Last day in Santiago

Saturday Oct 13 in Santiago

I´m doing the draft of today´s post in the Santiago Public Library.  I feel so at home here, even though the staff doesn´t speak Spanish. And it is only a few blocks from the albergue. Yesterday I pared down my backpack: let´s hope it is under the regulation 10 Kilos for Easyjet. I made a list of the food I had on hand, so that none of the weight will be made up of food. So this morning, in the kitchen of the albergue, before 9 am when I had to be out of the bedroom, I had yogurt and oats and some of Father Pius´s elderberry jelly. I gave the rest  of the jelly to Bill, an American who appeared in the kitchen while I was eating. He had stayed in Rabanal when I was working there, and was still in Santiago because he walked to Finnesterre and came down with a cold, so he is holed up here trying to get better. Though this is a very noisy albergue. There is no curfew, so my roommates can come in at any hour. And one floor below, under my window, is a bar, and there was a lot of celebrating last night, until the middle of the night.

After breakfast I  walked to the daily market. It was huge! It reminded me of the St. Lawrence Saturday morning market, but instead of tables, the local vendors set up on the ground or on stone benches. And the meat and fish and seafood sections were wide open, not behind glass, though they were in the building. There were also some vendors selling used clothes. Yesterday I refound a vintage clothing place that I had seen in 2007. But I have no weight allowance left for clothes, unless I wear another layer. I don´t think they will weigh me, so I will fill my many pockets with stuff, and wear my raincoat over my black jacket in hopes of making the 10 kilo cutoff.

Sitting here, I can imagine that I am home in Pape library in Toronto. There are so many things I miss about home. My level of appreciation and gratitude should definitely improve when I return. Cooking my own food is high on my list, but on the top are family and friends. Meanwhile, I am here, with plans to visit another museum and the Cathedral, eat the cheese and crackers from my stash, post this later at the albergue, and catch a bus to the airport. Next report should be from Switzerland!

Darlene, the intrepid traveller

Free meals in Santiago

Fri, Oct 12 in Santiago

Fiesta day! The Spanish mostly have the day off. Half the restaurants, shops and museums are closed, and families are wandering the streets. There were big crowds in the cathedral, and I am glad that I visited St James when there was no line-up. There are even children on the streets, kicking balls, and running away from their parents. Most of the city where I spend my time is car-free, so it is safe for children to run and play. There were mimes - one of Gandhi, all spray painted white. There were actors dressed like cardinals ( the priests) and St James, the pilgrim, and you could have your picture taken with them. I took an audio tour of the cathedral this morning, and counted. There were multiple depictions of Jesus on the cross, and about 20 small and larger chapels, some with seats of up to 100, some with a few benches, and some with no seating. The famous plaster statue of St James the Moor slayer is there too. So many wars and battles committed in the name of religion.

I also toured the museum of Pilgrimage. It had a 6 lovely videos of the different paths to Santiago, taken with stop action photography, and made into a video. There also were several interactive videos, which were interesting. I took a 30 second movie as I walked around a scale model of the Cathedral. Ask me and I´ll show it to you.

It was a beautiful day - no rain, for the first time in 5 days. I spent a few hours people watching, as I got 3 free meals today from the Hotel dos Reis Catolicas, the Parador. We waited in or by the parking garage, and on showing our Compostela and passport, up to 10 people are admitted. I went to breakfast, with 3 others: a man from Luxembourg, a girl from Quebec, and a Spaniard. The Luxembourg guy had eaten there several times ( you can eat 3 meals a day for 3 days after you arrive). He led the way. We got 2 carafes of expresso, a carafe of hot milk and piles of churros ( deep fried twisted pastries) batons of whole wheat and plain sweet buns. I took my meusli.

Lunch was salmon, make your own ensalada mixta, with lettuce, onion, tuna, sweet corn and tomatoes, fried bacon, bread and eggs, a leek and carrot saute, and a piece of salmon, not to mention caviar on melba toast, and a bottle of wine - for 2 of us!

Dinner was 10 - Spanish, German and French, and me.It wasn´t as good for me: pasta salad, pork, french fries and a melange of zuchinni and red pepper, plus wine of course.

So tomorrow I am off to Switzerland, and the solo part of my journey is over. I wonder what that will be like? Always an adventure.

Darlene