Arriving in Santiago de Compostela:
We arrived in Santiago de Compostela the first of June in order to ride by bus to our starting point for the Ingles Way of the Camino de Santiago, which was the port city of Ferrol. We would be returning to Santiago de Compostela a week later to end our walk at the Cathedral! We made the most of the evening and next morning in the beautiful city of Santiago before our bus-ride to Ferrol.
At the restaurant Casa do Xantar, I tried a Galician stew. Galicia is well-known for their stews. As the weather in the city was quite cold with a strong wind this evening, hot stew sounded like the perfect choice. It came in a very big bowl and was thick with broccoli, potatoes, beans, and other vegetables. Very tasty! I had prawns, as well, and spaghetti with squid ink, all very good, and a coca-cola served with slice of lemon, to drink. My daughter, meanwhile, opted for “lacon con grelos” which is one of the most famous Galician dishes, according to my research, and consists of pork shoulder or ham hock with turnip greens.
We walked around the beautiful Old Town in Santiago, taking in the legendary Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela; and the many shops, outdoor markets, restaurants, and bars. We sat on the steps of the Cathedral to write postcards, and take in the sights of people passing by this evening—tourists, locals, and pilgrims—and the sounds of outdoor music, people talking and laughing, and a dog’s bark from time to time. We would sit on these same steps next week having an ice cream cone and reflecting on our walk!
The next morning, after coffee and croissants at a small cafe, we walked around the city some more, and stopped for lunch at the cafe Cafe Bar Gaiola, which served up a wonderful meal! I chose crispy chicken, which was pounded, lightly breaded, and fried, and perfectly delicious, served with fries. We also chose pimento de Padron to share. These are a snack we’d had before in Spain and love with any meal. They’re small green peppers (“pimentos”) primarily grown in the Galician town of Padron, grilled or baked with olive oil and sea salt. Fun, and a must-try if you’re in Spain.
After the delicious meal, it was time to catch our bus to Ferrol to begin our Camino de Santiago walk (see my blog post “The Inges Way: The Goodness of Galicia“!) The week of walking was fun, difficult, adventuresome, inspirational…and over in no time, it seemed!
“Time flies, but at least you get to be the pilot!”
Back in Santiago de Compostela After Walking the Ingles Way:
Day 1:
After seeing the splendorous Cathedral de Santiago when we finished the Ingles Way of the Camino De Santiago, and taking in the atmosphere of triumph, tears, hugs, and shouts from other pilgrims, we went to find a Menu del Dia to celebrate!
We found the perfect one, too! A family-run restaurant called Damajuana, where the friendly and delightful chef, Maria, was our server, turned out to be such a wonderful dining experience that we even came back another day. Everything we chose from the menu was amazingly delicious. We started with a beautiful salad with lettuces, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and good goat cheese crumbled on top, with a wonderful dressing, slightly spicy, a bit sweet, very unique. The surprise on the salad was corn nuts sprinkled on it—fun! Then we tried zamburinas, which are scallops. They were served in pretty shells, and were very, very tasty. Then came my chicken in a garlic sauce (magnificent!) and the most wonderful fried potatoes, perfectly made. The pork that my daughter had ordered was also delicious. (We shared all courses.) The brown bread was excellent lightly dipped into the good sauces in all the dishes that were served. Dessert was tarte de Santiago and cheesecake, both perfect, and coffee. Have I mentioned that I LOVE a Menu of the Day!
On to our Airbnb! As I re-live memories of Santiago, I’m feeling very, very fortunate to have stayed at the Airbnb hosted by Reina! She, along with Luis, were exceptional as hosts! Not only were our accommodations everything you could ask for, our hosts were available for any and all questions, with helpful recommendations and friendly conversation. The location? Perfect! As we stepped out the door, we stepped into the historic, beautiful old town part of Santiago which we loved so much, with the Cathedral a few minutes stroll away, and the large outdoor market, shops, cafes, and restaurants close by, as well.
In 1985 the city’s Old Town was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its richness in history including that of the tomb said to be of the Biblical apostle James, which was uncovered in 813 AD. Countless pilgrims have travelled on foot to the site since that time. “Pilgrims” still flock there, some for religious reasons but many others for adventure, curiosity, or other reasons. In 2023, nearly half a million people walked the Camino De Santiago (although not all of those completed the pilgrimage to Santiago). The city is beautiful…it is awesomely ancient, yet vibrant with culture as well as nightlife.
We took time to go get our official Compostela certificate at the Pilgrims’ Office! In the 13th century, the certificate was introduced, as the Camino walk was used oftentimes as penance for criminals, who would need proof upon their return that they had completed the walk! Interestingly, the seashell symbol of the Camino De Santiago originated in much the same way. They had been required to go on to Finisterre to the “end of the world” to retrieve a seashell as proof they had completed the walk.
On then to the “Museum of the Galician People,” recommended by our Airbnb host! Here we learned that the first human beings arrived in Galicia at least 300,000 years ago (in the Lower Paleolithic). They were followed by the megalith builders (around 4500 BC) then the hill forts (800 BC) and finally the Romans (137 BC) who gave the country its name due to the Celtic tribe called Gallaeci, who lived there when the Romans conquered it!
Day 2:
The next day was our bus tour to Finisterre and Muxia, considered to be the end of the world by ancient Romans. There were several interesting and fun stops along the way, as well. Stay tuned to read about it in my next blog post!
Day 3:
We started the day with the early morning Pilgrim church service in the Cathedral. The inside of the Cathedral was astoundingly ornate and beautiful. The message was in Spanish, but my daughter filled me in afterward that it was a very nice blessing of all the pilgrims.
Then to breakfast at a nearby cafe. The tapa served with our coffee was bizcocho. My research tells me that this is a “lemony sponge cake served across Spain”. Ours was very good! I ordered toast with avocado and cream cheese; also very tasty.
Next was a stop at the Monastery of San Pelayo, which is a Spanish convent of Benedictine nuns. Why, you ask? To buy cookies! A very unique and interesting experience: nuns at the church bake and sell cookies from the church. But there is no sign on the door, no advertisement…somehow my daughter had heard about it, so we went in, placed our order, and payment, at a window with a revolving table, and the cookies revolved around to us. Some of the nuns have taken a vow not to be seen, as I understand it, thus the revolving window. The cookies were delicious!
Next came a walking tour of the city, interesting and educational, and happily, also free. After an hour and a half of walking and learning, the tour over, we decided to go look at the Mercado de Abastos de Santiago, which is a HUGE food market and is actually the city’s second most visited attraction after the Cathedral. There are different buildings for fish, beef, pork, pastries, etc. and it seems there is everything a person might want within one! My daughter had wanted to get some Iberian ham. Acorn-fed Iberian ham in Spain is considered by many to be some of the best. I wanted to see barnacles, which I had heard were a speciality in Galicia. Barnacles, they say, are very tasty but getting them is dangerous work, as in hanging off cliff-sides to scrape them off the rocks! They are expensive for that reason, we had been told.
Now to find a Menu of the Day! After looking for a while, and with many places not serving a Menu of the Day since it was Saturday, we decided to go back to Damajuana, were we’d eaten when we first arrived in the city from our hike. They were serving a Menu of the Day, and we definitely made the right choice in going back! We had ribs, their wonderfully perfect fried potatoes, shrimp, and fish. I couldn’t resist ordering their lovely salad again. The brown bread with all was so good. And then, of course, came dessert—I ordered the “cake of fresh fruits” which was light and creamy with fresh berries in it. My daughter ordered cheesecake. Both topped off the meal wonderfully, along with coffee, naturally!
After our leisurely Meal of the Day, and some time in our Airbnb, it was time to catch our bus for the oceanside city of A Coruna, which we had been wanting to visit. We were thankful that we’d dressed warmly for the day, as the weather was overcast and cool, with a strong wind. Walking down the boardwalk we were greeted with huge crashing waves on the rocks in the distance, against the green on the tall rocky cliffs: beautiful. We saw the Tower of Hercules, which was built in the first century and is the oldest known lighthouse still in use. Also, at 180 ft, it’s the second tallest lighthouse in Spain.
We walked around the city of A Coruna. I’d read about and wanted to try Membrillo ice cream. The membrillo ice cream here is somewhat unique to A Coruna, I had read, because it has fresh, unaged cheese from the nearby tiny mountain village of Cebreiro, as well as “bright burgundy chunks” of quince paste (“membrillo”) in it. What is quince paste? I had no idea but this ice cream was said to be out-of-this-world! We found an helados shop—helados is the Spanish word for ice cream—and, sure enough, they had membrillo ice cream. And it WAS delicious! And by the way, I’ve looked it up since, and quince paste is a thick, sweet jelly made from a fruit called quince.
After the bus ride back to Santiago, we decided to stop for tapas at a couple of different spots (tapas being a small snack served with the drink you order at a cafe, bar, or restaurant) on our walk back to the Airbnb. One place we stopped was the small bar and restaurant Bar Entreportas that opened into the alleyway close to our Airbnb. It was a fun stop, with the door open to the alley, watching people go by in this almost hidden “gem” where I enjoyed sharing a dish of sardines and toast (very tasty!) and a coca-cola.
We walked to the Cathedral one last time before turning in, since we’d be leaving in the morning. It was pretty at night against the beauty of God’s night sky. Musicians were playing nearby and people were out enjoying the night—our last night—in beautiful Santiago de Compostela!
Gayla's Blog 