Rias Altas La Coruña

... have been gathering for centuries to visit the tomb of St James. The Cathedral itself was magnificent, and the surrounding buildings where also very impressive. Shopping in the narrow flag stoned streets was a delight. We stayed at were given refreshments in a former hospital dating from around 1513 which is a listed building and is now a first class hotel. It was all very grand.

... 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 ...

We travelled through thick fog over and through the mountains on typically heroic Spanish roads. They cut through mountains and build viaducts over the valleys. We drove through and around weary looking Pilgrims to our campsite which was on the Camino de Santiago. It was closed. After some interesting encounters with some locals, one old man practically ran away when asked for directions, we found this camp site.

The centre ...

... kids asleep except Dami who is a night owl) after midnight. Oops the campground closes (and is locked) at 11. A tour of town found a parking lot by the beach. We joined a pair of vw busses and bedded down for the night. Classy. We ARE trailer trash.

             

... 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 ...

We woke up to find ourselves at a very local place. It was the beach the folks from a caruna come to to get away from the city. And most (as in everyone but us) of the people there had "summer" campers. So we made like locals and enjoyed the beach, Everett doing ...

Our day went very much according to plan. Nice!! A morning enjoying Sao Joao de P. with pastries and coffee and strolling the tiny streets. An on time depature had us in Santiago de Compostela by 3:30 after enjoying the amazing country side. A quick tour of the amazing ...

... traditional "veiera", or scallop shell, the symbol of St. James, attached to their bags. Given their clothing and backpacks, and their smell, it was pretty clear that they had literally just arrived in the city and walked straight into the cathedral. The "rules" of the pilgrimage say that to be a true pilgrim, you have to walk at least 100km or bike or horse-ride at least 200km, but there were people of all ages, shapes and sizes. The most interesting thing to me was how few ...

... the Tower of Hercules, a light house built by the Romans around 1900 years ago. This is the oldest light house that is still in operation. Originally, the Romans built a ramp circling the building for oxen to haul wood up to the top. You can still where the ramp was attached in the picture, by the diagonal lines going up the sides of the building.

Later in the ...

... langs veien. Svaert mange startet i Sarria for der starter de som vil ha sertifikatet paa over 100km. - Bla.a. har vi gaatt sammen med en hel skoleklasse 14-15aaringer - som er svaert forskjellig motivert for aa gaa 100km. - interessant. Pilgrimmer er en svaert sammensatt gruppe- bare de faerreste gar hele veien - mindre enn 5% vil jeg tro. Vi er virkeli blant veteanene naa - og vi foler vel ogsàa det litt slik. Mange av de nye langs veien hart bare en ...