Visiting Santiago

Day 164: 2/12/09

I slept in until 11, and then I woke up and got ready for a day of sightseeing in Santiago with Belén. Belén got home around 12, and we left right away. It’s about an hour and a half drive to Santiago, but it seemed shorter because I’d never been to Santiago in the daylight, so there was a lot of new scenery for me to see while we drove. We got very lucky with the rain today. In Santiago, it rains even more than it does in Vigo. I read that they get 150 days of rain a year, and Belén read that they only have 50 some days of sunshine a year. Today it was partly cloudy, but it wasn’t raining, so I was happy.

We arrived in the old part of Santiago. Immediately, I was struck how well preserved everything was. The old part of the city is very pretty, and all the buildings are very ornate. It is certainly prettier than anything I’ve seen in Vigo. After walking around for a little while, we finally arrived at the church. The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela is the most famous landmark in all of Galicia, and one of the most famous things in all of Spain, up there with the Plaza Mayor. Every year, thousands of people complete a pilgrimage here by walking the “Camino de Santiago”, which is an ancient trail starting in the north of Spain and ending at the Cathedral. After viewing the Cathedral, I think that it is so well know for a very good reason. It, like everything else in the old part of Santiago, has withstood the test of time, and it is still extremely pretty, both inside and outside.

The church is a mix of both Gothic and Baroque elements, and at some parts, its pure beauty is almost breath taking. I can’t really describe everything that I saw. I uploaded some pictures here, but photos don’t really do it much justice. The Cathedral has the layout of a cross, as was typical in those days. One of the more interesting things that I saw was, at the center of the cross and the apex of the roof, the Eye of Providence. If the name of that doesn’t ring a bell, it’s the pyramid and the eye on the back of the one dollar bill. That’s more proof that the masons rule the world. I also got to see the ruins of Saint James, which I think is the final destination for most of the pilgrims, but I’m not completely sure on that one.

After we went to the Cathedral, we went to lunch at a tiny restaurant that was very close by. I got Caldo and Garlic Shrimp, and both of them were pretty good. We then met Cristina, Belén’s sister, who lives in Santiago, and we walked around all sides of the church. We also went to a “Virtual Galicia” exhibit. This is an exhibit very close to the Cathedral, and it’s a bunch of high tech stuff that serves as a virtual tour of all of Galicia. There were a lot of things to see and do, but unfortunately, they wouldn’t let me take any pictures. We walked around some more, said goodbye to Cristina, and then Belén and I drove back.

On the way back, Belén asked me if I wanted to see Pontevedra, which is the capital of Pontevedra (duh), the province where Vigo is located. Even though I was tired and it was dark, I couldn’t pass this up, so I told her that I was more than willing to go. Pontevedra is another beautiful city. It was dark, so I didn’t take any pictures, but I saw many more ornate looking buildings and the like.

We got back to the house at about 10, and then I went for a run. I spent way too much time labeling the 60+ photos I took, but I didn’t want to forget anything, so I made sure to label them right away. Tomorrow, I’m meeting with Pedro, packing a bit, and then going out with Ana and her friends. I don’t know if I’ll write tomorrow because I’ll be out during the night, but I might just write about Saturday and Sunday all in one day. Peace.