Cantabrico 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 ...

... 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 ...

Hi All

Sitting in a restaurant waiting for our pizzas - we are all done with bocadillos - dry, dry bread with slices of cheese and dried out ham. Sorry to say I forgot my hat two nights ago but we ended up at a albergue off the track which was a piece of heaven. The bunk beds which I have a permanent bruise on the top of my head from, were quite comfortable, complete with sheets and ...

... 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 ...

... la Alameda, a 5 minute walk from the Cathedral, where we got an amazing panoramic view over the city and of the cathedral. We then hurried back to the cathedral for a tour of the bishop's palace and cathedral roof, which are attached to the Cathedral proper. The palace was not particularly interesting, as far as palaces go, because it was mostly empty. But it was totally worth the climb when we got to the roof of the Cathedral. From there, we had amazing views of the entire ...

Arzua - Santiago de Compostela = 41 km Bonjour chers amis et amies, Aujourd'hui etait une autre journee maussade, comme hier. En fait, c'etait plus maussade que maussade... On s'en fout-tu de la temperature tu penses? Je suis arrive a Santiago de Compostela!!! Ce fut une longue journee mais j'y suis parvenu. Je suis parti une quinzaine de minutes plus tot. Le soleil et la lumiere du jour ont plutot tarde a se montrer la binette. J'ai marche presqu'une ...

... together. Our meeting place was at the Chapel of San Marco on Monte de Gozo (Mount Joy), at the end of our last hill climb, where we got our last passport stamp. It was pouring at this point, and we had 4 km to go. Tradition claims that if you're the first one in your group to sight the Cathedral towers in the distance, you can officially change your name to "King". Jim was the first one to the top, but John was the first one to spot the spires. We took ...

... In Spanish, Yakob became Yago and then Iago (Yes, the same name as the villain in "Othello.") The saint, the brother of Jesus, was "Santo Iago," but since the Spanish like to elide vowels, it shortened to Santiago = St. James. But they used the other form of Jacob, "Jacobo" as the basis for calling someone who had traveled to Santiago a "jacobita." Of course, some of you might object to my claiming pilgrim status, since I made the trip unconscious (asleep ...

... and rooves are tile, rather than slate. The granaries, which are long, narrow sheds, with steep rooves and ventilated side walls, are elevated on slim stone pillars, with stone discs on to to discourage rats. MP has to use his fractured Spanish to request a banyo stop for Jerry, but it is a long time coming, and he has to make use of the facilities in the emergency ward of the hospital when we stop at a bus depot in Cee. Emergency indeed. Cee is actually on ...