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Published: October 1st 2007
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Santiago de Compostela
Large, dark & not very welcoming - but the sky was blue. Bom Dia Bo & Dud,
Week 10 and we are ending the week in Portugal.
On Tuesday we had 2 new experiences. Our first was catching a bus into Santiago de Compostela and getting back without a hitch; our second was finding a Spanish Post Office and buying a stamp to post a letter to Torre del Mar - success on both counts.
So, Santiago de Compostela, the end of the pilgrim route - I’ve heard it said that it’s the journey that counts not the arrival, and speaking as one who enjoys travel I can acknowledge this. However, if I had walked the 100 km route that you are required to complete to earn the title of pilgrim, with nothing but a walking stick and a shell (slight exaggeration but all pilgrims seem to have both); I would have been rather pissed off on arrival. The city is extremely old, and has a magical warren of streets, restaurants, café’s and shops (selling would you believe sticks with shells attached) but the church is so dark and medieval; we found it a huge disappointment. And, the story of the pilgrimage - well, (stand by for a bit of culture). St.
The Man Himself
It's very strange suddenly seeing hands appearing from behind & embrassing the icon. James (disciple), is said to have spread the word of the gospel across Spain until he reached Compostela. For some reason, he then decided to return to the Holy Land where Herod (remember the one who send JC for crucifixion, one of his lot) immediately had James executed (head chopped off). Now, on his journey across Spain James was accompanied by 2 followers who decide to take his body back to Compostela!! Now, you can see where it all starts falling apart a little, 2,000 years ago carting a stinking body all that way. However, a church has been on the site since the 11th century and modernised as recently as the 18th century. The alter has a huge representation of St. James and the masses queue to hug him.
Despite my disparaging remarks I think God is chasing us again - when we got to the church the main doors were locked and a notice pointed us towards a side door. Eucharist was being celebrated and mass was in progress - I found it truly mesmerising, especially as a tiny fragile nun was singing unaccompanied. The incense burner was the size of an old fashioned tin dust bin
Incense Swingers
It took 4 burly blokes to get this up and swinging. and several priests were swinging it across the congregation to great applause. Anyway, the long and the sort of it is - if you are passing Santiago de Compostela, it’s worth a look but don’t make a special journey.
Our journey into Portugal on Wednesday was uneventful. It’s a bit of a non event this boarder crossing lark - there’s no ‘last pub in Spain’ business like when you go to Wales. We just went across a bridge and there was a sign saying Portugal. Camping Orbitur Angeiras is well sign posted from the motorway and stood need to be because you could easily think you were on the wrong route. Suddenly the tarmac runs out and its cobbles all the way - we were most definitely all shook up by the time we got to the site.
I needed to shop so an outing to a supermarket was a necessity - I think I’m going to have to do a whole letter on the art of supermarket shopping in northern Spain and Portugal. Getting into the car park here was something akin to negotiating Meadowhall in the middle of a Formula 1 race without any road markings
Sticks & Shells
The sign of the 'true' pilgrim - we weren't tempted to buy one. or knowing who had right of way, and there was a fly over.
Yesterday was a long day out, by bus (we’re getting good at public transport) into Porto. Oh how we love Porto - it contrasts between historic opulence and crumbling ruin, lines of washing, TV aerials and satellite dishes. The streets down to the river are steep, cobbled and the houses, cafes and shops crammed in tightly. Old ladies sit outside their homes selling fish from washing up bowls and smart elderly men, who all seem to wear trilby hats, two sizes too small for them gossip on street corners or in the local bar (the size of someone’s front room).
We opted for the Red Bus Sightseeing Tour (€10 per person), free headphones, good commentary and hop on, hop off service - a couple of hours well spent. We had lunch on the waterfront at the Sandeman’s restaurant before embarking on the cellar tour - very informative, and the whole place smelt just wonderful, oak barrels, red wine and brandy, very festive. Then the tasting - unfortunately the couple who we sat with didn’t like the taste, lucky for them that they chose to sit
Port Houses
They were calling to us from across the Douro with us. We had money off vouchers so clanked our way back to the bus stop. We have developed a taste for white port, it’s very nice on its own but half to half with tonic, ice and a slice makes for a superb aperitif.
Being slightly relaxed certainly helped on the journey home. The journey took over an hour and a half - the traffic was unreal, imagine the worst traffic you can and then every bad driver you’ve ever come across. Accompany this by a lovely lady bus driver who did not want to leave anyone behind so when the bus was full she stood up to assess the situation and then let everyone on anyway - they were standing 2 deep in the isle (Howard had a rather rotund young man with 2 shopping bags almost on his lap at one point).
It’s been an action packed week - we’re having a day off today, cleaning up and doing washing (Ugh!!)
Love & Hugs & Kisses
H & H x
P.S. Howard sends his apologies, his excuse is, he’s been too busy taking photos to remember to update the journey map. Well he’s
Contrasts
Living side by side with dereliction. managed it now but says you may need to click on the minus button below the zoom slider on the left-hand side of the map three times to get the journey to display properly!
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