Blogs from Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain, Europe - page 3

And so, after the dismal Ferrol, we came to Santiago de Compostela, the last stop on our Ruta de Paradores, the focus of religious pilgrimage since the early 9th century and the prime focus of our trip. Having got to Santiago fairly early and driven right into the main square we dropped our bags and the car...valet parking! Then set off to explore... Saturday morning and plenty going on... we found an excellent market, enjoyed a beer in the sunshine and then stumbled upon a festival of local culture. There were bands, drums, dancers, bears, wolves and many exotic costumes...great colourful noisy fun. We saw one lad who was drumming so hard that his knuckles were bloody..see the picture - and he was one of many suffering for their art. Santiago - St James the Apostle ... read more

Never buy an extra bag allowance from Vueling Airlines unless you are intending to import a small car as hand luggage. My €20 extra was because I am carrying a backpack that does not comply with the size or weight limits. What a joke! People were boarding with backpacks with sleeping rolls attached that were way out of the tiny requirements of Vueling. They are larger than mine. I’ve been duped. I have a personal theory on flight luggage allowances. I think each seat should have a weight allowance, comprised of the combined passenger and luggage weight. If you are tiny, bring all your stuff, but if you are solid, or tall , this is taken into account and excess weight may apply. Planes fly on weight, fuel costs are higher, user pays. If this seems ... read more

Everyone has gone home. I woke this morning with no plan for the day. I’m really just waiting to meet Tim and start walking tomorrow. I had breakfast with Maryanne and Margaret Caffyn, the author of a book on the Camino. She spoke of the different routes she has walked, and has been in Santiago for a month. She bought a luxury tour group over. Agnes met us later and we visited the local fresh produce market so she could stock up on cheese and meat to take back to Germany. The markets run off a central square and the enclosed stone corridors are divided into meat, fish, vegetables, and cheeses. It’s an older version of the Victoria Market in Melbourne but more symmetrically arranged. The flower stalls fought a losing battle with smell of the ... read more

I’m suffering sleep deprivation. The night before last, I received a message from booking .com, informing me that my credit card details were invalid, and they may cancel my booking. After informing them I had paid cash for my booking and was currently in bed at that booking, and after the property acknowledged the payment, they cancelled the booking at no cost to me. This all occurred at about 3.15am. Last night in Santiago de Compostela, I received an aborted phone call, that rang just long enough to startle me into lurching back and hitting my head on a stone wall, because I keep my phone under the pillow, at 1.18am. It was like waking up and knocking myself out again, all at once. Number ended in 2089. Please check the time difference before calling again. ... read more

The extra couple of days in Santiago De Compostela have been fantastic....took a day trip BY BUS...to Finisterre and Muxia on the coast about an hour out. So nice to sit back and relax and take everything in....a fabulous day down on the Atlantic Ocean with lunch stop in Finisterre enjoying some lovely seafood. Visited the only waterfall in Europe that flows into the sea, the largest horreo in the world (the buildings set off the ground to dry out all their grains etc), beautiful to see some sea for a change. Have had some great meals here too, have the best breaky place within 50 metres, bar 10 metres and now know that Spain is the biggest comsumer of gin, tried a couple too and very nice, they ask you when you want them to ... read more