B-Nor Santiago de Compostela

The other two tours in Madeira and Lanzzarrotte we planned well in advance, but the trip to Santiago de Compostela was a last minute decision based on the recommendation of the two couples who we had the pleasure of dining with on the cruise. I'm glad we decided to go. It was quite a long drive, but well worth the effort. We walked around the oldest part of the town where the ...

Ah, getting up at the crack of 9:30, showering, grabbing a wonderful cup of "cafe con leche" and that wonderful goat cheese with manchego for breakfast. This is the life.....I'll have to remember this when I most need it as I'm schlepping my butt from one end of the US to the other most of the year!<br><br>The hotel is pretty nice. Roomy, clean and kinda like a European version of a W Hotel without all that annoying music playing ...

... the city which contains all the old buildings and churches is pedestrianised and huddles round the grand cathedral. The Cathedral is vast and very ornate. The guide books say that is best seen in the rain so that all the lichens and mosses are highlighted. The weather duly obliged!<br><br>The car has decided to have a sick day and has gone to the Ford dealer to recuperate! We collect it tonight and move on to Portugal in the morning.

... and then, naturally, real shopping) for a while, then sat at another cafe and got a quick snack, since it was about 7:30. We then changed quickly and went back to the same "Carpe Diem" bar we had been at the night before. When we got there, we saw a waiter we had seen there the night before. Friday night, this dude had been running laps around the block, stopping after each lap to check on the bar and make sure everything was ok, which we found pretty weird ...

... and when the sculptor sent his finished work to the bishop, the bishop was displeased with the statue's ample bosom, saying it was inappropriate for a cathedral. So, the sculptor gave her a reduction and she was placed in the cathedral. However, the cheesemakers of Galicia were displeased with the bishop's decision, and decided that they would make the signature cheese of Galicia boob-shaped in the statue's honor. Gotta love the badass cheese-makers of 15th century ...

... long ago when Pilgrims used to walk the Camino and never change their clothes. By the time they entered the church, you can imagine their odor. Odorous pilgrims is no longer the case (at least the ones I've met), but swinging the botafumeiro is still performed. It was so exciting to see this in person (Cathy and I had seen this on Burt Wolfe's travel show on PBS back in late December. I've still got the episode saved on the DVR ...

... We then decided that it would have to be SDAIS and that it was counter to immersion programs. You either sink or swim. Thanks to some good friends, my floaties are barely keeping my head above water based on our collective knowledge. We all certainly have had conversations about what it feels like to be in this position of being smart, but not being able to access the material and prove that we know anything. What an experience!

39 km. We arrived in Santiago yesterday. It really is glorious to be here after such a long walk, though we know we are going to continue to Finisterre starting to-morrow. When we arrived, we went directly into the church to perform the time-honoured traditions of all pilgrims. Sadly, we weren't able to perform any of them, being blocked every step of the way. The first step is, once inside the ...

We arrived in Santiago around 10.00am after a night at Monte de Gozo from where one could (in medieval times), on a clear day, see the spires of Santiago Cathedral. We didn´t actually see any spires yesterday and I was way too tired to go yomping around looking for any cathedral spires - decided I would get my fill of looking at said spires once I got here - especially as we got 6 days in town. We duly found the pilgrim office and presented our credentials and got the ...

... After 20 minutes of wandering we could find nothing redeeming about Vigo, so we headed on to Pontevedra. Pontevedra was a charming little place of 50, 000. Nice little plazas and a great cheap restaurant where Francesco was finally able to get pasta - he was in serious withdrawal after four days. The nightlife in Pontevedra was a little lacking, so we hung out in our room. Our discussions of cultural differences led to Francesco referring to North ...