Fri 10th
After a late breakfast we drove the very
short distance to the As Catedrais beach
visitor centre. Low tide was at 11.40am and there was already a fair few cars
and coaches there. Popular place even on a Friday in October. We walked down
onto the beach and could at once see what the place was all about – fantastic
rock formations created by the action of the sea over thousands and thousands
of years. The arches that give the beach it’s name (cathedral) are huge. One of
them has a very small top to the arch and looks very fragile. There were coach
loads of folk swarming all over and through them. Great to see so many enjoying
the sights.
impressive eh?
arch top looks fragile
4 arches visible
A Coruna was our next chosen destination,
the route took us along the newly completed A8 autovia. Wow ! What a road and what brilliant scenery. It
rose up and over the Sierra de Xistra and Cabro twisting its way to the west
coast.
on top of the world - lots of wind turbines
Susie satnav then played a dirty trick on
us and directed us through the centre of A Coruna. MISTAKE!!!! The drivers were
ruthless and ducked and dived around us.
Then we had to drive through a tiny tunnel (10cm clearance on height – breathe
in) and turn left inside it before exiting up a very steep ramp! Our bottom
didn’t scrape so all was good. We didn’t like the feel of the town, the streets
were narrow and the apartment blocks towered above you creating a very
claustrophobic feeling. We found the
aire which was just out of town and overlooked a small port. it had a
completely different feel to it. Unfortunately the only other van there was
also on the only bit of the parking that allowed you to get remotely level. It
also felt neglected; the service areas were overgrown and full of litter. There
were several large potholes where the blocks were missing. The loose blocks
however were very handy to use as wheel chocks! I cycled along the coast in
both directions on a very nice cycle path. A Coruna looked rather nice from a
distance with the Hercules Tower clearly visible. In the other direction the
nuclear power station didn’t look so good.
looks nice, but.....
Hercules Tower on left
Sat 11th
Ater a quiet night under some really bright
floodlights, I washed the van. I have got this down to a t. ¾ bucket of water
and then a wiper blade is all it takes.
It of course then started to rain L The road to Fisterra to the SW on the rugged
Galcian coast was excellent and the rain eased as we arrived at the lighthouse.
This is supposedly the most westerly point in Spain but in fact it is not. Cabo
de la Nave 5km to the north is geographically the closet to the USA! The
lighthouse is where one of the Camino de
Santiago routes ends. Many of the pilgrims then riyually burn their socks /
shoes / clothes / anything on the rocks just beyond the lighthouse. We found it
a strange place as it felt like a cross between a rubbish tip and a funeral
pyre! It was not an attractive place
with heaps of discarded clothes, shoes, bracelets and offerings hidden in the
undergrowth or randomly littering the place. Definitely not an eco friendly
pilgrim site. Didn’t do anything for us
at all as you can probably gather.
boot is bronze!
not so sure
We investigated 2 aires further down the
coast – but they were not for us. If it doesn’t feel right we move on! So that
evening we parked up at Camping A Vouga in Louro. It was rather cramped and the
facilities tired . 4 other Brits on site.
Sun 12th
Bit of rain am so we went for a short walk
when it eased. I then went out for a road bike cycle along the coast to a
lighthouse across the bay from the site. Nice roads with hardly any traffic.
When I returned we were chatting to one of the Brits when I spotted a pod of
dolphins close in to the beach! There were about 12 of them jumping out of the
water as they cruised past us. Wonderful.
a man has to have a paddle!
Mon 13th
Rain from noon which didn’t stop for the
next 12 hours. We drove to Santiago De Compostela and found the campsite situated
close to town and above a mega new shopping centre. Recession? What recession?
We parked up in the soggy rain and after tea walked down to see all the shops.
Very plush with mainly clothes and shoe shops – no electrical goods apart from
the inevitable mobile phone shops. We of course headed for Primark where Tina
spent all of €2.50. that evening we treated ourselves to dinner out in the site
brasserie. Very, very tasty. We had the whole place to ourselves as we ate at
8pm. The Spanish eat from 10pm onwards !
yum, yum - octopus
modern Santiago skyline
Tues 14th
The rain had stopped and the sun was out so
we elected to walk into the town centre along the last 2Km of the Camino De
Santiago. We were joined by several pilgrims who had I am sure walked a lot
further than us – hats off to them. The pavements have brass shells embedded in
them at intervals to guide them. The old part was very clam and relaxed with
pilgrims and tourists mingling. The buildings are very grand, pity the main
cathedral was covered in scaffolding.
botafumerio
cathedral interior
inside of main altar - lots of gold
crypt of Santiago
Inside the cathedral we saw the legendary
13th century incense burner, the botafumeiro which is only used on
religious holidays or if groups of pilgrims pay €300. It is suspended on a huge
pulley system. It weighs 85 kg and takes 45 kg of incense and swings at 68 kmh
whilst missing each side of the vaults by only
51cm!
18th century Pazo de Raxoi - now the town hall
Many of the pilgrims were Irish and seemed
to have arrived by the coach load. The altar was the only “golden part” of the
interior the rest being rather sombre (for a church!) stone. A really nice town
to stroll about in.
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