Postcard from a non-pilgrim in Santiago

Cathedral of Santiago from the
Parque de Alameda

I was over a month in Santiago de Compostela and in some ways it felt more like years. Learning Spanish in partial immersion is hard work and tiring so I was always glad to have opportunities to speak English or French. 

Santiago is a small city of about 100,000, and while it has other reasons for its existence (such as a prestigious university) the pilgrims dominate, especially in the old city and around the Cathedral.

Rhinestones anyone?

 What's most entertaining is the number of shops selling pilgrim souvenirs, including walking sticks and the scallop shells the pilgrims carry. Entertaining because it's the end of the journey for most so no need for those sorts of souvenirs -- they should have picked them up at the start of their trip. On the other hand, rhinestone-bejewelled shells on bracelets and necklaces work! Not to mention tee-shirts with pilgrims crossing Abbey Road. Seeing the pilgrims streaming in is disconcerting enough for me -- I wonder how the locals really feel about them. They are reliant on the trade the pilgrims bring, but probably also resent them a bit. 

Pilgrims coming in to Santiago

That being said, I have found the people I have dealt with, predominantly in shops and cafes, consistently friendly, patient (with our limited Spanish) and honest. I doubt that I was ever ripped off in Santiago. Restaurant bills are itemised and while tips aren't expected, they are appreciated. There are a few beggars in the street, some of whom are no doubt genuine. The elderly lady kneeling on a cushion for hours and hours must be genuine. On the other hand, there is another, younger man who takes time out occasionally to read a book! Signs are usually hand-printed but in one case laminated, often setting out why they are in need of ayuda (help). A few have accompanying dogs,but fewer than is common in France.

Santiago doesn't always feel the need to mark all the streets with the street name; on the other hand, much money is spent on keeping the place almost spotlessly clean and tidy, and of course building a great big shouty space just outside of town. The Cidade de Cultura (Galician for City of Culture) may one day be the Santiago equivalent of the Sydney Opera House or the Eiffel Tower, but at the moment it is too far out of town for people to just go there. Week-day bus service is adequate, but week-ends plan on driving yourself or taking a taxi. We took a taxi. It is grandiose, in the same way that other places we have been to in Spain are grandiose, brilliantly conceived but as is normal with buildings that are at the cutting edge of the technology, it is hugely expensive, and has well over-run its budget. Two of the buildings have been put on hold indefinitely, with the holes in the ground looking sad and pathetic. Someday I hope they will complete it and find better ways to link it to the city. 

A budding opera signer practicing
from a balcony in the old city

Spending a month in one town is a great way to really get to know it. I did a lot of wandering around in the old city (called the zona monumental), where streets often narrowed to the point where you couldn't walk with your elbows out without hitting the walls, suddenly emerging into an irregularly shaped square with cafes and occasionally colonnades.It was cooler in the old city than on the usually wider streets in the new city. I lived with a host family and my hostess herself described the new city as ugly. It certainly had little to recommend it, with long blocks of identical, fairly uninteresting buildings, with one outstanding feature which was repeated throughout Galicia: bay windows, allegedly modelled on the back of 18th century ships, in order to catch as much sunlight as possible in an area that gets more rain and less sun than the rest of Spain. At one point, while most of Europe was sweltering with 35C+ temperatures Santiago had highs of 24C. Very pleasant.  

Pementos de Padron

Santiago is in the province of Galicia, and the Galician influence is strong. Many people speak Galician rather than Spanish, and Galician food is promoted. The Galician empanada was always available, but hard to get excited about -- saute together onion and garlic, mix in some tuna, spread it thinly on a layer of dough, cover with another layer of dough and bake. Fish and seafood also were popular, and potatoes. The Galicians were not too big on salads generally, and the most common vegetable I saw was a kind of wide flat bean called judia, cooked for a long time in something that gave it an odd flavour -- maybe vinegar - and ham. The other common vegetable was a green pimento called pemento de Padron, about 4-5 cm long, cooked in oil and sprinkled with salt. Very nice, and approximately one in 20 had a real bite to it. Apparently no way of knowing which one would turn out to be hot. These were usually shared at a table along with the meal. The local cheese was great, and the area is also known for good wines, so I didn't suffer too much.

50th birthday dinner for a classmate

I had enrolled for a month in the Academia Iria Flavia school of Spanish. My classes were small, with 2 others initially, a Swiss and a Russian woman, both in their early 20s. My efforts over the previous year and a half paid off and I placed out of the first level and into the second level of classes, with these two who had already studied there for a month. After a week the Russian left, and a Norwegian woman and a Brazilian woman joined us a week later. 

My mussels, Rias Bajas trip

For my last week we were joined by an American man who teaches high school French in Las Vegas, to mostly Hispanics, and he has found it is useful to be able to talk to them -- and listen to them -- in Spanish. I also got friendly with another Swiss woman, an American from Kentucky whose husband was also walking the Camino, about 2 weeks behind Lee, a German woman and the Brazilian's American husband. We socialised a fair bit and had a good time together, including celebrating the Brazilian's 50th birthday one night, and on 23 June celebrating la Noche de San Juan (summer solstice). 

Fuega de la Noche de San Juan

I took a day trip with the American woman to the Rias Bajas (lower rivers) area of Galicia, and the German woman (who had a car) and I visited the nearby towns of Lugo and A Coruna. After a while we all actually made an effort to speak Spanish together rather than English (which was the other common language). 

My German friend Claudia at Lugo

We had classes for about 4 hours a day, and most weekday evenings the school organised an activity, such as a visit to a museum or a Spanish language film.I certainly had some quibbles from time to time with the pedagogy, but overall I think it was pretty well done, and I certainly made a lot of progress. I discovered how well German is embedded in my brain, because when I couldn't think of the Spanish word or expression, often the German one would spring to mind. In particularly, I invariably said 'mehr' instead of 'mas' for 'more'. But when Lee joined me I was able to organise for him to get replacement glasses and even have a chat with the woman in the shop about places to eat in Finisterra and Muxia, which we went to after Lee finished the Camino.

The two Marias in the Parque de Almeda
with Inaki our guide and Georgia from Kentucky

All in all, I think I enjoyed my time in Santiago de Compostela. Would I go back again? I don't know at this point. I'd like to do some more Spanish classes, maybe there, maybe elsewhere. I have a soft spot for it now, and it was a good feeling when Lee and I came back on our way to Germany, to know where things were and get around. It has a friendly feel about it, and the two times when I came home quite late from an evening with friends, I felt safe walking the streets late at night. That's a pretty good thing to say about a place, I think.