Santiago de Compostela is the capital city of of this region of Spain ("Galacia"), and dates back over a thousand years. It has become very widely known as the destination of the "Camino de Santiago", a pilgrimage thousands (200,000 plus) of people walk every year. Most people even in New Zealand seem to know someone who has done the camino in some form or other.
The city is built around its large, heavy-set cathedral, which is the destination of the camino walkers, and a popular tourist destination. We settled into our (very nice) BnB two kilometres from the cathedral. It was not long before we realised we were on the camino trail. A steady trickle of "pilgrims" with backpacks and walking sticks went by our windows, heading toward the cathedral.
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| "Walking the Camino" - well, the last 2 km of it. |
The photo above shows one of the marker posts which show pilgrims the way - the pole with the cross on top. In the distance one of the cathedral towers is just visible.
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| The way is also marked with these brass shells set into the pavement. |
The Santiago cathedral is a huge building. We found it undergoing extensive renovations, and crowded with visitors. Inside there was scaffolding and plastic sheeting everywhere, but people were still filing through and standing in a huge queue to see Saint James' casket (we passed by). The building is huge and hemmed in by other buildings, so it is very hard to stand back and get a clear view of the whole thing. On the west side however there is a reasonably large square, so at least you can see that facade. A wide angle lens is needed here.
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| One tower of the cathedral. The whole thing is much to big to fit in one photo. |
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| Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, almost 1,000 years old. |
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| Currently undergoing extensive renovations, but still open for tourist business. |
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| Somewhere inside the scaffolding is the tomb of Saint James. |
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| Obviously hasn't got the "smoking is bad for you" message. |
It was baking hot in the sun the day we explored Santiago, so after completing the primary goal of seeing the cathedral we sought out the shade in the "Park of Alameda", where there was rumoured to be a famous statue of the "Two Marias". The two Marias were sisters from a local family, well known identities who used to walk daily in the park.
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| Nice and shady in the Parque da Alameda. |
Despite arriving exactly where Google told as the status was, we could not see it. That is until we realised it is not some stone statue up on a pedestal, but was right behind us. The Two Marias had blended into a another group who were taking selfies with them! Once the crowd cleared we followed suit:
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| The "Two Marias". |
If you search Google images for "As Duas Marias" you can see that over time they have changed colours several times. They must get a new coat of paint now and then.
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| Taking the long way home to our BnB. |
We got a bit lost on our way home, so spent more time out in the heat than we should have, wanderng around little backstreets before getting back on to the roads we recognised.
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| Must be time we headed home again... |
