Following heavy rain the previous night we began the final section of our Camino Frances in damp and misty conditions this morning.
We joined our fellow pilgrims on the trail and made our way for the last 15 km (just over 9 miles) towards Santiago de Compostela.
For the first couple of miles or so we passed through freshly pine scented woodland which was enhanced in such damp conditions.
We stopped at Santa Lucia church and received another stamp for our pilgrim passports.
We stopped for a coffee in this venue after about 5 miles or so. I was just about to walk past thinking it was somebody’s neat stone bungalow until I saw a couple of backpacks propped up outside!
It was still misty with light drizzle after the coffee stop.
We had reached the hill near the Chapel St Marcos and thankfully by this time the misty drizzle had disappeared and the sun began to shine. This was our first glimpse of Santiago de Compostela ahead.
As we entered the old historic part of Santiago de Compostela we saw a sign saying 1000 m to go.
After 117 km from beginning our walk in Sarria we had finally reached Santiago de Compostela Cathedral.
We had arrived at midday and from the cathedral we checked into our nearby hotel. Thankfully our room was ready so we left our backpacks and set off in search of lunch.
We found a lovely restaurant called the Milongas Taperia where I enjoyed a salad and glass of Rioja 🍷
Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the Galicia region of north west Spain and in 1985 the city became a UNESCO world heritage site. After lunch Bridget and I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around and exploring the sights and sounds of the ancient medieval streets. We still had two days left of our trip so were in no hurry to pack everything into the afternoon.
At 7:30 pm we met with (most) of the rest of our G Adventures friends and set off from the hotel towards an open air cafe bar on the Plaza de la Quintana where we met Marie.
Music fills the streets of Santiago in the evenings, especially I guess on a Saturday. As we walked towards the bar we passed a band playing in the Plaza de la Quintana which is located in the historic heart of the city near the cathedral.
Following sangrias in the open air bar we all set off to the cathedral where Elu gave us our Compostelas, our official documents to certify completion of our pilgrimage!
Elu had presented them so nicely together with a camino scallop shell.
These are the stamps I collected throughout my 6 days of walking the Camino Frances from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela (similar to the passport I had for the Via Francigena in Italy). The concept of the pilgrim passport dates back to the middle ages.
Elu had tried to book our group of 16 into a monastery for a pilgrim dinner as our final farewell celebration dinner however it was already booked up. Instead she booked us into the Enxebre restaurant where we enjoyed a tasty dinner even though a tad expensive at 15 euros for the above vegan pancake!
After dinner, as we walked across the Plaza do Obradoiro, the main square past the cathedral we could hear some lively traditional music. Intrigued we took a closer look and spent some time enjoying this atmospheric band playing their wonderful upbeat music.
The tour ended at breakfast on the Sunday morning and we said our goodbyes to our new G Adventures friends. Bridget and I had a couple of extra days in Santiago de Compostela and had booked a full day tour to Muxia and Fisterra which is covered next in a separate post. We were delighted to spend this extra time in beautiful Santiago later on the Sunday evening (after the tour) and for the following day. Below are some more Santiago activities:
Santiago de Compostela on a Sunday evening was just as lively as it had been the previous night. Where there had been a band on the Saturday we stopped for a short time to watch a street entertainer – a juggler. He spotted me watching him, stopped, hopped onto his box and posed for a photo!
Most of our G Adventures group had dispersed heading off either home or to their next destinations. However we were fortunate that Kiwi couple Naomi and Sam were also around on the Sunday evening. I had emailed the San Martin Pinario monastery to enquire about the pilgrim dinner and they confirmed that a pre-booking for a party of 4 would not be necessary. Hurrah!
The 4 of us had pre-dinner sangria’s in a nearby bar as we waited for the monastery restaurant to open at 8 pm.
We were shown to a table and for a set price of 14 euros each we had a pilgrims menu. There was a choice between two starters (noodle soup or sauted beans); two mains (tortilla or roast pork) and dessert. Included also was bread, mineral water and a bottle of red wine between the 4 of us.
Trying to be respectful and not sure of monastery etiquette we had begun the meal chatting quietly to each other. However the monastery restaurant was in a large hall which soon filled up and became lively as people tucked into their pilgrim dinners.
After dinner we had a wander around the grounds of the San Martin Pinario monastery.
Bridget and I walked across the old town with Sam and Naomi in search of a bar for final drinks but ended up making our way back to the hotel where we said our goodbyes after a lovely evening spent with them.
For our final day in Santiago de Compostela we had two main objectives! First was to visit the cathedral and take a roof top tour and second was to have a look in the pilgrim museum which we had planned for the afternoon, in the anticipation it would be air conditioned! Unfortunately we discovered the pilgrim museum to be closed on Mondays 😦
On a Monday morning we didn’t have to queue to visit the cathedral which was free to enter. I was fortunate to be standing directly in front of the main part of the cathedral when 4 important looking robed cathedral members were being photographed.
The famous swinging incense burner has been used for hundreds of years. Apparently it was used for pilgrim mass as a way of hiding the smell of pilgrims who had been walking for months on end. It would have been fascinating to see it in action… if you are there on the right day I understand it swings every Friday and can reach speeds of 60 km per hour!
We purchased tickets for the cathedral museum and booked our roof top tour for 11:30 am. There were 4 floors of the museum and we were able to freely walk around looking at the exhibits. The ground floor explained the origins of the building of the Romanesque cathedral.
The open air courtyard of the cathedral museum. We also saw various internal rooms which contained art collections, tapestries and the grand and the ornate library.
Next was the wow factor! We joined the guided roof tour at 11:30 and while it was conducted in Spanish, the guide made it very clear that the roof could be dangerous and we had to ensure we kept with the group at all times. We began on the ground floor where the guide did some talking (that I didn’t understand) for about 15 minutes.
We were led up the stairs, past a few more exhibits and as the cathedral clock was striking 12 for midday, we entered the roof! It was a bit slopey and there were deep gulleys we had to step over (and not trip into) so a decent grippy pair of shoes might be recommended, especially if it happens to be raining!
We had incredible views of the city and an excellent tour of the whole roof which lasted nearly an hour!
The finale came when we climbed the right bell tower and could see the entire city stretching out in all directions.
After that amazing roof experience it was time for lunch where one final local speciality was sampled! Bridget and I had lunch in an outdoor cafe on the Plaza de la Quintana and tasted a Galician Pie, an empanada which was basically a slice of pie filled with tuna. This was really good, an excellent little lunchtime snack.
We had checked out from our hotel in the morning and left our cases there so we spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the city, having drinks, eating ice cream and having one last meal until our taxi took us to the airport for our flight home.
I love to seek out little local independent businesses and we came across ‘Delicias de Bohemia‘ a cute little shop which sold mainly products made from local chestnuts! We chatted with the friendly owner and were tempted by her range of chestnut delicacies but sadly our purchases were limited due to our hand luggage allowance for our forthcoming flight. (Note to self: visit this shop again before packing case on any future Santiago de Compostela trips…)
We also queued at the cathedral for a short time to see the tomb of the apostle St James. We walked through a narrow stone doorway and down into the crypt where we were able to see the silver urn where it is believed his remains are kept. There was a strict ‘no photo’ policy however.
Summary
What a fabulous all round trip! With a mix of cities, countryside, hiking, Spanish food and culture, a great G Adventures group of lovely people and the coast (the Finisterre blog post is coming up shortly) we had a wonderful adventure.
This was my first trip with G Adventures and I would highly recommend them as a tour company. Everything went smoothly, the hotels were good, our luggage always arrived at each one and our guide Elu was excellent 🙂
frombluetogreen.com 
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