Dear readers, our arrival in Santiago does not complete the telling of the story. In fact we spent the day on a nine hour bus tour of the northwest coast of Spain and there is much more to tell of this amazing lodging we have in the shadow of the cathedral.

The San Martin Pinario Hospedera Seminario Mayor is a centuries old seminary whose rooms have been repurposed for pilgrims and tourists. There is now central heating, lights, and an elevator. Each bedroom looks to be for one or two seminarians and now houses two pilgrims. The walls are solid stone several feet thick and rather than shades of curtains, we have thick wooden shingles that we can open and close as we wish. There are old fashioned heaters where hot water runs through a register but it is very comfortable. The bathroom is modern with a walk in shower. The only recommendation I would have is to increase the number of electrical plugs. We have a total of three. One in the bedroom, one in the wall, and one in the bathroom. This can be difficult when we have to charge two cell phones, two hear aids, one watch, and a CPAP for breathing at night. We are managing just fine with adapters.

Today’s trip was to Finisterre, Muxia and other northwestern coast sights. The traditional Camino in the Middle Ages saw people from all over Europe walking out to the end of the world. I did that in 2022 with Merci and Scott Hutchison and I was able to appreciate this trip much more. There is a scene at the end of the Martin Sheen movie, The Way where he completes his Camino in Muxia (moo-she-ah) by depositing his son’s ashes in the sea. Below please find that exact spot from today’s visit.

We also were sown the world’s largest Horreo. This is a stone bin to store grain above the moist ground and away from vermin. There are small versions of this all along the Camino and throughout Spain.

I will write about additional sights from our trip tomorrow. Stay tuned.