Our port of call today was Vigo, on the North Coast of Spain not far from the border with Portugal. Originally this was going to be one of those ports where we strolled into town to take in the shops, the sights and perhaps a beer or a coffee. However when we attended the info session on Vigo yesterday, we discovered that we were not far from Santiago de Compostella and that there was a ship tour available, so Rosa and I quickly booked two tickets.
Santiago de Compostella is an ancient city famous for its Cathedral of Santiago (St James) which has been the center for pilgrimages for hundreds of years. On any one day hundreds of hikers arrive at the Cathedral after walking anything from 100 to 1000 km’s. A couple of years ago our friend Marcus made the 880 km walk (El Camino) and since then a feature film called “The Way” starring Martin Sheen also featured this famous pilgrimage.
By 8:30 this morning were on the bus and being introduced to our tour guide Sergio. During the 80 minute drive to Santiago de Compostella, Sergio provided lots of information about Vigo and this region of Spain called Gallecia. Gallecia is the origin of the Celtic civilisations which spread from here to France, Ireland and Scotland. The Galletians feel a great kinship with the Irish and in fact the bagpipes and Celtic music originated in this part of Spain. Our bus ride through Gallecia took us through a beautiful and very green countryside. After a pleasant drive we arrived in Santiago DC which is a large and very modern city but of course we were interested in the centrally located historic city which features many churches, universities and of course the famous Cathedral of Santiago.
Sergio provided us with a fascinating tour around the old city and of course a visit to the Cathedral. The most fascinating aspect was to be in the square in front of the Cathedral to watch individual and groups of pilgrims arriving in most cases after walking through the Spanish countryside for many weeks. For most it is a very emotional experience to walk those final few steps to their ultimate destination. We saw one group arrive and in watching their joy and emotion in finishing their epic journey we heard a few Australian accents. Once Australian girl held up her Camino passport which had all the stamps of the place she passed through in the preceding weeks.
We also saw a large group of school children finishing the walk and being re-united with their families - quite an emotional affair even for us mere bystanders. After following Marcus’ epic walk to Santiago de Compostella and seeing “The Way” it was quite a bonus for Rosa and I to visit this magic location.
We left Vigo this afternoon just after 4pm and are due to arrive in Lisbon, Portugal tomorrow morning.
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