Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Santiago de Compostela is a city in Galicia, Northwestern Spain. The famous Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) brings visitors from all over the world to the Cathedral located in Old Town Santiago, as it’s been a pilgrimage route for centuries. Apparently there are different routes, all of which take weeks to walk. From Sá Carneiro Airport, in Porto, it was only a three hour drive. I chose the latter.

The train from Lisbon got me to Campanhá station around 3pm on a Saturday. The plan was to pick up a car at the airport and drive to Galicia, enjoying some of the most amazing views of the Iberian mountains and coastline. The plan worked out just fine. If you ever decide do rent a car in Europe, SiXT should be your first option. I use kayak.com for 90% of my travel plans, and they found me a very good deal on a brand-new Opel Astra with unlimited miles (or kilometers). Stick shift? Even better! A word of warning: pay the extra 10 euros for the GPS (you’ll find out why). 

I picked up my Google Maps directions and attempted to get on the A-3 towards Spain, only to find myself driving around in circles. Wait, there’s a bar over there! I pulled over, grabbed a snack and a “galão” (Portuguese version of café con leche) and tried to get directions from three old men who were sitting outside playing checkers. One of them might have been the referee. They all spoke exactly at the same time, and they disagreed with one another as to which way might have been the easiest for me. Very helpful. I thanked them, and was on the highway in less than ten minutes. The first song that I heard on the radio was “Augusto Canário – O popó da namorada”, which I understood to be something sexually disturbing.

I would describe in detail how amazing that drive was, the unbelievable views along the way and the heavy fog that forced me to drive in 2^nd gear for a good 45 minutes, but this post is about Santiago de Compostela, so let’s get to it. I arrived in Santiago at 9pm local time (one hour ahead of Portugal). The sun didn’t go down until close to 11pm. Since I had the car, I chose a hotel that’s ‘technically’ located twenty minutes away from Old Town. Casa dos Albardonedo (Rua Muros, 112, 15896 Santiago de Compostela). Really nice hotel, great staff, very comfortable beds and outstanding breakfast. The staff spoke very little English, though. I risked a few words of Portuñol and I guess it sounded ‘gallego’ enough. Success! Apparently the building used to be an old bakery in the 19^th century, and they restored the hotel maintaining the architectural style. Fifty euros a night is a bargain for this hotel.

After a nice hot shower, it was time to explore the Galician nightlife. I assumed it wasn’t going to be so crazy since we’re talking about a religious place. Maybe people close everything at 10pm and go to bed so they can get up early and go to church. This is when I was glad to be wrong. I parked at Praza de Galicia and looked for a cheap place to eat. Preferably some good old red meat. The food angels brought me to Siro (Rúa do Xeneral Pardiñas, 3 Santiago de Compostela, Spain). The terrific smell coming from inside somehow didn’t seem to match the super cheap prices listed on the chart outside. How can food that smells this good be this cheap? I needed to find out. First course: ‘oreja picante’, pig ears with a kick. The dish comes sizzling to the table, and it smells like pork heaven. I very much enjoyed the flavor, but was thrown off by the chewy texture. Second course: ‘filet de ternera’, which consists of a juicy veal steak, served with French fries and a salad, and well paired with a cold 1906 Reserva Especial. Happy with some delicious food and great beer to refuel the batteries, I was ready to see what else was out there.

It was almost midnight, on a Saturday night, and it felt as if I was in a ghost town. It was starting to get really cold. Before I confirmed my initial suspicions about the local nightlife, I decided to give it one last chance by heading over to Modus Vivendi (Praza Feixoó, Santiago de Compostela, Spain). I had heard of this place before from a group of travelers in Lisbon. Once I walked in, I saw a very tiny bar with no barstools. Just a counter, two bartenders chit-chatting and a few locals. I had to ask them what was going on. Apparently all the bars and clubs only get busy after 2am. I grabbed a cold San Miguel and found another door inside the pub that led to the downstairs lounge. This seemed much livelier. There were a few couches, armchairs, coffee tables, paintings on the walls, vibrant colors and another small bar. I was also the only tourist there, so I approached a group, and in less than five minutes, I was a local, at least in my mind.

Xuan and Pablo were from La Coruña, but were going to school in Santiago. They told me about places to go sightseeing and other pubs which we checked out later that night. As the conversation went, the place was getting busier, and our group was getting larger. Pablo’s friend, Camila, who very soon became my friend, joined us along with her group. If I can say one thing about Galician locals, it’s only fair to say that they are all very receptive. They talk to you as if they’ve known you for years, which I later came to conclude that is common all over Spain. Spaniards are very welcoming, and they will not hesitate to help you, even if you pull over next to their phone booth at 4am looking desperate.

On my way back to the hotel (or what I thought was my way back), I realized that Santiago had more roundabouts than signs telling you where to go. I drove around for almost an hour until I noticed that I was about to get on the E-1 south towards Portugal. I was also low on gas, and the one gas station that I found was closed (go figure). I was starting to consider just pulling over and sleeping in the car, but all I could think about was how comfortable my bed was. I had to find my way back. Oh, here, a GPS for 10 euros all of a sudden sounded like a great idea! Since it was too late for that, I kept driving until I found a woman on a payphone a few blocks away. I pulled over and, naturally, scared the hell out of her. I tried to tell her in broken Spanish that I was just as scared as she was. She gave me very precise directions, and I was in bed in about fifteen minutes. Conclusion: if you’re driving in Europe, get a GPS. It’s 2012.

 

The next morning started with the feast they call breakfast in Galicia. The hotel offered many different types of bread, eggs any style, cereal, jam, and strong, delicious Spanish coffee, among other things. After recharging, I went back to Old Town for sightseeing, this time paying close attention to the non-existing road signs and trying to understand what they would say if they were there. I had about three hours before heading back to Portugal, so I went to the famous Cathedral, which was way bigger than I had envisioned it. The guys also told me to check out the University of Santiago de Compostela, which I did, and it was pure medieval Spanish architecture at its finest. Other attractions in Old Town are the Hostal dos Reis Católicos “Catholic Kings Hostel” and the Palacios of Xelmirez and Raxoi. I didn’t have time to visit any museums, but I did have time for a Caldo Gallego before getting on the road. Caldo gallego is a traditional Galician soup which consists of a combination of smoked ham, chorizo, vegetables and beans in a hearty and slightly spicy broth. I’m sure it’s been served for centuries as the number one hangover antidote in the region.

It was a short but very entertaining visit to the Galician capital. I got on the E-1 before 1pm and started the drive back to Porto. I was starting my first summer school in Braga the following day, so I needed to rest because I knew I was going to have a busy week ahead. The next post will be about the awesome time I had and the amazing people I met in Braga, Portugal.