Monasterio Aciveiro Pontevedra

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 ...

... the lobby. Dinner last night was quite exceptional. Paul had the duck confit and I had the pork chop....both were delicious.

So we left Ribadeo yesterday and took the coastal road. It was like I imagine Highway 1 down the California coast used to be in the 50s. We stopped at Cathedral Beach and I'm attaching the photos. Santiago is a big-ish city with lots of traffic and its accompanying exhaust. It's a university city so ...

... 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.

... our own bathroom and a room to ourselves. Also had awonderful meal served by a grandpa who reminded Shawn and I of Oscar. He went out of his way to solve our language barrier and also pured soup over sara´s arm and went to get a wet cloth to wipe it up - he was so cute. Mary here--I seem to be the only one the bed bugs are drawn to ,no one else has been bitten,except for the fact ...

... dessert crepe, and then naturally, some more coffee.... As we were eating and drinking, there was a street jazz musician sitting in the square playing music. Otherwise, the plaza was completely quiet, there was a gentle breeze, a few puffy clouds in the sky, and a giant, beautiful church presiding over this square. At this moment, we realized... this was about as European Perfect as it gets.

We finally left the restaurant after about 3 hours and went window ...

... were actually wearing the shell. It was traditional for pilgrims to put the shell either around their neck or on their pack to identify themselves as a religious pilgrim, so I was intrigued by how few people seemed to have done the pilgrimage for purely religious reasons. Our guide told us that now, the pilgrimage is just at common among outdoor enthusiasts as it is among religious Catholics.

Since the cathedral was filling up for mass, we left to walk to the Parque ...

... playing cards and sipping on vino tinto. Dinner was served at 8:30 - chicken noodle soup, crusty bread, salad, french fries, roast lamb, with nougat ice cream and chocolate sauce for dessert. I was stuffed! It's so hard eating late and going to bed with a full stomach. Of course, that's much better than going to bed with an empty stomach.... We walked 19 km today; we've walked about 125 km in the last seven days. And still, no blisters!

... to spend them! At Portomarin we crossed the bridge over the Rio Mino. In the 1960s the Old Towne was flooded to make way for a hydroelectric plant further downriver and the most important buildings, such as the Church, were moved stone by stone (numbered) to the new town centre. We had our passport stamped in the church and rested/had a drink & snack/used the facilities, before continuing. Well marked paths took us ...

... by him. Eventually the matador calls for a sword and charges the bull, ideally putting the 3 foot sword all the way through the back...but this did not happen the majority of the time...I did not like this part. Lastly if the bull does not die then he takes another small sword, approaches the bull and gets it to lower the head and precisely stabs the bull to immediately kill it. The judges decide if they did well or not (one of the matador´s ...

... everywhere. There's a very strong Celtic influence here, so lots of bagpipes and drums. These little bands of musicians and costumed people have been making lots of little parades through the town all day, and I spent a good while just following them around. (Or was I following the men? I think I like the Spanish ones the best.) Every now and then one little band would bump into another on the street, and then they'd play together. There's just a really good celebratory vibe in this place.