GH Hotel 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 ...

... of young people around. The cathedral is surrounded by the old city with its small streets and medieval feel about it. It is supposed to rain all day today so we've got a late start.....but no rush. Enjoy the photos. Today's goal is portraits......



October 22, 2009

Made it to Barcelona late last night (well after
midnight). We had a slightly
delayed flight out of Santiago--raining ...

... 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!

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.

... Doglas chain-smokes and drinks several Red Bull and whiskey's, clearly looking peeved about the situation. About an hour later, he tries to bring us to nightclub, also in his mafia circle, but we decline. He leaves, we spend about 10 minutes more at our VIP place, and then decide to start looking for somewhere else.

It is about 3am at this time, aka right when clubs should start to open, and it is a Saturday night. However, the streets are COMPLETELY ...

... and mass was at noon, so when we got to Santiago, we walked straight through the historic district to the cathedral. The cathedral, honestly, looked like most other big Catholic cathedrals I've seen throughout Europe, maybe even a little smaller and less grand. The main difference was this one was absolutely, completely FULL of people!! There were obviously a lot of tourists, but mostly, the place was packed with pilgrims wearing their hiking backpacks and clothes and with ...

... Joe and Wanda Corn. They recounted how even they, very seasoned travelers, were conned in Barcelona. While in Barcelona, they had stopped to help some guy on the street who was asking for directions when a uniformed man (presumably a police officer) comes over and chases the first man away. He asks for their passports and Wanda lets him go through her money belt for it. He looks at her passport, counts her cash, and hands it ...

... her flash drive to transfer photos and notes from my computer to the blog, so now I think I finally have that computer issue all squared away. My iTunes aren't on my laptop, so I was planning on listening to Pandora. But, without internet that is not possible. So it is really quiet, sometimes a little too quiet, and lacking in sensory stimulation. There is no TV in the dorm, so aside from checking MSN online, I am pretty disconnected from the outside ...

... pilgrim pillow fight club meeting. We had a great turn out in the cathedral square and it was a fantastic way to finish off this odyssey. I am also relieved to be finished with this blog. It has been my homework, my guilty conscience, my little burden, my hair shirt if you will, all these weeks and I'm glad this is the last entry. When I get home in a couple of weeks I will upload photos to go with each entry and maybe a short video of one of the early pillow fights. If you're lucky.

... water to drink. 2) How few material possessions one actually needs. 3) The miracle of the camino in the way it provides shelter and food when they are needed. 4) The solitude of daily walking is glorious but one needs companionship at day´s end - why oh why don´t we speak more languages. 5) The commonality of Europe with shared history, faith and language structures. The various roads from various countries to Santiago seem to form the warp threads on which Europe hangs.

... here is the bagpipe, if you can believe that! Madrid has been fun, we´ve met up with some great people there. My friend Angie´s friend Elia will be taking us out for a traditional night of Spanish revelry for my birthday next weekend, so we are excited. Before that, I´ll send word from Portugal, as we head to Porto bright and early tomorrow.