The next day we went to have the included breakfast in the bar, and not only was there good coffee, freshly pressed orange juice, and cake, but toast made from good bread, and yogurt! It really was lovely and again it seemed the Hostal Sigüeiro was worth the price. I took some early morning pics around the Hostal too.
Leaving Sigüeiro we crossed a bridge and then walked up towards a church, but we didn’t go in. I was more interested in this ramshackle building more or less across from the church – can you see what I saw? I have turned the pic and zoomed in on the board used to block off one of the windows:
It really is such a shame to leave this beautiful painted board there, exposed to the weather! A man outside the church, who seemed to be some sort of guide or guardian, didn’t seem to be at all upset by it though, so we just photographed it and moved on.
The weather was warm, the camino was easy, the views were nice. We had stopped looking at guide books as the markings were self explanatory. Until … we had crossed a busy road and walked away from it, towards the woods again, and we came to a crossing where a camino marker pointed us towards the left and back up to the busy road, while the painted arrow on the tarmac painted in both directions. If we hadn’t seen the lady London stopping for a while and then walking towards the right in front of us, we would no doubt have followed the marker blindly. Someone has repositioned that marker! The path goes to the right and then shortly after to the left and into the green. Check for a lamp/concrete post with a yellow arrow on it on the road up there. Someone is trying to direct pilgrim traffic towards their own establishment, don’t give them the pleasure!
The path winds easily through the woods there on the way to Santiago, through small hamlets and then on to the industrial outskirts of the city. We got as far as the Bar Poligono, perfectly placed for a rest before you go the last 5-6 kms into Santiago old town. The long tarmac walk and the heat had given me a blood filled pressure blister (again!) and walking was becoming quite painful. I decided to call it a day, and also a taxi, and rather hobble around in Santiago and enjoy my one evening there before going home.
Also, here is a photo of a dead snake we found en route.
So we did. We went to the Hostal A Nosa Casa, where a light and bright room waited for us. A quick shower and change later we were out in the streets of beautiful Santiago, went to the Plaza do Obradoiro to say hi and then on to a celebratory glass of albarinho at Café Casino, as you do. It was lovely being there again, it always feels like home.
The bus strike would continue the next day, so B arranged for the same taxi driver to pick her up early in the morning, and then there was nothing left to stress about or plan. All we had to do was enjoy our evening in Santiago, so we had a meal at the Cardeal, did some some sightseeing sauntering and finished with another glass of albarinho at the Casino to end our little adventure.
Somewhere Slowly 