Week 645 · May 2026 · Santiago de Compostela · Galicia, Spain
Santiago de
Camino Santiago de Compostela was something I heard about years ago — I was wondering who would want to do that — apparently Sharon. Very proud of Sharon for taking on this challenge — people are encouraged to come up with two words to describe the effort — my words for Sharon were “tough” and “inspiring.”
Santiago is a decent-sized city, I had done little investigation and had assumed it was a village with a big church — it was much bigger city which delayed my arrival a bit. After meeting up with Sharon and she got her Compostela, we watched the other Pilgrims coming into town towards the end of the day…about 3,000 people from all directions finish each day.
Sharon walked the Camino Portugués from Porto — a route of roughly 280 kilometers that takes most walkers 12–14 days. About 3,000 pilgrims a day finish in Santiago during peak season, arriving from routes in every direction: the Francés from the east, the Norte along the coast, and the Portugués from the south. Each route has its own gold shell markers embedded in the pavement. The Compostela is the official certificate issued by the Pilgrim Office to anyone who has walked at least the final 100km, providing a pilgrim passport stamped at churches, albergues, and cafés along the way as proof of journey. There are no dramatic finish lines — just the square, the cathedral, and however many days of walking you carried to get there.
Surprisingly, she was up for a late dinner — 9 to 11pm — we met up with a friend Sharon had walked with for a couple of days. It was hot in Santiago too, but not as hot as Bilbao or Madrid so that helps rationalize the late dinners in the summer — it is also light until almost 11pm as well. The hot weather also made Sangria the drink of choice for this trip.
The next day we did a proper tour of the Cathedral, it is the second biggest Catholic Cathedral after the Vatican and St. James is buried there — hence the Pilgrimages. We learned on our tour there that one of the original reasons for the Pilgrimage was to raise money from tourists to fund the construction of the church. The primary artistic feature of the church is Pórtico of the Glory which didn't allow pictures.
Construction of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela began in 1075 on the orders of King Alfonso VI of León and Castile, built over an earlier basilica that marked the rediscovered tomb of Saint James the Apostle. The tomb itself had been forgotten since the third century until a hermit named Pelagius reported strange lights in the night sky in 814 AD, making him effectively the first pilgrim to Compostela. The cathedral was consecrated in 1211 and is today a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The Pórtico de la Gloria — the spectacular carved stone entrance portal inside the west façade — was designed by Master Mateo and completed in 1188. Considered one of the greatest masterpieces of Romanesque sculpture in Europe, it combines French, Italian, and Spanish influences across three arches filled with polychrome granite figures depicting scenes of scripture, apocalypse, and salvation. Photography is not permitted inside. The soaring baroque Obradoiro façade visible from the square dates to the 18th century and largely conceals the older Pórtico behind it.
There are two distinct areas in the center of Santiago — the Old Town near the church and a newer (like 1950–1970s) larger commercial district where I was driving around and we had our hotel. The walk for Sharon (Camino Portugués from the south) went right through the Old Town, while walks from other directions (like Camino Francés from the east) came through a different set of alleys — all having gold shell markers. The old town is a combination of tourist places and restaurants.
I had to return the rental car to the airport — it was the first day open in 25 days. Google took me to an abandoned parking lot — to be fair the agency had just relocated as part of the airport closure and was now onsite and eventually I found it (no signs posted yet either) and I was probably the first “return” they had — and I had a damage issue in the rim — but hey, insurance. Very modern and nice airport and only 3 planes were there so far. But initially no Ubers or taxis available for the return and then another plane landed and taxis arrived.
We took the high speed train out because we thought it easier and less damaging to my recently repaired shoulder — but it was completely full and we had to hoist our full size luggage into the overhead bins. But no re-injury.
