October 16, 2026

Friday

León, León, España > Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, España

Due to the large number of pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago our breakfast is scheduled for 08:00. Normally it would “start” at 08:00 and run until the breakfast room closed or we had to be on the bus. Today, not only dues breakfast have a scheduled time, but it is the same as the luggage pick-up.

We must be out of our rooms by 09:00 and we have to have our carry-on on the bus by 09:00. Our walking tour of León will also begin at 09:00 in the lobby. So, today is an up and at it day. The reason is we have about four to five hours of driving time today to reach Santiago de Compostela by 18:00.

We meet in the lobby, and we look at a map of the various pilgrim routes to which lead to Santiago de Compostela. We then walk through the cloister which is part of the hotel, and the chapter room of the monastery; the letter of which has been used for many things including a jail. The carved ceiling is beautiful.

The chapter room (or chapter house) is the second most important room in a monastery after the church. It is typically located on the eastern wing of the cloister, right next to the abbey church. Which is the case here. It is generally a large room, often highly ornamented and designed to hold the entire community of monks. The normal stone or wooden benches line the walls for the monks are absent here, probably because of the many uses the room has gone through. The dais or raised seat for the abbot or superior is also missing.

Like most chapter rooms is has a single grand doorway from the cloister, with high windows that prevent outsiders from looking or listening in. The entire monastic community gathers here every morning Prime; Prime is the third mass of the day. Matins or Viglis is the first mass about 02:00. It is followed by the Lauds at dawn. Prime usually takes place about 06:00. At Prime a chapter or section from the Rule of Saint Benedict and the Martyrology is read aloud.

The chapter room serves as the main conference room where the abbot and monks discuss community business, elect new abbots, manage property, and vote on important matters. It is also where the monks openly confess minor rule infractions or faults (the culpa) in front of their brothers. Here is where new novices receive their monastic habit, solemn professions take place, important guests are welcomed, and farewells are said for deceased members.

The ceiling in the Chapter Room 

Afterwards we actually boarded the bus and drove all of ten minutes to the center of town. Here we were dropped off in the pedestrian area so we could walk to the 13th century gothic cathedral; the Cathedral of Santa María de Regla (Catedral de Santa María de Regla de León). It also called Pulchra Leonina which is Latin for “the Leonine beauty”. It is famous for its massive collection of medieval stained glass (nearly 1,800 square meters) and slender twin towers which are on either side of the entrance, but not “attached to” or butting up against the entrance. The flying buttresses are similar in design to those of Norte Dame in Paris.

The most interesting part was really the stain glass windows. Most of them are from the 13th century. The glass is actually blown colored glass broken into small pieces and fitted into lead piping. A few of the windows are from the 16th century and although still stained glass, they are much bigger pieces and often painted glass rather than stained. The colors of the 13th century glass is far more spectacular than the 16th century glass. They have been cleaning and repairing the windows for the last thirty years and suspect it will take another ten years to complete. At which time they will have to start all over cleaning and repairing the windows.

The outside of the church.

The upper windows are the older ones. If you increase the size of the photo you can easily see the difference.

These windows are really beautiful.

We left the church and walked around the corner to a bar where Fernando had hot chocolate and churros waiting for us. We enjoyed the chocolate and headed to the bus.

Lunch as in Palacio de Canedo is an 18th-century manor house located in the village of Canedo (Arganza, León), which has been restored and transformed into a wine-tourism complex by entrepreneur José Luis Prada ("Prada a Tope"). Apparently, he is completely full of himself for making the transformation. However, one does have to admit that the views from the hill on which the Palacio sits offered amazing views of the vineyards and the landscape of the Bierzo region.

The restaurant offered traditional cuisine from the Bierzo region. The had a cured dried beef, called Cecina, which was similar to bresaola in the Valtellina. Their signature dish, called botillo, is roast port with roasted peppers. Lunch was served family style.

So, the menu is as follows:

First the appetizers:

Cecina al aceite de laurel con virutas de queso ("Cecina" dried cured beef meat in virgin olive and tiny pieces of cheese)

Lacón prensado con nuestros pimientos asados (Front pork leg pressed with roasted peppers)

Ensalada primavera con queso de cabra (Spring salad with goat cheese)

The main course was:

Carrilleras de ibérico al Mencía con verduritas (Iberian pork cheeks with Mencia wine and vegetables)

Dessert was Crema de limón con castañas en almíbar (Lemon cream with chestnuts in syrup)

They served two wines. A rosé (Tinto here) called Tinto Mencía Palacio de Canedo and a white called Mencía wine Palacio de Canedo.  

We were very careful not to eat too much of anything. There is more than ample food on this trip and we have a planned dinner with the group in Santiago. We did try everything. The cured beef was very sweet, it reminder me of Bresaola di cavalli.

The front leg of the pork was just ok. In fact, it was a little tough, although the peppers were very good. The salad was good. The pork cheeks were dry and tasteless. The dessert was actually very good, but you could have done without the chestnuts.

Then it was back on the bus, and we were off to Santiago de Compostella. We spent the next two-and-three-quarters hours driving through the beautiful Cantabrian Mountains (Cordillera Cantábrica). We even got a glimpse of Torre de Cerredo the highest peak in this mountain range at about 2,649 meters (8,700 feet).

Similar to California they have an issue with the eucalyptus trees. They are an invasive species here and were brought here from Australia for the same reasons. Today, apparently, they are used in the production of paper in España, and probably eucalyptus oil products. However, they have been a problem with fires. It is also interesting to see the forests as we drive by because they are planted in such neat rows.

So now you probably want to know why we were going to Santiago de Compostela, and what the significant is. So, who was Santiago de Compostela. Sant = Saint. Tiago is a Spanish version of James.

Saint James «the Greater» was one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ, not to be confused with James «the Lesser» (whether it's based on height or age is disputed) or James «the Just», the brother of Jesus. This James «the Greater» was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and the brother of John the Evangelist, the youngest of the twelve apostles who went on to write the Gospel of John, the three Epistles of John and the Book of Revelation. James was the first of the 12 apostles to be martyred when Herod Agrippa ordered his beheading in AD 44.

Now the legend. Although it's not documented in the Bible, it's believed that when the apostles went to forth to spread the Gospel, James ended up in the Iberian Peninsula, then known as Roman Hispania, effectively becoming the Saint Patrick of Spain (he's still the patron saint). Legend says that he did not have much success in converting the people of Hispania to this new faith. Discouraged as he was preaching the gospel in Zaragoza (then known as Caesar Augusta) in the year 40, the virgin Mary appeared on a column near the Ebro River to encourage him. Column is pilar in Spanish, hence the

popularity of this name in Spain.

James eventually returns to Jerusalem leaving behind a small community of Christian converts. After he's martyred by Herod, his followers manage to get his body out from under Herod's nose. They place it on stone boat without oars, sails or a crew and sent it across the Mediterranean and up the northwest Atlantic coast of Hispania. After a week, the boat comes ashore in Padrón (now famous for their spicy green peppers) along the coast of Galicia, where it's met by James disciples.

Today Padrón is 12 km (7.5 miles) inland from the coast. But the Rio Ulla does empty on the coast and does pass near Padrón. In Roman times, the area was an inlet of the Ria of Arousa where the Sar and Ulla rivers met, functioning as a vital maritime and commercial hub. It was granted municipal status under the Flavian dynasty (likely during the reign of Emperor Vespasian or Titus), earning the name Iris Flavia.  

Padrón’s modern name comes from the Pedrón—an ancient Roman altar (traditionally dedicated to the god Neptune) preserved beneath the main altar of the Parish Church of Santiago in Padrón. Local Jacobean legend claims there is a stone which was used as the mooring post for the stone boat that brought the body of the Apostle James to Galicia.

The claim is that the disciples of James bury him 20 km (13 miles) inland, where it's forgotten for a number of centuries. Ok, Santiago de Compostela is about 30 km (18 miles) from Padrón. So, maybe it is possible they brought a body to Santiago de Compostela. But, it is 3,700 km (2,300 miles) in a straight line from Haifa to Santiago de Compostela, it is probably more like 4,800 km (3,000) miles by boat.

Meanwhile, Christianity spreads throughout the land until 711, when the Islam-practicing Moors invade and conquer most of the peninsula - except the northwest. Our guide indicated that the term Moors is kind-of like the n-word in the United States today, and its better to say Islamic people. We want to be politically correct.

Them, on the July 25th, the the year of our Lord 813, a curious Christian pilgrim follows sweet music and bright stars to a remote hillside later dubbed Campus Sellae in Latin. There he discovers the remains of James - hence his name in Spanish Santiago de Compostela or Saint James of the Field of Stars. A local bishop from the town of Iria Flavia sanctifies this discovery. This begins the tourist industry in Santiago de Compostela.

Given that there are 6 official languages on the Iberian peninsula, James has many translations aside from Santiago: Diego, Jaime, Jacobo, Yagoba, Tiago. Other names: James the Great, James the Elder, St. Jacob, Jacque, lacobus Maximus (Latin), as well are Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek names. Hey, look – SanDiego – but you didn’t know that meant Saint James!

The sign of the Camino or Pilgrim’s path is often marked the scallop shell. There is another story about Saint James' body being lost at sea and coming ashore covered in … wait for it … scallop shells. In the Middle Ages, the shell was not only originally just a souvenir pilgrims took back home, but also a sign that they completed the pilgrimage. Today, it serves as a metaphor. The grooves in the shell represent the different routes traveled by pilgrims from around the world. These routes all lead to one point - the tomb of St. James in Santiago de Compostela.

It also a great marketing tool. The sell the shells all over. They make jewelry in the shape of shells. The use shells as a sign of the route.

On a less biblical note, Santiago de Compostella is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia.

Possibly raided from 711 to 739 by the Islamic people, the bishopric of Iria was incorporated into the Kingdon of Asturias about 750. At some point between 813 and 842, during the reign of Alfonso II of Asturias, bishop Theodemar of Iria, claimed to have found some remains which were attributed to Saint James the Greater. This discovery was accepted in part because Pope Leo III and Charlemagne, who had died in 814—had acknowledged Asturias as a kingdom and Alfonso II as king, and had also crafted close political and ecclesiastic ties. Sounds a bit like politics to me. Around the place of the discovery a new settlement and centre of pilgrimage emerged, which was known to the author Usuard in 865 and which was called Compostella by the 10th century.

So, the place has a long and colorful history. It is still a fairly small town today, less than 100,000 people. 2,400 years ago, it was undoubtedly a whole lot smaller. Maybe 20 or 30 percent of today population. Clearly it was strategically important to the Asturias Kingdom and the to Catholic Church. It was the Asturias Kingdom that pushed the Islamic people from the Iberian Peninsula and helped establish the Christian country of España.

Enough history. We arrived Santiago de Compostela just as it had gone 18:00. Our hotel tonight is the Hostal dos Reis Católicos (in Galician), also called the Hostal de Los Reyes Católicos (in Spanish) or Parador de Santiago. It is supposedly a 5-star Parador hotel, located in the Praza do Obradoiro. It is widely considered the oldest continuously operating hotel in the world, and has also been called the "most beautiful hotel in Europe"

The building was commissioned 1499 by the Catholic Monarchs, Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II, after visiting Santiago in 1486 and witnessing sick and exhausted pilgrims on the streets. Designed and built between 1501-1511 by the royal architect Enrique Egas in a grand style, featuring a detailed Plateresque façade and four interior cloisters arranged in a Greek cross shape. For nearly 450 years, it functioned as a premier medical center, orphanage, and shelter offering free lodging and care to weary travelers finishing the Camino de Santiago. It stopped operating as a public hospital in 1953 and reopened as a luxury hotel in 1954, later joining Spain’s state-run Paradores Network in 1986.

The building is quite beautiful on the outside. It is a blend of Gothic, Renaissance (Plateresque), and Baroque elements and sits right next to the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral. While the major architectural elements remain and certainly add character to the building, the rooms are fairly modern. One big issue is that we are on the first floor, right next to the street. The noise level will probably be high. Not that there are cars, because it is technically a pedestrian area, but there is the occasional taxi or delivery van.

The very first thing we noticed is that the room is cold. We asked for and got an extra blanket. On our way to our 19:45 dinner, we learned that it is today that the city turns on the boilers which provides heat to the city. This is normal in Europe and October 15th seems to be the day. They told us the heat will come on at 20:00.

Dinner was in the old morgue and horse stables on floor down. It was quite beautiful for having such a non-noble past. Dinner was ordered off the menu, but we chose just to have the appetizers again. I ordered the traditional Galician bean and pork cheek soup and croquettes. Mary had a salad and the croquettes. We just aren’t very hungry. We are also finding the food in the north of España to be very bland.

After dinner we headed to our room and were pleased to find they had indeed turned the heat on. I took a nice warm bath and got into bed.

Buenas noches y hola - Buonanotte e Ciao,

Enrico e Maria