“Nobody can bring you peace but yourself.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

This morning we started our journey to Spain. Our next destination is Santiago de Compostela, the end of the Camino pilgrimage. It’s only a few hours north of Porto. When you cross the border from Portugal into Spain you lose an hour, although we only headed north and did not seem to cross any major longitudinal lines.

We made a stop for a late lunch in Pontevedra. I wish we had just continued to drive the additional 40-50 minutes directly to Santiago de Compostela so we would have more time there without the rain, but when you’re on a tour there is a schedule that isn’t always your own.

We arrived at Parador de Santiago de Compostela, our home for the next two nights. It is a 15th century building that was used as a hospital and inn for the pilgrims, and is considered one of the oldest hotels in Spain. It was built by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1486. The architecture was amazing, along with the beautiful woodwork throughout the building. Being built with stone it was chilly in some of the rooms, and the heat didn’t come on until evening. It is the perfect place to stay as a tourist or pilgrim. If you are not familiar with the Camino Pilgrimage, I suggest you watch the movie, The Way, with Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez. I’m thinking when I retire, I may hit the trail for a month. Who will join me?

Some of us decided to take advantage of the sunny skies and walk around the area. We headed to Alameda Park to see the statue of the two Mary’s, and get a beautiful view of the top of the cathedral. The story of the two Mary’s is quite interesting, so I suggest you look it up.

We spent the morning learning about the various buildings in the Praza Do Obradoiro. We saw pilgrims make their way to the center in celebration on this very soggy morning, and take their pictures in front of the Cathedral. The Cathedral is massive, and was constructed between the 11th and 13th centuries. Over the main entrance, or Portico da Gloria, stands St. James high above. The relics of St. James are believed to lie in a crypt under the alter. Many will walk behind the high alter and embrace the sliver statue of St. James. There is so much to see in the building, you could spend quite a bit of time soaking in the detailed pieces of art. We were not fortunate enough to see the swinging of the Botafumeiro; what an amazing sight that must be.

After our tour, we were on our own. I wasn’t much for exploring as they were getting well over 1.5” of rain throughout the day. Lynne and I headed to the Centro Galego da Arte Contemporanea (CGAC). I do enjoy walking through contemporary galleries and renaming the art, but honestly, some of it I could do without. They say this museum has an “impressive” collection, but I wasn’t overly impressed. I did find one piece that I did enjoy.

As we made our way back to the Parador, the rain was coming down in buckets, and I had enough. I’m on vacation and the thought of staying out in the cold rain was very unappealing to me, so I called it a day.

Tomorrow we are off to Leon. Fingers crossed as the forecast appears to be more promising as we head towards the Basque Country. Good night, and to all the pilgrims on their journey to Santiago de Compostela ~ Buen Camino!

Ciao 💕