Santiago de Compostela

Pearl of Persia
Andrew Lock
Fri 1 Jun 2012 18:01
The idea of this sailing trip is also to explore inland, some of the many
places that are worth a trip. Santiago de Compostela is one of them. Just
60KM from Vigo meant that it was very easy to get to. We thought of going
by train but decided that renting a car would allow us more freedom to
explore other places on the way there and back..
Since the discovery of the tomb of St James at the beginning of the 9th
century Santiago de Compostela has been the focus for thousands of pilgrims
to come here daily by foot, cycle or air. There is a magnificent cathedral
situated at the heart of the city which has grown around it. The tiny
ancient streets are wonderful to wander around and explore and in the
evening taking in the beautiful floodlit cathedral which. We spent the night
in an hotel in the heart of the old city which turned out to be a bit of a
mistake as the clock tower on the Cathedral chimed every 15 minutes with a
clock clanging on the hour every hour. I think I counted every hour through
the night.
We left the next day after visiting the markets which were fun. On the road
back we stopped off at various ports such as Noia, and Portosin where we
managed to take a look at the ironage remnants of buildings known as the
Castro settlements. Sorry Humphrey you will have to do this on your own some
day.

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