Sunday, 19 August 2018

Santiago

Belatedly, I'm starting on a series of posts  covering my foreign explorations in the late June to early July period this year, covering perhaps 24 days in all. It was a very long journey and involved no less than 11 separate flights with 6 different airlines during which I circumnavigated this planet.

And the journey involved both work and play ... with latter fortunately constituting the majority. My experiences in both domains were fascinating and involved several 'firsts' for me. As my years advance, I don't mind trying new things. Indeed, the thing I fear most is getting into a rut and doing the same boring things over and over. No doubt some of my readers will disagree with this diagnosis, but 'chacun a son choix'.

The trip to my first main destination, Santiago de Compostela in Spain's far north-west Galicia region - bordering on the Bay of Biscay and lying just north of Portugal took 32 hours in all, some ten hours or more of which were on the ground in airports terminals at Sydney, Doha, and Rome. And arrived there at midnight (their time) over 3 hours late. Judging by my trip, el cheapo airlines seem to have trouble keeping to their schedules! I stayed in lovely little hotel close the university campus and met up there with several long-time friends from both Australia and other parts of the world. You've probably guessed that I was in Santiago on business, that being to attend a lovely conference lasting a week. Of that, some 4 days were spent 'on the road' through Galicia seeing some of the territory's lovely sights while looking technically at the problems of rural development in Spain.

Prior to the meeting, however, I allowed myself one day to explore Santiago itself ... one of the world's major tourist destinations, especially for religious reasons. The city is at the terminal end of a series of religious pilgrimage  routes collectively termed the Camino de Santiago, which in recent years has attracted as many as 300,000 people annually.  See the following website for an overview of this massive event: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camino_de_Santiago.

Well, I wasn't there on a pilgrimage but the city itself is well worth a look as the pictures I present reveal. The central area has a combination of little lane-ways, massive plazas, historic buildings, picturesque vistas, interesting street life, and so on. And the massive cathedral, which is the focus of so much attention, looks to me much more interesting than its more famous counterpart in Rome! I think you'll agree with me that this place is something special! Apologies in advance for the vast number of photos and, by the way, you'll notice the absence of sun! Galicia was quite cloudy during my visit.















































































































































































































































































 AS




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