Santiago de Compostela & Porto

Today we visited Santiago de Compostela. The relics of Saint James the Apostle are believed to be buried beneath the cathedral altar. Legend says that St James preached in Spain before returning to Jerusalem in 44AD where he was martyred. His body was then returned to Spain. Pilgrims travel the Camino walk to Santiago to pray at the tomb of St. James and gain religious merit. We saw many weary travellers in Santiago today.

Galicia is known as the seafood capital of Spain...so

of course I had to try the famous octopus for lunch! Pulpo a Feira (Octopus) is beaten to tenderise it, then boiled and cooked with salt, paprika and with olive oil, and is then served on a wooden platter. It was delicious! Of course it had to be accompanied by some White Albarino wine that is produced along the coast, I quite enjoyed this too. I didn't get to try the Tarta de Santiago, a dense almond cake which honours the memory of St James, but it is a popular cake in this region.

This afternoon we arrived in Portugal and we are now in the city of Porto. It is such an interesting place. It is the second largest city in Portugal and located on the Douro River. It's internationally famous export is port and we went to the Ferreirra cellar and got to do some tasting of the port! We also visited the Church of St Francis where the interior is decorated in gold gilt work...it was amazing! The city contains so many old buildings with terracotta coloured roofs and it is very hilly. I think the city has a lot of character and charm.