A Coruna, Spain

‘Our tour today took us to Santiago de Compostela about an hour away from the port. If anyone saw the movie, The Way, with Martin Sheen, you will know about this cathedral. There is a pilgrimage trail that goes across southern France. It goes through Santiago de Compostela and ends at Finisterre on the Atlantic Ocean.
‘It was a rainy, dreary day as we set off at 9:00 AM. Our guide was very knowledgeable about the city we were visiting. We arrived and joined the crowds in the plaza in front of the Cathedral. We had to go around to the side entrance to enter. It is a beautiful church. The altar is silver and gold vermeil, which is gold overlaid over silver. The church is the resting place of the Apostle James. We got into a line to see the relic of St James. We had to go through a low, narrow door and down some steps into a hallway. On one side was a niche with a silver chest. It was about 2 feet wide by 1 1/2 feet tall. That’s where St James remains are interred. We came out of that hallway and went around the back and into another narrow doorway. We were behind the statue of St James that is in the altar. We could see the whole sanctuary from there. It was momentary. There was a woman stationed there to move us along. We saw a holy door that is only opened every 5 or 6 years. It will be open all year. We weren’t clear on why it’s only open in certain years. Above that door was the only stained glass window we saw in the cathedral.
‘When we first walked in and looked toward the altar from the back, there were some things sticking out about midway up the sanctuary and high up. It wasn’t until we looked at them from the side that we realized they were the pipes for the organ. It was playing while we were in line-beautiful music. I would have liked a few minutes to just sit and enjoy the music and cathedral, but we didn’t get it. We went outside and in to the museum. He showed us a carving of the 3 Magi. They represent 3 continents, Europe, Africa, and Asia. So one of the Magi was painted with black skin and features to represent Africa!. I didn’t see if the Asians were represented. We decided to leave the tour and walk around a bit. We went into a couple shops. I bought earrings and Bunny bought a pendant. Then we found a cafe, had a coffee and Coke and shared a slice of Almond cake. It was delicious.

Then it was time to meet the group for lunch. There is a hotel on the plaza. It used to be a hospital. We had to climb more steps to get to the Royal Room, which was a banquet hall. The Spanish eat their main meal at lunchtime. We did not go hungry. There was a chicken paella, with not much chicken but a lot of peas. I hate peas. I managed to eat around them. The flavor of the rice was good. Then we were served a plate with slices of pork loin and potato wedges and the same almond cake for dessert. Then it was time to go back down those steps and wait in the rain for everyone to meet to go to the bus. We walked through drizzle again to get back to the bus. Then we were on the way back to the ship. It was a pleasant day in spite of the lousy weather.

Photos: I finally remembered the couple from Lisbon, sunrise over A `Coruna, Spain, view of city from the balcony, the old wall of Santiago de Compostela, outside view of cathedral, 3 views of sanctuary, the holy door and stained glass window, courtyard of the place where we had lunch, the Royal room, and people rejoicing in the plaza because they made it to the Cathedral. The two ladies in the center are dancing.