Finisterre & Santiago de Compostela – Galicia, Spain

After Asturias, we headed into the neighboring region of Galicia.  Galicia is said to look like Ireland.  Its much more green than most of Spain.  This is due to the amount of rain it gets and despite it being July, the weather was cloudy, gray, windy and chilly!  We started at the lighthouse in Finisterre.  If you read my blog often you may know that my Mom loves lighthouses, so we had to be sure and check out the few along the coast.

This particular one is the last stop along the Camino de Santiago.  I thought it was the Cathedral, but no.  We saw several hikers receiving their last stamp in their booklets.  Many people also leave some of their things here or burn them out on the rocks.

Afterwards, we headed to Santiago de Compostela – the infamous city of the Camino de Santiago and its cathedral.  Here are some lovely sights we found along the way.

These little structures you see all over.  Similar to the ones you see in Asturias, they used to hold grain and are now protected as historical sites.

Can you believe the color of this water!?

We stopped here for a picnic lunch and a picture of another lighthouse!

All along our trip, there were several areas where due to lack of rain or a low tide, the water was so low that the boats were sitting on dry land.

We finally made it to Santiago de Compostela where we visited the massive and impressive cathedral.  I loved this incense thing suspended by rope from the dome ceiling.

My mom and I also loved the arch details in the cathedral.  This second “floor” of arches is something you don’t see very often so it made this cathedral special.  Also, the reason this cathedral is so important and the reason so many people over the years have made a pilgimage to it, is because Saint James, the apostle, is buried here.

To me, the exterior of the church was the most beautiful.  It had what looked like aged copper gates, windows and doors, which gave a green color and then also moss all over the stones.  I loved the colors that are just not usually present on cathedrals.

You can see more of these colors in the picture more above of the Cathedral and my parents.

Tonight is our first night in Santorini, Greece.  We got in early evening so we just walked around our area of town and sat down to a most delicious dinner.  More on that soon!