic of the Pyrenees. I would spend weekends sleeping in a sleeping bag and cooking the trout I caught. Over the years, I came to understand the importance of preserving our environment, and since then I have practised only catch and release fishing.

My story with rivers has always been a love story. When I arrived in Galicia, I found a fisherman's paradise, but also many problems: poaching and illegal trout sales. Together with other anglers, this motivated me to co-found the Galician River Fishing Association, fighting for a law to ban the sale of wild trout. Through great effort, we managed to reach 2,000 members and secure the approval of the law in the Galician Parliament.

I was also part of AEMS Ríos con Vida, a national association for the protection of salmonids. Despite the difficulties, our work bore fruit. We reported a hydroelectric plant that had blocked the Xallas river, preventing the only waterfall that flows directly into the sea in Europe from flowing freely. Thanks to our efforts, that waterfall — the Fervenza do Xallas — is today a tourist attraction.

AEMS has succeeded in making many of Galicia's rivers catch-and-release, contributing to a 20% improvement in river recovery. This organisation has been one of the driving forces of my life, but not the only one.

Twenty-two years ago, health problems forced me to leave my work on farms — and that is how Galician Country Homes was born, with the mission of repopulating rural Galicia and offering a more sustainable way of life. Starting out was difficult, but through perseverance the company grew. Today, with a passionate team, we offer solutions for those seeking to escape urban life.

Our collaboration with AEMS is a natural one, born of shared passion and shared goals — it is in our DNA. My family, AEMS and Grupo Country Homes are the driving forces of my life.