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Santiago – Compostella received!
Santiago de Compostela, Spain |
Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Stayed in: MunduAlbergue
Woke this morning and didn’t need to dress and pack in the dark! We are not walking today, hooray! We first went to St. Francis of Assisi church to get the Compostella only given every 100 years in recognition of his pilgrimage in 1214. A small line but worth the trouble. They only sign them a few hours of the day, right before mass.
Next we went to the pilgrimage office for our official Compostella. We also plan to get a certificate of distance… Which costs 3 euros. They also sell the tubes there so you can keep the documents nice.
Line is a little longer, but not much. We met a biking group from Iceland while in line. Always fun to share our stories and hear their stories. There was no monk at this desk and no real question was asked other than a paper you fill out where you check off “religious” “spiritual” or “other”. Very organized and they show you the Way they are writing your name … In Latin.. Which is cool. So it is done! Wow! A little kiss and a few tears.
Off to the Galicia tourist office to determine how to get to our beach house! In cangas! We did a little searching via trip advisor and found a beach condo just 100 meters from the beach. Price was right!
Next we head over to meet the girls at the “horse head fountain ” by the cathedral. We head back to the pilgrimage office and get a table at a bar right across from the line. So perfect ! The girls are in line and we are seeing many Camino friends as they receive their Compostella! Very fun!
Food is good at this bar and we order some open face toast items … The smoked salmon was just terrific! Stew got something garlic and mushrooms that he thought was incredible. The girls had to figure out what they were doing that night for a bed so we split up and they headed for the youth hostel and we headed back to ours to do some wash and take a nap.
The girls ended up with no bed and thankfully room at our alb… So they headed over with their packs and we got them settled. The girls and I decided to get some groceries for dinner and walk around Santiago. We all think this city is wonderful and reminds us of Italy. It is fun just to sit on cathedral stairs and watch the people. So many hugs, high-fives, and tears …
The girls took me to this great little pizza shop they found and then to a Hindu place for a salmon skewer… Just some appetizers :). The salmon skewer was awesome: salmon, girkin pickle, cherry tomatoes, cheese, peppers, an interesting combo.
We returned to the Mundualbergue Alb with some food and veggies to stir fry. Had a nice evening cooking and chatting. Our night was not so good- some parties in our alb came in very late and basically had some sort of light that lit up the whole floor. Then their were so many snorers. Several that shouted out every now and then. It was an interesting night!
No pack worn today…
Buen Camino!