Rest day in Santiago

Galicia Independence march
Galicia Independence march

We slept well and rose late to a sunny warm morning. We ate breakfast at 10:30 at the pasteleria, by the time we’d finished it was cloudy and much cooler. We wandered on to the cathedral, enjoying a leisurely day in this lovely old city after all the cycling. The pilgrims mass took place at 12:00 and to our surprise people were allowed to wander around and take photographs. Priests manned the confessional boxes awaiting custom and occasionally someone would oblige.

We ate our picnic lunch in a park. Apart from bars, restaurants and tourist shops, most shops were closed, as well as banks and the post office, annoyingly for us as we needed the latter two facilities. We presumed it was a Bank Holiday of sorts, and later learnt it was Dia das Letras Galegas (Day of the Galician Language). A large Galician Independence march threaded its way through the town, interspersed with drummers and pipers. Childrens entertainers and musicians enhanced the festival mood.

It rained heavily in the afternoon, so we sheltered in a café. Later, I watched the first ten minutes of the Arsenal v Barcelona Champions League final, then it was time to return to O Triangulo das Verduras for the nine o’clock opening time. It was a different waitress, who spoke some English. I had mushroom croustade, which was acceptable but the filling was mushroom sauce rather than whole mushrooms. Christine made a better choice, a spicy couscous with tofu and vegetables. Desserts were again very good. We returned to find Arsenal losing 1-2 with only a few minutes to go, so we retired to bed at the end of a very welcome day of relaxation.

Santiago to Baamonde