Galicia & Asturias

This week, we took our students up to Galicia and Asturias, the two most provinces in Spain. Here's my day-by-day run down of the highlights.

Monday 
In the morning we hit the road toward Santiago de Compostela, which lies about 7 hours to the northwest. En route we made a quick stop in the old medieval town of Lugo, famous for a wall and a Cathedral. The wall, built by the Romans when they conquered the peninsula, stands about 25-30 feet high and is about 6 feet wide at the thinnest parts and 12 feet at the thickest. You can walk all the way around the old part of town in about 20 minutes. It's a great view of the old slate roofs and tight little streets. You can also see, outside the wall, the uneven growth of the modern city which for years was an industrial town but looks like it's languishing a bit. Inside the wall there is a beautiful old Romanesque cathedral.A couple hours later we made it to Santiago de Compostela. The city is mostly known as the final destination for the Camino de Santiago, a series of old pilgrimage paths leading to the town. Why Santiago? Well, long story short... It is believed that St. James had done missionary work here and was buried in the city. Sometime in the 9th century, someone felt the pull of inspiration and followed a star to a field where the apostle was reportedly buried. Santiago is the Spanish term for St. James, and campus stellae is Latin for "field of the star". The Moors invaded Spain in 711 AD and spent a century or so taking over most of the peninsula. Santiago, however, was never captured and became a Christian stronghold. It is said that St. James protected the Christian soldiers from the advancing hordes. Christian Spaniards eventually reconquered the peninsula in 1492.
The first night we discovered a wonderful vegetarian restaurant near the hotel and then went with the students on an evening stroll through the tight streets. We found a bakery that was about to close but managed to purchase a tarta de Santiago, a fantastic almond cake.

Tuesday
The next day started with a nice hike along the last couple miles of the Camino de Santiago. We started just outside of town at a spot called Monte de Gozo, or "mount of joy" because this is the spot that pilgrims who've been walking for months finally get their first glimpse of the cathedral. We attended the pilgrims' mass at the Church of San Francisco at noon. Then we went to the Cathedral, which has the most amazing altar piece I've ever scene. There's a statue of St. James that pilgrims hug or kiss, but to get to it, you have to walk up into the altar piece. It's amazing. And then you go down into the crypt where James' remains are said to be housed.

Wednesday
On Wednesday, we explored the northern coast. Our first stop was Praias das Catedrais, or Cathedrals Beach, a gorgeous spot where the waves run high up the bridge and have carved deep crevasses in the rocks. The rocks were covered with little mussels and gooseneck barnacles. From there we went to the fishing village of Cudillero for lunch. It's a pretty little town with houses built up the sides of the mountain. The students went searching for cheap fare and we stopped at a nice seafood place for fabada asturiana, a heavy bean stew, and fish: Janine wanted scallops but settled for fried cod and I got cachopo, a piece of white fish with a thin slice of ham and cheese, all covered with a savory sauce. The students wanted some more beach time since we couldn't swim at Praias, so we made a short stop at the beach at Gijón. The students got their first eyeful of a European beach, but luckily there were only a couple of topless older ladies so I don't think anyone was in any mortal peril. A couple of us went out int the waves, while everyone else let their feet get wet or stay clear of the water completely. When everyone had their fill, we went to Oviedo.

Thursday
Oviedo was a great town with good food. It's got a neat cosmopolitan feel with a nice blend of old and new. There were a number of Botero statues in town, most notable "La Maternidad" at the head of a nice long walk through shops and stores. In the morning we went to Santa María de Naranco, a former palace and later church that was built on the nearby mountain about 1,200 years ago. We went to the cathedral, which house an impressive reliquary that boasts two fragments from the true cross, 5 thorns from the crown of thorns, some of Peter's personal items, and a cloth that covered Christ's face after he died. Next door sands the fine arts museum where we saw some fantastic Sorolla paintings. Next door to the hotel was a great noodle house where the students and we dug into some pad thai.

Friday
On Friday we packed up and went to León, the site of one of the first and most breathtaking Gothic cathedrals in Spain. After so many big, blocky Romanesque cathedrals in Lugo, Santiago, and Oviedo, the elegant vaults and the stained glass of León's cathedral was a wonderful change. Everyone was starting to get tired, so the family went to go see Dora the Explorer at a local movie theater, got some food, and went to bed.

Saturday
Saturday was something of a disaster. Originally I had planned to stop off in Astorga and then go to the Castle of Coca (a small town near Segovia). However, the driver told me that Astorga wasn't on the way and that we might consider skipping it. I figured that was probably a good idea since everyone was worn out. However, when we arrived at the castle at 12:55 pm, we discovered that they were closing at 1:00 pm and wouldn't open until 4:30 pm. So now there is a group of 14 hungry, road weary students stuck in the middle of nowhere. We found a bathroom, grabbed some local fare, watched a little of the Real Madrid game, and eventually just headed back to Alcalá de Henares.