Santiago de Compostela

The question mark is there because Iberia workers have announced a partial work stoppage at the Santiago airport for today and tomorrow. In my opinion, it is totally justified. The nearby airport in Vigo is closed for runway repairs. Many of the flights have been diverted to Santiago, but there has been no increase in staffing by the big cheeses at Iberia. The workers are stressed and overworked, and they are only asking for more help to be brought on. It looks like there have been some concessions made, and today’s strike apparently only involved the cancellation of three flights. So I am mildly optimistic that my flight will go tomorrow morning as scheduled to Madrid.

I’m glad to have had this day here, because I did have a lot of last-minute shopping to do. I was also able to have a nice long coffee with Ivar (who owns the Santiago internet forum). And I enjoyed having more time with Faith in the Pilgrim House. It always seems like I need her help. A few years ago she helped me take a Covid test online. In spite of how stressful it was, it did get me onto the plane! Another year she gave me a pair of walking sticks for me to take to Finisterre because my Z poles had broken. This year she brought me some duct tape to try to piece together the fraying fabric on my 24-year-old backpack. I was afraid that some of the baggage handling equipment might catch one of the little holes and just rip the whole pack open. Imagine how happy I was when an Australian pilgrim offered to undertake the repair job. She obviously knew what she was doing.

The afternoon has been kind of flat, just wrapping olive oil in bubble wrap, packing up, and the very last of my shopping. It’s not that I get a lot, it’s just that I’m very indecisive and take way too long to figure out important questions like which T-shirts to get which grandkids. And I decided to go back to my favorite bean and spices place, as well as the cheese store down the street. So I have a lot to take home! For those who like beans, this place has a huge selection of beans all from Spain. Lentils, white beans, and the garbanzos that I just love. The cheese store is owned by the cheese maker, so I always like to buy few of their really good Gallego cheeses. Unlike one of my dear Camino friends, I am not a fan of the tetilla cheese, but I tasted a few others and got some really good ones today. One I especially liked was a blue cheese that was not quite as creamy as La Peral (my all-time favorite Asturian cheese), but was yummy. End of food tutorial.

I can’t believe it was five weeks ago that I arrived in Spain. These Camino walks are so medicinal (in a good way). Though my body is definitely tired, and I know it was time to stop walking, it’s a positive high-five-giving kind of exhaustion.Les mer