In and Around Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Within the modern city of Santiago de Compostela is its old town, which was named a World Heritage Cultural Site by UNESCO in 1985. This pilgrimage site, built and rebuilt through the centuries due to religious conflicts, is noted as the third most holy city in the Christian world after Rome and Jerusalem, being home to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela (see below).

Filled with narrow alleys that are used as cut-through thoroughfares and centuries-old buildings (in and out of these alleys) that house hotels, cafes, tourists shops, museums and more, Santiago de Compostela's old town is a wonderful home-base for travels in the Galician region.

Thanks to Luis, I was blessed to have received a personal guided tour of the old town from one of his former co-workers, Anu, of the Santiago de Compostela Tourism Office. And it is because of her that I am able to share with you the following tidbits about it.

According to legend (as it was told to me), after St. James the Apostle was beheaded in Palestine, his disciples brought his remains to Galicia and buried them. Then at some time between 820 and 830 A.D., a hermit named Paio saw lights over a wooded area for several nights, which he interpreted to be a sign from Heaven, and told Teodemiro, the Bishop of Iria, about them. In finding an old stone temple and three sarcophagi where Paio had seen the lights, Bishop Teodemiro determined that the remains were those of St. James and two of his disciples, and informed the Galician King, Alfonso II, of his discovery. The king then ordered a church to be built next to the temple.

And so began the legendary history of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Millions of Christian pilgrims from all over the world have made their way to the cathedral through the centuries, many along el Camino de Santiago -- the Way of St. James -- to express their faith and piety, to revere the apostle's remains and other relics, and to receive benedictions and obtain the compostela, the certificate confirming one's completion of the pilgrimage.

There is so much one could write about the cathedral and el Camino de Santiago, and since many people have, I will leave it to these good souls to give you the full scope of the descriptions, histories, photos, and everything else you could want to know about them. Check out the lenses in my lensroll and the official websites of the church and pilgrimage in the links section below. Also check out the film "The Way" from Emilio Estevez (see the trailer below).

(One really cool web page is at the UCLA Institute for Digital Research and Education site, where their restoration project of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela shows the building as it appeared when dedicated by Bishop Pedro Muñoz on April 3, 1211 A.D. In addition to restoring the architecture of the cathedral and placing it within an urban simulation of the town, the project also offers a reconstruction of the songs and sounds typically heard in the building in the 13th century.)

What I will say is that my experience of the cathedral was a powerful one. Tears came to my eyes several times as I made my way down the aisles and down to the crypt where, in seeing the remains of St. James, I was moved beyond words. Whether they are authentic or not, I nonetheless felt the presence of the Divine.

(Cathedral photos from SantiagoTurismo.com)

There are several museums and galleries in the Old Town that should appeal to art and history lovers alike.

One is the museum of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, which is comprised of three areas that are located in different parts of the cathedral. Exhibited within them are sculptures, liturgical elements, tapestries, and much more related to the cathedral and its history. Likewise, the Museo das Peregrinacións e de Santiago (Pilgrimage Museum of Santiago de Compostela) is filled with art and artifacts that shed more light on the phenomenon of the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.

For enthusiasts of surrealism, the Eugenio Granell Museum-Foundation is for you. It houses oil paintings, drawings, collages and other works of Granell, one of Spain's most famous Galician artists, as well as those of other surrealist artists, including Miro, Copley and Duchamp. In addition to the art, the Foundation also offers concerts, workshops, guided tours, and other activities.

If contemporary art is more your style, head over to the c5 coleccion. This gallery describes itself as "nace como un espacio de diálogo y debate sobre las diferentes formas del arte contemporáneo, un lugar abierto a todas las opciones de sentir la creación, más allá de géneros y soportes prefijados..." -- "born as a space for dialogue and debate about different forms of contemporary art, a place open to all options to feel the creation, beyond genres and prefixed media..." In addition to enjoying the art I saw, I love that some of Luis' dad's art was exhibited here, too!

Lastly, Santiago Turismo has a new publication called Latexos, a catalog featuring 45 artist studios and 9 art galleries in Santiago de Compostela, plus a directory of 17 galleries, written in Galician, Spanish and English. (FYI, Santiago Turismo's Walking Tours included guided tours of artists' studios for the first time this summer.) To find out how to get a copy, send an email to info@santiagoturismo.com.

Stores selling t-shirts, mugs, magnets, and other souvenirs are found throughout the old town of Santiago de Compostela. Yet while the selling of tourist trinkets may be an economic imperative of these shops, they and other stores also cater to the locals, given that many Galicians call the old town home. Thus there are also fashion, footwear and jewelry boutiques as well as pharmacies, bookstores, and other shops that carry items for everyday wants and needs.

For one-of-a-kind handcrafted items, head to my favorite store, Amboa, on Rua Nova. They have a wide variety of ceramic, glass, and other types of decorative items (and practical ones, too) as well as jewelry, much of which is made with jet, a local, organic black gem. I found many of their things beautiful and reasonably priced (even at today's exchange rate), and bought several as gifts for family, friends, and myself.

For more information about shopping here, check out the Santiago de Compostela Shopping Guide, an extensive directory of 802 shops divided into 42 product categories. The guide is published in Galician, Spanish and English, and contains a fold-out map showing buildings of interest and a wide range of shops. To find out how to get a copy, contact Santiago Turismo at info@santiagoturismo.com.

The old town is both small enough physically where getting around on foot is quite doable and large enough culturally where you can see and do a lot and without getting bored after just a day.

And there is plenty to do. Aside from the cathedral, museums, and stores, there is usually some kind of event going on somewhere in the old town, whether it's a photography exhibit, concert, or food tasting. And if you're in the mood for a movie, there are cinemas; just know that most are shown in Spanish or the Galician language (Gallego), although occasionally they're shown in V.O. (version original). The events page of Santiago Turismo's website has an up-to-date listing of all the goings-on about town.

When you want or need to take a load off after all of your activities, there are plenty of cafes and restaurants where you can do just that. Most are along the larger streets while others are tucked away in the nooks and crannies of backstreets and side streets. (See the photo below.) During my time here, I frequented plenty of them, whether it was for a coffee, tapas or a full-blown meal, and met and chatted with some of the loveliest people. Unfortunately, I don't know the names of these places but, hey, go try them out for yourself! :-D

I didn't stay at a hotel as Luis' parents in Noia were my oh-so-lovely hosts, so I don't have any personal recommendations for you. However, you can check the accommodations page of the Santiago Turismo website for information about hotels, hostels, short-term apartments, and more. You can also see what fellow travelers have written about their favorite places to stay (and eat) at tripadvisor.

I spent a good part of my trip exploring areas west of Santiago de Compostela. One of my favorite things to do was to travel off the beaten track and experience the beauty of the countryside, where walking into a small, remote town was like stepping into the era of Cervantes and Don Quixote.

Some of the cool things I saw included the following:

Archaeological remains... The photo on the right is that of a dolmen, which, according to Wikipedia, is a tomb dating back to the Neolithic period. Dolmens are scattered throughout Spain and elsewhere in Europe, especially Celtic areas.

The photo below is of a land mass off the coast that had been a settlement inhabited by ancestors of today's Galicians. You can walk to it and explore it up close and personal. I imagined what it would have been like to live there and it made me appreciate all the more all of the modern conveniences at my disposal today.

Since Galicia borders the Atlantic Ocean, lighthouses abound along its western coast. And while they vary in size and stature, each provides an incredible view from the shore and up above it.

I was fortunate in that, because of Luis's dad (also named Luis), I had permission to enter and climb to the top of the three lighthouses I visited -- the ones at Corrubedo, Finisterre, and Villano. Let me tell you, it's absolutely breathtaking up there, and I mean that almost literally. When I stepped onto the landing at the Villano lighthouse, the wind was enough to suck the breath right out of me and make me grateful that I was just visiting and not the guy who works there.

(The photo above is of Luis [left] and Francisco, the technician at the Finesterre lighthouse. Pics of the other lighthouses I visited are in the photo section below. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has additional pictures and information about lighthouses in Galicia.)

As noted earlier, my friend, Luis, hails from the small town of Noia, which is about 45 minutes west of Santiago de Compostela. Most guidebooks don't usually mention Noia so tourists are a rarity here. It's too bad. I found it to be very charming, and the people here are as warm and welcoming as they are in Santiago de Compostela and other areas of Galicia.

If you can spend even a portion of a day here, I think it's worth it. Not only can you chill out and just hang with the locals at any of the cafes (like the outdoor one in the photo), you can also see a few things that most tourists don't (or can't) see anywhere else.

One very interesting place in Noia is the Museo das Laudas, a museum that houses ancient tombstones. Most of them are large (around 6' or taller) and consist of pictographs engraved in stone that represent the deceased person's occupation or station in life, or a combination of pictographs and written inscriptions. To see what I mean, visit the museum's website. You can also see some of my photos of the tombs below.

I ate very well during my trip, thanks to all the great cafes and restaurants but especially to Luis' dad, whose extraordinary cooking skills made my mouth water just thinking about lunch, the main meal of the day.

With the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, it's only natural that the seafood in Galicia is fresh and plentiful in varieties of salt water fish and shellfish. (Check out the crab below!) And believe it or not, canned seafood is really good, too. I brought home about a couple dozen tins of scallops and mussels, which I put in salads or ate on crackers. (They were pretty heavy to carry but very yummy to eat!)

Meat and poultry are big here, too. Beef, pork, veal, chicken, you name it. When you're taking a break from seeing the sites and want to stay outside, go to one of the local markets and make yourself a picnic lunch with bread, cheese and chorizo, a smoked sausage that is akin to salami and very tasty (unless you're a vegan or vegetarian or kosher).

Visit my lens Recipes from Galicia, Spain, where you'll find recipes for several traditional Galician dishes, courtesy of Luis the Elder.

I truly enjoyed my trip to Santiago de Compostela and the areas in and around this city, and intend to spend at least part of my next vacation in Galicia. If you should happen to go to there one day, perhaps you and I will run across each other at one of the the old town's cafes.

Until then, check out the latest news, bits of trivia, travel resources, and gift ideas below for additional information about this part of Spain.

1 April - 31 July 2011
Guided tours of the basement of the Cathedral
In celebration of the 800th anniversary of the consecration of the Cathedral, guided tours of the basement of the basilica are being held from 1 April through 31 July. This space is usually only open to researchers, so it's a rare privilege to be able to visit it during this time.

Included in the tour are visits to archaeological sites excavated by Antonio López Ferreiro and Chamoso Lamas, a Roman cemetery, and the Swabian necropolis with dozens of tombs and headstones from the 13th-19th centuries, as well as some of the first walls and defense structures the village erected to protect the 9th-century Romanesque basilica.

Given the difficulty of access and the narrowness of the place, visitation is limited, so you must register in advance in the Manor of Xelmírez. Those interested in participating in guided tours that take place in the crypt can reserve a place by calling 981 552 985 or emailing excavaciones@catedraldesantiago.es. Tours are approximately 45 minutes and the ticket price is 10 euros per person.

Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela
Praza Praterias s/n
15704 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
(+34) 981 572 300

26 May - 26 June 2011
Alberto Martí: "I Adeus" (Photography Exhibition)
Images of emigrants leaving Spain from the ports of A Coruña and Vigo for the Americas, taken between 1957 and 1963.

Museo do Pobo Galego (Museum of the Galecian People)
Rúa de Ramón del Valle-Inclán, 3, Santiago de Compostela, 15703
(+34) 981 583 620
museodopobo@interbook.net

28 May - 12 June 2011
XX Feria del Libro Antiguo y de Ocasión (Antique Book Fair)
More than 100,000 books and other collectibles will be on display and for sale during this annual event, including literature published in the 17th and 18th centuries, first editions of books by authors from the 19th and early 20th centuries (such as Rosalia, Curros, Valle Inclán, Pardo Bazán, Baroja, Alberti, Neruda, and Gomez de la Serna), posters, newspapers and magazines, postcards, maps, paper money, and used books.

Parque de la Alameda
Paseo dos Leóns, Santiago de Compostela, 15705

On Video and In Print
If you missed the two episodes of Spain... On the Road Again, in which chef, restauranteur, author and Food Network star Mario Batali, Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow, New York Times Columnist and author Mark Bittman, and Spanish television actress Claudia Bassols travel through Galicia, then head over to the show's website to watch video snippets, get recipes, download episodes from iTunes, and buy the DVD. The Spain... A Culinary Road Trip companion book isn't available for purchase on the website but on Amazon.

Here are a few trivia tidbits, courtesy of my friend, Luis.

* On his first trip to Santiago de Compostela (to receive the first Fonseca Prize), world-renown physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking traveled part of the pilgrimage route, el Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James), on 22 Sept 2008. At the cathedral he asked the apostle for "hope, justice and love."

* Paolo Coehlo, author of the bestseller, The Alchemist, walked el Camino de Santiago in 1986 and wrote of his achieving self-awareness and spiritual awakening in the book, The Pilgrimage.

* I haven't found any corroborating documentation for this but Luis tells me that Sigourney Weaver also walked el Camino de Santiago.

* Loreena McKennitt loved her visit to Santiago de Compostela so much that she wrote a song about the city, aptly titled "Santiago," which appears on The Mask and Mirror (studio recording) and Nights from the Alhambra (live concert) CDs.