On the way to Santiago de Compostela, I came down with a bad cold and spent our first day here in bed. Luckily, I was well enough to join the group on the second day. Our first stop Happiness Hill, known as Monte do Gozo, has a history tied to the Camino de Santiago since the Middle Ages, named for the joy pilgrims felt when they first sighted the Cathedral of Santiago from its summit. Historically, it served as a resting place and was associated with a chapel for pilgrims, with some traditions holding that pilgrims would walk the final miles barefoot or in a playful race to the top. The site is also linked to a miracle of St. James, where the apostle is said to have miraculously transported fallen knights to the hill. Unfortunately, on this day, it was very foggy, and we were not able to see the Cathedral from the hill. 

After visiting the hill, we walked the last mile of the Camino de Santiago joining some of the pilgrims on their final steps of a 500 mile journey from the French border to pay homage to the remains of Saint James. Since the Middle Ages, countless pilgrims, have walked the same miles to reach the namesake city of Saint James. According to legend a ninth century Shepherd witnessed a moving star and followed it. The light eventually leading him to a burial site. The local bishop examined the bones found there and proclaim them to be those of Jesus’ apostle, James, the patron saint of Spain. Hearing the news, the Spanish King ordered a cathedral be built on the spot in 1075. And doing so he not only transformed Santiago de Compostela into one of the most sacred Catholic destinations in the world, but he also nurtured the budding relationship between the Spanish monarchy and the Catholic Church that would eventually come to dominate Spanish history and culture. In following this last mile of El Camino, we walked through the iconic old city.

Here are a number of views of the Cathedral from the outside. The Cathedral is massive. I did not go inside, though I am told it is quite ornate in the baroque style. Not my favorite style of architecture.

After symbolically finishing the El Camino, our guide took us to one of the national dishes of Spain, churros and chocolate.

After this delightful midmorning snack, Reggie and I made it to the local market. I love the markets in Spain. However, the ones we’ve been to in Gijon and here haven’t been nearly as large as the ones that I’ve seen in Madrid and Southern Spain. But you can still get great ham and cheese.

Some pictures taken on our walk back to the hotel.

Our group leader took the group through a park on to a supermarket to look at Spanish food. Because I was still recovering from my cold, I stayed in the room, but Reggie shared a couple of pictures

Reggie and I had an incredible dinner. We ordered this seafood platter that contained a couple of different kinds of shrimp, a couple different kinds of clams, mussels, scallops, percebes, crab, and lobster. You can’t ask for more than that. It was very delicious and we ate it all. I think we amused our waiter. So at the end, he gave us two shots of this cream liquor. It was just a fun evening.