In Santiago

Well, today I got a 6am bus from Muxia back to Santiago. From 8 am till 8 pm, I was on the move. I’ve just sat down in a vegetarian restaurant, and the food looks fabulous. It’s called A Porta Verde, and I will let you know.

I have walked all over town, visited the Pórtico de la Gloria (I knew that photography was prohibited in the Pórtico, but I thought it was OK in the Gelmirez Palace —after innocently taking pics of some of my favorite civil Romanesque carving, I was told it was prohibido but that I could keep the fotos), I went to Ivar’s office, I’ve started my olive oil purchasing (yikes, have prices risen!), I got my compostela (no wait in the pilgrims office at about 6 PM, after more than 2000 compostelas had been issued), bought bubble wrap, went to my favorite frutería, and have met three forum members in different places. Not necessarily in that order.

The one sad event came in the late morning. I went up to the market and headed straight for my favorite little booth selling lots of canned Galician products — sardines, bonito (a special tuna), etc. The place was locked up. I asked the butcher in the next stall if she knew anything about the owners. I had met them about 15 years ago, and I went there every time I came to Santiago. About 10 years ago, the woman told me that her husband had dementia, and I got regular updates every time I got to Santiago. The butcher told me that the husband has died and that the woman has gone to A Coruña to live. No more Conservas de Galicia.

My pictures are for my peregrino friends who will recognize all the spots, except for maybe my favorite frutería, where I got 4 clementinas and 4 mandarinas for 65 céntimos.

P.s. I am eating my wok bowl and it is very good. Lots of vegetables and great seasoning.Read more