Santiago de Compostela

Spent 3 days here to explore the many historical and religious sights. Also, to rest our weary feet!!

The weather was a mixture of 30-minute spells of hot sunshine, 30 mins of drizzle or thunder, lightning, and torrential rain. We got it all!!

The queue to get into the cathedral was at least a 2 or 3 hour wait. We decided to circumnavigate this by signing up for a tour of both the museum and cathedral, which gave us a specific time to get in, with NO queuing 😁

Tour was excellent, loads of info on the relics and history via the museum artefacts. The cathedral was packed with people waiting for mass to start and also pilgrims giving thanks. The emotion emanating from the crowds was infectious, and we became quite emotional ourselves. We lit candles for our loved ones.

The whole city, built from granite stone in baroc style, is steeped in history. Every corner you turn, you are met with beautiful, grandiose buildings that have been here for 100s of years and are likely to be here for 100s to come.

As expected, it is packed with pilgrims from all over the world. New ones arriving daily, replacing those returning home. Whenever we sat with a drink, whether coffee or a beer, we chatted with somebody new who was keen to ask about our travels and share their own stories with us.

On Sunday, locals and their families were all out in force, taking in the sunshine and eating/drinking alongside the pilgrims (until the next rainstorm when everyone ran for cover!).

An experience difficult to describe but wonderful to be part of.Read more