Off the ship just past 9 AM through the port of La Coruna and a one hour bus ride countryside of the Galicia area of northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela. La Coruna looks like an interesting town as well but a bucket list item has always been to walk ‘the way’ (Camino de Santiago). This is as close as I’ll be able to get!

A heatwave is still taking over the Europe continent. Today will be a warm one…..like Florida LOL.

A short walk into the plaza along a street lined with shops and of course a church.

When we enter the plaza, we have our best photo op of the church.

A very busy place with tourists and hikers who have completed their walk of the Camino and are waiting for friends to enter the church. Then they will do the final walk to the gate at the end of the world. We caught a group leaving towards the gate singing their way.

Before we enjoy lunch at the Hotel on the square, we walk a side street to view the shops and restaurants lining each side. This area is known for its squid, sardines, mussels, and oysters. Yum!

Further down is the park Alamada where you get a beautiful view of the city and the church towers.

Back to the Hotel for a snack. This hotel was built by Isabella and Ferdinand to be a hospital and hospice for pilgrims who traveled to the Santiago de Compostela. Of course, they had a suite here to stay when they visited. It is considered the oldest still operating hotel in the world. Through the security to get in and then up an elevator to a large room where we have some tapas and beverages. Nice treat.

Now for the church museum visit (no photos allowed) and the entry into the church for guided tours. Thank goodness we did not have to wait in the long line that wrapped around the building – it’s hot out in the sun!

I do not need to tell you the story about Santiago de Compostela as you can read on the internet or maybe even know about it already.

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/347/

The key is that James the Apostle’s bones were discovered by a hermit in the woods and the King said a shrine should be built on the site.

Immediately people/pilgrims started to come to see his remains resulting in a need to build a bigger church, which over the ages expanded, was renovated, etc. and so on.

Some areas are restricted for photos, like the relic room – an entire altar covered in relics. Unbelievable! Enjoy these photos of the areas we were able to take photos.

Our tour guide leads us to the entry of the crypt where St. James’s tomb is located. However, today, they are using a different entrance which when we arrive has a long line. Everyone on our tour votes to not wait in the line in the sun. The tour guide does a good job of describing what we would see. The photo below is from the internet – much better than I could have taken!

We walk back to our bus for a return trip to the cruise ship. Glad to be on an air conditioned bus! Tonight is the Total Solar Eclipse!