Life's a Stitch

Thank goodness we accomplished so much yesterday, this morning we awoke to rain. On our way to breakfast we watched soggy pilgrims, still joyful, arriving at the cathedral. 

 Lunch was a generous portion of tapas in the garden room at Cafe Bar Recantos, the jazz bar from yesterday.

We picked up some souvenirs and magically connected with four pilgrims from this Camino plus Helen, the woman I met on the trail in Vancouver. We had hoped to meet up in Santiago.

C ran into a pilgrim we met while waiting in line for our compestelas, who recommended a restaurant owned by a friend, located just two blocks away on the Camino Finisterra/Muxia route. We decided for our last night on this Camino pilgrimage we'd wait until 9:00 and eat in a real restaurant. 

Santiago in the evening:

Most Spanish restaurants we've been to have their specialties, but menus are pretty consistent. Obriero was Gallecian nouveau cuisine at a reasonable price. The menu was only in Gallego, so we prepared with some Google translating. We had a good laugh over what translated to "corn scum." 

Not that hungry, due holdover snacking to get us to 9:00 p.m. we ordered two entrees, no starters. One was lamb, roasted, deboned and re-assembled, the other was fish tempura on a bed of guacamole.

The fish was so delicious we split a second order for dessert. That brought back memories of many years ago when we first met, after a day of hiking, we stopped for Chinese food. When it came time for dessert I surprised C by having wonton soup. My salty tooth has a reputation for odd ordering.

On our way back to the monastery/hotel we heard joyful singing outside the building opposite the Cathedral. "Viva ESPAÑA," a fitting end to a wonderful Camino  experience.

This year's pilgrimage is over but we have so much to look forward to. Tomorrow we fly to Bordeaux to visit the French country home of friends from home. Although it is so close to the Paris route of the Camino, it's time for a rest.

In a couple of weeks our plans include going to Morocco where we've arranged for an overnight camel camping experience on the Sahara. The blogging continues.