Santiago - At Last

From the time I first heard about The Way, or Camino de Santiago - to the time I arrived at the Cathedral in Santiago - it took me three years.  But here at last :)  The very modern streets lead to the old section of the city

As you make your way into the old part of the city, the streets narrow

This is a sculpture of Napoleon at the top of the building where I stayed

First glance of one of the steeples of the Cathedral

This is the Pilgrim's Office where you get your credentials examined, and if approved, you get the certificate that certifies that you walked the Camino

The streets are alive with shoppers before 2 pm, and then come alive again after 7 pm.  In between that time is siesta and during that time, almost everything closes.  Those stores, mostly cafes that stay open, they are mostly empty.

Sculptures on the side of the Cathedral

This was my room - small, but private, with private washroom including shower, maid service, and as mentioned before, included free breakfast

Note how narrow the streets are.  Cars and small trucks actually travel down these streets, but they go very slow and the people even slower, move out of the way.  I suspect that there is a law about beeping their horns because I never heard one.

This is the casket holding St James, in the basement of the Cathedral

Some of the gold sculptures

Did I mention narrow streets?

The Cathedral is so huge that it is hard to get it to fit into a picture

After Santiago, I took the bus to Finisterre.  This is me sitting on the edge of the world

Pilgrims climbing the cliff by the lighthouse

The ocean and the sky were brilliant colours of blue

This was a fisherman's boat that is used to get out to the larger boat

These seagulls were looking for a free ride

This is me hugging the statute of St James which is completely made of gold and is behind the alter.  Photos are strictly not allowed so we had to take this very quickly

Pilgrims and Tourists mingling just outside of the cathedral

This is a hostel located just to the south of the city.  It is very large and old -rumours say that it is haunted.  It was magically lit by the sun one evening - calling me to stay there....but I already had somewhere....sorry ghosts!

Note:  Somewhere the picture of the building I stayed in got deleted in this posting so I will include it in the next post - which will be the last.