Santiago de Compostela

If Fisterra felt like culture shock, with the pilgrim dial turned to 11, then Santiago would turn that dial to 111.

It’s fun being in a larger town again. Santiago feels vibrant, modern, and lively. It’s the capital of the autonomous Community of Galicia and home to about 100,000 people. While many other things about this city are probably noteworthy, what undoubtedly defines this town is the Camino de Santiago and the pilgrims it brings. This town oozes pilgrim energy.

Some highlights from our two days in Santiago:

Cocktail hour at the Pub Atlántico: This place felt like a locals bar. The bartender was fantastic and so were the drinks. It had a cozy vibe that was the perfect fit for a celebration drink.

Dinner at Curro da Parra: I looked through various blog posts on restaurants in Santiago and found Curro da Parra. It was a great choice. The small plates (scallops and shrimp) were incredible. The mains too; I had pork cheeks that were fall apart tender, though Anne’s choice of ravioli was a little uninspired.

Coffee at Shot Me Coffee: By chance we were in Santiago at the same time a friend of Anne’s was finishing the Camino. So we met for coffee here. It was great catching up (we spent most of the day together, she’s walking on to Fisterra and Muxía) and the coffee was great too!

Pilgrim Mass: We attended the noon pilgrim mass where the clear highlight was the botafumeiro. It’s an incredible sight to behold and we were lucky to see it because it doesn’t happen at every mass. From the Cathedral website:

“The Botafumeiro (“censer” in Galician) is one of the most famous and popular symbols of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. It is a large thurible that hangs by means of a system of pulleys from the main dome of the Cathedral and swings toward the side naves. It takes eight men to move it, who are known as “tiraboleiros”. It weighs 53 kg and measures 1.50 metres; it hangs from a height of 20 metres and can pick up great speed.

The Botafumeiro is used for liturgical reasons, in the same way as a priest would use a censer at the altar… The purpose of this great censer is to symbolise the true attitude of the believer. In the same way that the smoke from the incense rises to the top of the temple’s naves, so must the prayers of the pilgrims rise to reach the heart of God.

We also saw the crypt of St. James, the grand finale of the Camino for pilgrims.

Cathedral roof tour: Anne had the foresight to book a tour of the roof of the Cathedral. This wasn’t just a small walk along a balcony. We literally walked all over the roof of the cathedral. A great tour if you plan ahead, highly recommended!

Pilgrim Shadow: A small “hidden” feature is a shadow on the south side of the cathedral that looks like a pilgrim. So we stopped by to see that before sunrise on our way to the train station.

Overall, a fun visit to Santiago. I’m a little sad to leave. While the pilgrim energy wasn’t quite my jam, I felt like the city had a great vibe and would have liked to explore more restaurants and cafes.

Next stop, Madrid.Read more