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Published: September 14th 2019
Whenever I have to wake at a certain time, my body makes the alarm obsolete. Sleep last night was fractured and infrequent.
We had to catch a train to Santiago de Compostela this morning, and still weren’t too sure of the surest way to get to the station. The options were walking, largely uphill with 2 suitcases, taxi, or my preferred bus trip. I went to the bus stop early to work out the likelihood that this was the way to go. I spoke to a lady, and then an elderly man who joined us, and without a word of English between them, I managed to walk away convinced, even with a Saturday timetable, that the bus was the best bet.
I went back to get Sue and our gear, and we checked out, dropped the key off, and sat within sight of the bus road drinking coffees. Coffee with gratis cake is always welcome, and the smell of the fresh cooked breakfasts being cooked made me wish I hadn’t had my muesli and yoghurt back at the apartment. If we’re based somewhere long enough, we buy some supplies and prepare some meals at home. You can always take
Out Balcony Balustrade In Vigo
Does anyone else see this as possibility harking back to the old colonial days. The images look like people with exotic head wearfood to the next place, but obviously this only works in apartments or houses.
Didn’t see many relevant buses, so I wanted to go to the bus stop, just in case it turned into Plan B, walking. A helpful, young Columbian girl advised us which bus to catch, but as it differed from my research, we started walking.....and she followed us. We walked together to the next bus stop, she spoke to the driver, and another passenger was going to tell us when to leave the bus ; how good are spaniards ! The girl didn’t even board the bus; she was our guardian angel.
The bus we rode on didn’t go to the station, but you could see it from the coach, at the stop we got off. The helpful passenger even pushed the ‘next stop please’ button.
Train stations in Spain are high security facilities and you pass through the same requirements at a local station as you would for an international flight. It’s reassuring but a tad inconvenient. Empty the pockets, take off the belt, watch and all the piercings, but at least there’s no booth to pass through. I think they’re looking for
An Early Morning Shopper Returning Home.
Mind you, early morning in Vigo seems to be 8.30am. No one on the streets the obvious stuff, like the assault rifles they had swung over their shoulders.
I‘ve been to Santiago de Compostela Station before and knew walking to the Monestario San Martin Pinario, our accommodation, was out of the question. Taxis aren’t much dearer than the bus, so we joined the queue. A 10 minute ride cost 5 euros and dropped us at the door. The restricted areas of these ancient towns have automatic bollards that authorised vehicles can lower with a swipe card.
I‘m excited to be back in Santiago. It is a warm sunny day, and after checking in we’ll go for a walk to the Plaza do Obradoiro, the main plaza framed by the Cathedral, the Parador - the most expensive hotel in town - and the government building. It was crowded, mainly with pilgrims ( the traditional term for people walking the Camino), taking photos, sitting in quiet reflection of what they had just achieved, or like me, wondering what comes next. If you’ve never walked all, or some of it, it must be difficult to see what the attraction is. I sometimes can’t think about it without getting emotional. When we walked it in 2014, on
San Martin Pinario, Santiago
Our accommodation for the next 4 nights the last day, Sue and Tim were happy they had almost achieved it. I was depressed that, at the end of the day, it was done. Sue had a hard time on that walk and has to be admired for not accepting the offers from Natalia in Poland, to pull out and go shopping with her and her mum. Sue was not to be denied and walked with shin splints on the last day to earn her Compostela.
Check in was simple, but rather than walk to the square, we had lunch in the grand dining hall of the Monastery. This beautiful room has granite walls and ceiling, embellished with grapes and wheat motifs protruding from the wall at the entry end. The ceiling had crests inlaid, and the rows of white covered simple tables seemed to sit in deference to the setting. We had a very filling 3 course lunch, complete with a bottle of good red wine, so Sue tells me, and a bottle of water. What happens to the left over wine I don’t know, but I don’t think you leave with it swinging from your hand . Lunch was a bargain at 24 euros for
Our Corridor
Not much room between those doors 2.
A poor nights sleep and the calming effect of some wine had Sue heading to our room for a nap. I wanted to sort out tickets for the Cathedral roof walk but unfortunately, due to restoration works, it was not happening until the rooftop is restored. I‘ve done it twice and recommend it as the best way to get a panoramic view of Santiago.
Banking is another thing to be careful about in Europe. Today I wanted to withdraw cash, but when the machine warned it would charge me 5 euros, I walked up to another bank, with the same name as the remote machine, and was charged nothing. Those charges add up.
Walking around Santiago is a familiar feeling for me. This is my 4th visit and I estimate that I have spent about 16 days wandering its ancient streets, visiting shops, restaurants and points of interest. I could almost be a guide, as long as I couldn’t be fact checked. I like the creed, you should never let the truth get in the way of a good story. I’ll tell you about the drop-bears of Santiago one day.
At the moment we’re in
the comfortable lounge area of the Monastery; Sue is reading the paper and I’m.., well you know what I’m doing. I don’t think the picture issue has been fixed yet, but I’m confident it’s not my fault. I’ll try again later but today has been a slow photo day anyway.
See you soon.
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
I also stayed at the San Martin Pinaro...
a well deserved respite at the end of a long Camino walk! I hope you edit this blog to add pictures once the problem is fixed!