Sant Iago, Galicia, Spain. Day two.

Now we get a full day in Santiago, where we can poke about and see what makes the city pump. First thing we notice is that there are a million students here. Maybe it is the start of the year but, there are many university kiddies running around talking loudly drinking loads of coffee and having fun. It looks like a good place to be a student.

A friend of mine, Jorge, was kind enough to give us some tips around town, as well as all through Galicia. This was his home town so we had a chance to visit some recommendations of his for food ideas and eating places, too. It was great to have some local insight. Bodeguilla de San Roque was a really nice place. We did find Santiago to be a little more expensive than other parts of Galicia though, I blame the tourists ;)

I am obsessed by manhole covers, I saw a video on the net that did prints from them. I WANT to do this, who is in?

Sneaky street art.

More man hole action.... could be a different website....

The central park in Santiago is Parque da Alameda, nice and green with lots of oaks.

Like the daddy or mummy of this guy.

Selective washing.

University grounds. Cloister University of Santiago de Compostela and a statue of Alfonso III de Fonseca.

More man hole action!

Unlike Polish chestnuts these can be eaten, well, eventually.

Fountains of the town.

Yep, you guessed it, more empanada love.

Orange cake looking, well, orange.

When there are no tourists, Santiago is a beautiful city.

But they have an amazing market, you can buy and get people to cook it for you there. This is the restaurant aisle.

These guys are just putting their feet up for now.

Chorizo in this part of Spain is just something completely different, incredible and high quality throughout. 

Cheese is everywhere, and amazing.

Cows, sheep, goats and buffalo cheese are easy to get.

Or some local seafood, like these razor clams.

A happy lobster.

Fresh as the morn.

More delicious cheeses.

Crazy fresh fish and squid.

After the markets we needed some sustenance, we ordered cañas, which came with some fabulous salami style sandwiches on wholemeal, not always the most common.

Going down quicker than sandwiches!

There is also a famous chain/restaurant called 100 Montaditos which are these little sandwiches and on a few days of the week you can get each one for 1 Euro. Not bad for a little snack on the run. I got in trouble for trying to take photos inside.

I feel like this guy sometimes, the weight of the world and the podgy little stomach.

We could see hints of Autumn more in Santiago than in other areas.

We walked all around town, tried some great food, and then finished at the fantastic Cafe Bar Granell in the Parque de Paxonal. Drinking the most amazing Galician Nordes Gin, it is a great way to contemplate the halfway stage of our trip.

Overall Santiago was quaint, over run by students and tourists and because of that it felt a little soulless in comparison to other places. When you are away from the masses like the bar above, it was lovely and a great place to be.

Sant Iago, Galicia, Spain.

Sant Iago, or Saint James, is a very famous figure in Galicia. That shows you why the capital of Galicia is Sant Iago, commonly called Santiago de Compostela. It is the end of the line for many of the walkers finishing their trek along the camino, of course some continue on to Finisterra as well. The town has a compact old town which, unfortunately, is overrun by tourist related things. You can't walk more than a few metres before you see the same souvenirs at another shop, followed by the same souvenirs, followed by.... you get the point. Also, the restaurants appear to be the sort that have a menu with pictures on it, rarely a good sign. It has some nice buildings and once you get away from the hustle and bustle sections it is really quite quaint. We arrived in the afternoon, but first went for a walk near our accommodation to find some food to cook dinner, then walked into the city centre in the late afternoon to enjoy that lovely soft light time of day.

The cathedral has a little hat, how cute!

All the kids, old and young on mobiles. The times, the times.

We only arrived on the first day just before sunset, which mean some pretty photos.

And some long shadows.

Fisterra, Galicia, Spain.

Fisterra (in Galician) or Finisterra if you want to be imperial about it, is called this odd name for a reason. Enter Wikipedia:

 "The name Fisterra comes from Latin FINIS TERRAE, meaning "Land's End". This name stems from the fact that this area is on a remote peninsula that is one of the westernmost points of land in Galicia, and hence in Spain." 

Yes, it means that originally people thought it was the end of the world. Well, the world they knew. The interesting part, is that people now still walk the Camino De Santiago and continue on from there to Finisterra, a place where there was the allege discovery of St James' remains. It is amazing to see these people finish a very long, and shall I dare say, spiritual journey at the Faro (lighthouse). It is almost as if they feel it is the end of the earth, even though we very well know it is not.

That said, Finisterra, although in some ways attractive, has turned into a classic tourist trap. The cost of meals is quite high, there are many, many hostels, hotels, B&Bs and buses taking people to and from places around. It all feels a little soul less. However, we had a great and well priced empanada (yes, again) from the fabulous Panaderia German in the middle of town. Also, we stayed a little out of town right near to the Praia de Langosteria a beautiful place to wake up.

The view in the corridor of our hotel. Just lovely.

We couldn't resist swimming at the end of the world. Who could? 

Well in 14C water many could. But, we still paddled around for a while until we started to change colour, but it was great!

The view from the room.

When the 70s meets cancer

This guy looks like he has walked a few kms

I almost want to be electrocuted if this is how cool I'll look. Check out the shoes and jacket combo.

The symbol of the Camino is a scallop shell, in theory you are meant to receive it at the start of your walk, but many who don't walk just buy it somewhere as a souvenir. Kind of fitting that Fisterra has it as a manhole cover.

Apocalypse or end of the earth?

These people are burning their clothes, a tradition that has been banned but, is clearly not enforced so much.

Lighthouse land.

Our hotel being almost right on the beach, and on therefore the camino route, allowed us to watch walkers pass all day long. These were some early morning strollers.

Their marks are left on the beach.... temporarily.

Continuing the beach collection.

So, to show you it is hard it is for stitching programs to work with waves, here is a small jumbled series.