26 September 2022 - Santiago de Compostela

Miles driven today = 54

Total Miles to date = 1,618

We woke up to another glorious morning and I couldn't resist another photo of the Finnisterre lighthouse from our clifftop parking spot before we packed up and left.

Compare that to where we are for this evening's overnight stop which is basically a large, featureless motorhome and bus park.  There are facilities here and it's secure.  It's a bit over €18, which allows us to stay until 8pm tomorrow should we so choose.

The journey here was a trouble free drive of approximately 90 minutes through the verdant Galician landscape.  When we arrived, the effervescent female parking attendant told us to get ourselves settled and to come back for a map which she subsequently gave us and pointed out a walking route which took in all the major sights of the historical centre.  From here it's a 20 to 30 minute downhill walk to the Praza do Obradoiro in front of the Cathedral, from where the walk commenced.

I mentioned the other day that Santiago de Compostela is considered the holiest place in Spain and ranked by many as 3rd in the Catholic hit parade behind Jerusalem and Rome.  The reason for this is the Cathedral is supposed to be the final resting place for the mortal remains of St James, although they have managed to lose and rediscover him at least twice, so who really knows if this is actually the case.

The sheer number of churches, palaces, monasteries, convents, universities and other buildings is just staggering in such a relatively small area.  I'd probably end up misidentifying half of them anyway.  So rather than regurgitate the Rough Guide and Wikipedia I'm just going to put up a selection of photos to give you a flavour.  Don't forget you can click on any of these images to see an enlarged version.

A couple of other photos which may need a little more explanation:-

This shop sold goods which were exclusively made from sweet chestnuts.

On some streets, every other shop is a jeweller.  Galicia is very proud of its Celtic ancestry so a lot of Celtic symbolism was evident.

After a good couple of hours of marching up and down streets and alleyways we were ravenous. We kept our eyes out for any restaurants who might do the navajas razor clams we had missed out on a couple of days ago.  We spotted a little place called Codex and ordered their €35 mixed seafood platter for 2, and this is what turned up ...

From the left; shore crab, percebes, clams, cockles, langoustine, scallops, edible crab and mussels.  

Percebes, or goose barnacles are a delicacy around these parts.  Initially I thought they were a bit chewy until I realised you remove the leathery outer casing before tucking into the succulent meat inside.

Once we had demolished that lot with a very pleasant bottle of the house Albarino we headed back to the Cathedral.  There were lengthy queues to get in when we walked by earlier but seeing as it was now siesta time the queues had disappeared.  I'm glad we persisted.  

This place is simply breathtaking with unbelievable amounts of gold leaf used to embellish the knave.

A few more pics:-

We have both absolutely loved Santiago and Lisa reckons it's her favourite of the towns we have visited so far on this trip.  But I think that's us pretty much done with urbanisation again for a bit.  It'll be back to the coast now for our last few days in Spain before we cross the border into Portugal.

Now if you'll excuse me I have to retrieve my undies from the laundrette.  It's not all glamour on the road with us you know!

27 September 2022 - The "Cockle Coast"