Pamplona with Jose Mari Ardanaz

Pamplona with Jose Mari Ardanaz

by | Jan 26, 2024 | Camino de Santiago, interview, places

This week I was joined on the podcast by Jose Mari Ardanaz, from El Camino People.

Jose Mari walked his first Camino in 2017. One of the things that most caught his attention about the Camino was the people who walked it and their stories. That’s why he first created an Instagram profile to share some of those stories. that project grew and grew until the Camino took up most of his life. That’s when he founded El Camino People, which is a travel agency but it also an NGO, which collaborates with organisations that help people with disabilities. 

Jose Mari lives in Pamplona and he shares his knowledge about the city. Scroll down to listen to our conversation in Spanish, or get the highlights here in English.

There are 3 things every visitor to Pamplona should be aware of, according to Jose Mari:

  1. The Camino, of course. The Francés from Saint Jean, is just one of them, but there are others, like the Francés from Somport, Camino Francés-Aragonés,  Camino del Baztán, and Camino de Sakana, which is part of the Camino Olvidado.
  2. San Fermín festival, with the running of the bulls. One of Jose Mari’s recommendations is to follow their route, from near the town hall to the bullring.
  3. Food.

    Things to visit in Pamplona

    The cathedral. Unlike other cathedrals along the Camino, the one in Pamplona is not in a big square. The exterior and interior belong to 2 different periods. The exterior is ‘ugly’ compared to other cathedrals; it looks more like a palace or official building, but the interior is spectacular. You shouldn’t miss the Occidens exhibition there.

    Pamplona used to be a fortress and the old city walls are still standing. You enter Pamplona through the Portal de Francia, one of the old city gates. Visit the city walls, the old town, and Jose Mari particularly recommends not to miss El caballo blanco, a meeting point for the people of Pamplona. 

    On your way out of Pamplona there’s a park called La Taconera on your left. The Camino is on your right. Instead of following the official Camino, Jose Mari recommends to take Avenida del Ejército on your left instead. That way you’ll go through the old citadel and be transported to past times. After that, you’ll join the official Camino again on your way to Alto del Perdón.

    Centro Ultreia, a pilgrim welcome and interpretation centre that is 100% accessible. You can learn about the history of the Camino in Navarra. 



    Food

    Pamplona’s food offer is very varied, ranging from simple traditional dishes to more elaborate and innovative ones. 

    If you’re only staying one night, the fun thing to do is to have a tapas, only they’re called pintxos in Pamplona.

    On the traditional side, Jose Mari recommends Café Río and their bechamel ball with an egg inside. They have a counter keeping track of how many eggs they ever have sold… and it’s over half a million!

    If you prefer the trendier side, Jose Mari suggests Baserriberri.

    If you’re planning to stay longer, and you’re a meat lover, you need to treat yourself to a good chuletón (big T-bone steak). 

    And a word you may need, and that’s specific to Navarra and the Basque Country: zurito. You probably know caña already, for a glass of beer. A zurito is a smaller serving, it’s half a glass. It’s what the locals normally take when planning to go to 4 or 5 bars.

     

    Hemingway

    You can’t talk about Pamplona without mentioning Ernest Hemingway. References to the author can be found throughout the city:

    – There’s a monument to Hemingway outside the bullring.

    – On one side of Café Iruña, you’ll find El Rincón de Hemingway (Hemingway’s corner), a speakeasy serving great cocktails.

    – When in Pamplona, Hemingway used to stay at Hotel La Perla. If you want to splurge, you could also stay in this 5-star hotel. Hemingway’s room has been kept just as it was when he stayed there. Over the years, people who have stayed there have sent copies of The Sun also Rises (Fiesta in the Spanish translation), in their own languages. So, the room now displays this collection. 

     

    San Fermín festival

    It takes place every year, July 6-14.

    Jose Mari’s warning: if you’re planning to stay in Pamplona around those dates, you should book a year in advance. The city will be packed during the festival and it will be impossible to find accommodation otherwise. 

    You should also know that the public albergue closes during the festival. And the private hostels will be full of tourists and party-goers.

     With so much to see and do, maybe plan some extra time in Pamplona and follow Jose Mari’s recommendations.

     

    Want more?

    Make sure you don’t miss any posts or announcements by subscribing for free here. You’ll receive the transcripts + vocabulary guides + interactive exercises of episodes 1-5 of the Spanish for the Camino podcast. And… you’ll get access to exclusive content too.

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    Jose Mari also told me a little bit about the Camino del Baztán. If you’re interested in this bonus audio + transcript, you’ll find it with the podcast transcripts.

     

    Buen Camino

    What is the Camino de Santiago

    What is the Camino de Santiago

    by | Feb 3, 2023 | Camino de Santiago

    After 100 blog posts, I thought it was time to try other things.  I’ve been toying with the idea of starting a podcast for months. And now, finally, the Spanish for the Camino podcast is here.

    Unlike the blog, podcast episodes will be in Spanish.

    The idea with the blog was to help those with no Spanish at all to learn at least some basics.

    But I know that some of you have those basics covered and are looking for something more advanced. And that’s where the podcast comes in. Short episodes, on not too difficult Spanish and all about the Camino.

    I recorded a very short episode in English explaining what you can expect from the podcast. And… you can also listen to the first ‘proper’ episode. In Spanish.

    Episode 1

    To give you some context before you listen: the title of Episode 1 is ‘Qué es el Camino de Santiago’ or, in English, ‘What is the Camino de Santiago’.

    In this episode you’ll hear an overview of what the Camino is and how it started. You will also hear what the main routes are within Spain and some of the most common motivations to walk.

    Without getting into too many details, because the episode is just over 6 minutes long.

     

    The plan

    The plan is not to turn the podcast into some sort of Camino encyclopaedia with lots of data (there already are some fantastic websites out there with plenty of information). The plan is to give you an opportunity to improve your Spanish while listening about one of your favourite topics: the Camino.

    If you know me, you’ve probably heard me talk about the importance of consistency when learning a language. If you’re going to do 1 hour of Spanish a week, it’s much better to split it into shorter periods and do around 10 minutes a day, rather than doing the whole hour the same day.

    And that’s one of the reasons why I plan to keep the podcast episodes short. They could be your 10 minutes of Spanish a day.

    OK. Enough explaining.

     

    The podcast

     

    Want more?

    Make sure you don’t miss any posts or announcements by subscribing for free here. You’ll receive the transcripts + vocabulary guides + interactive exercises of episodes 1-5 of the Spanish for the Camino podcast. And… you’ll get access to exclusive content too.

    Subscribe here

     

    ¡Buen Camino!

    Walking & talking on the Camino

    Walking & talking on the Camino

    by | Dec 30, 2022 | Camino de Santiago, Camino Portugués, Camino Spanish

    I did it again. I walked the Camino with another group of strangers. Sort of.

     

    Let me explain.

    In 2019 I walked the Camino Inglés with another Spanish teacher and a group of total strangers who wanted to improve their Spanish. The truth is, I hadn’t even met the other teacher in person until we both arrived in Ferrol the day before we started walking. Despite all my fears (and I had many), the experience was so amazing that we were planning to do it again in 2020. But we all know how 2020 went…

    Fast forward to 2022. The idea was to give the plan another try. A different route, though. But, again, things didn’t go according to plan. This time it was the other teacher, who had to pull out of the project, quite unexpectedly, for personal reasons.

    That left me wondering, should I go ahead by myself? Or should I just forget about the whole thing? So many changes of fechas (dates), cancellations, and other setbacks… maybe it was not meant to happen again after that first wonderful experience.

    After much thinking and some ‘consulting with la almohada’* I decided to do it.

    Since our original dates were too close, I moved forward to September. I also made the decision to take a smaller group (4 or 5 max.).

    As you can imagine, the group changed a lot since we originally planned this Camino in 2020. And even from the time I decided to go ahead with it and the time we actually started the walk.

    The walk

    We ended up with a very balanced group: 2 hombres (men) and 2 mujeres (women); 2 with previous Camino experience and 2 who were walking their first Camino; 2 I knew, and 2 I had only met once briefly when they were inquiring about this experience. That would require some adjusting and getting used to each other’s quirks, I thought. But we got on quite well and I soon felt like we had all known each other for a while.

    We all met in Tui, our starting point, on Sunday September 25. We started walking the Camino Portugués the next day. The plan was to walk for 6 days, and arrive in Santiago on Saturday, October 1.

    It was still quite busy on the Camino at the end of September. We kept seeing other pilgrims along the way. 

    Our destination for the first day was Porriño. We didn’t know this, but there was a local festival there, with everything that entails: lots of people, busy bars and restaurants, loud music, etc. It was hard to rest after lunch, due to all the noise. And we were worried we would not be able to sleep at night. But we were lucky and they didn’t finish too late. Phew!

    The weather

    The weather forecast for the week wasn’t bad. The first 2 days, the weather was perfect for walking: dry and not too hot.  The forecast for the third day was confusing. Depending on where we looked, we could make it to Pontevedra without rain… or not. 

    We made it to Arcade in dry weather. But when we left the café where we had stopped for a break, it was raining. The rain was light at first, but it soon became heavier. I had good memories of the section between Arcade and Pontevedra from the previous time I had walked it. But I can’t say I enjoyed it this time. The rain was relentless; I was roasting under the poncho; the group got split and I ended up in the middle, losing track of the ones ahead of me and not seeing the ones behind me either. Kind of stressful. We eventually got reunited, and at some point I decided to take off my hood. It was either getting my head wet or passing out from the heat. Getting wet sounded like the best choice.

    It stopped raining a couple of miles before Pontevedra. It rained heavily that night and we feared we would have another very wet and miserable day, but it didn’t rain that much while we were walking between Pontevedra and Caldas de Reis. No more rain after that. We got loads of fog between Caldas and Padrón and the last day was just perfect!

    Into data?

    As I mentioned above, we all had different backgrounds and interests. So, while I’m not too interested in data, we had someone in the group who gave us a daily report. That’s how I know we walked for 29h 44min in total. We covered a distancia (distance) of 121km, at an average speed of 4.07km/h. The day we walked in heavy rain was our slowest. The day we walked in the fog was our fastest.

    The day we arrived in Santiago, 2897 Compostelas were issued.

    The talk

    Almost 30 hours spent walking, plus breaks, mealtimes, etc. That’s a lot of speaking time.

    The good news is that we never lacked topics for conversation.

    Some conversations were serious; some, funny (or even ridiculous! 😂). Some were happy; some, sad. Some were very informative; some, full of useless facts (thank you, Andy, for the ‘useless fact of the day’).

    We talked about life, death and everything in between. We told jokes and scary stories. We discussed books and films, history, family, food, sports… even politics and religion! All in Spanish. All flowing naturally. It wasn’t perfect. In fact, we may have coined one or two new Spanish words… But that was not the point. Or the goal.

    The point was to communicate, to learn new things, to make connections. And we certainly did that. We even had a couple of Camino moments!

    And the connecting part did not just happen among ourselves.

    Finding a place that was open for desayuno (breakfast) in Porriño was complicated. According to Google, there were many to choose from. The reality was that only one of them was actually open.

    And that’s where we had our first encounter with a very lively group of Spanish ladies. They were sitting at this café, all wearing the same jackets and being quite loud, we thought, at that early time. The camarero (waiter) was reciting a poem to one of them, the others were recording with their phones and making jokes. In short, they were having a blast.

    We met them again, later that day. Some of our group got to talk to them a lot (all in Spanish), learn about their story and bond -something they couldn’t have done if they didn’t speak Spanish.

    We learned that these ladies were from Valencia and belonged to the Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (Spanish Association Against Cancer). They took part in many activities together, like singing in a choir… and they did sing a lot while walking. It was their way of keeping the spirits up of those who were struggling with serious health issues. They were a lovely group, always happy and positive, and it was a joy to meet them day after day, including the day we walked into Santiago. 

    There are so many anecdotes and we shared so many moments (good and not so good) that I could keep writing and writing. But I don’t want to bore you. I may write another post about the experience. Or not. Can’t promise anything.

    Anyway, the video below will give you an idea of some of the special moments we shared.

    Today’s Spanish words

    *Consultar con la almohada is the Spanish version of the English expression ‘to sleep on something’.

     

    Consultar con la almohada

    Hombre

    Mujer

    Distancia

    Desayuno

    Camarero

    For more details about each of the stages and the towns we visited, check my previous posts. I had walked this route before, at different times, with different people, and I wrote a post about each of the stages. You can start here.

    Interested in the next Walk & Talk experience. To get an idea of what to expect and join the waiting list, read more here. 

     

    ¡Buen Camino!

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    Finding food on the Camino

    Finding food on the Camino

    by | Nov 4, 2022 | Camino de Santiago

    How often did you have trouble finding food on the Camino?

    This is a complaint that comes up on a regular basis in Camino groups. It usually has to do with one of these 2 scenarios:

    • Pilgrims are trying to get cena (dinner), but restaurants are closed and no one is serving hot food.
    • Pilgrims want to buy supplies on a domingo (Sunday) or festivo (public holiday).

    To avoid either of these situations, you must understand how things work in Spain.

     

    So, what do you need to know to avoid not finding food on the Camino?

    Let’s start with the second situation: domingos y festivos.

    Most businesses are closed on those days.

    Bars and restaurants are usually open. So, eating out on a Sunday or holiday should not be a problem. At least, not at lunch time. Dinner could be tricky.

    Panaderías (bakeries)  will open in the morning. But supermarkets and other shops in general will be closed. So, you could get fresh bread and pastries in the morning. But, if you’re hoping to buy something else… well, ¡buena suerte! (good luck).

    In smaller towns you may find that shops close on sábado (Saturday) evening too.

    Something else to keep in mind: buses and trains are less frequent on Sundays and holidays, but that’s not our topic for today, so let’s focus on food.

     

    Finding food when it’s not a Sunday or holiday

    Now we know what happens on Sundays and holidays. But what happens the rest of the week? Why do some people struggle to find food? And no, the answer is not siesta, in case that’s what you’re thinking.

     

    The first thing you need to understand is that there are specific times for each meal in Spain. Finding a place that serves hot food outside of those times is a rare occurrence. You can find snacks, but not a proper cooked meal. 

    For more info on what you can find and where, check ¿Dónde vas a comer?

    Breakfast is the least important of all our meals and, as such, it’s more flexible. Most Spaniards will have a cup of coffee and a tostada (toast) or a couple of galletas (biscuits or cookies, depending on where you’re from) before heading off to work. A second breakfast, pretty much like the one pilgrims have, is common.

    Lunch is the main meal of the day in Spain. And lunch happens typically between 1.30-4.00pm. After 3.30 (or 3.45 at the latest), the kitchens in the restaurants close and they don’t reopen until dinner time.

     

    When is dinner time?

    Late, for other countries’ standards. Having dinner at 9.00, 10.00pm or even later is perfectly normal. But not such a good plan if you’re starving because you’ve only had a few snacks throughout the day. Or if you need to be back at the albergue before 10.00pm. 

    Finding food

    Restaurant kitchens usually reopen at 8.30pm for the dinner service. 

    In this restaurant they have their kitchen times posted outside. You can see that their kitchen opens 30 minutes earlier, for both lunch and dinner, than what I said above. 

    Not every single restaurant opens and closes at the same time, obviously. But finding a place that starts serving dinner before 8.00pm and lunch before 1.00pm is the exception rather than the norm.

     

    What can you do?

    Your best bet is to try the Spanish way: have lunch as soon as you get to your destination for the day, as long as you finish walking before 3.00pm. You can shower and rest after you’ve eaten. And then you can have something light for dinner, like a drink and a tapa or two.

    Doing it like this will also give you more options, since the menú del día is usually available for lunch but not for dinner.

     

    If having your main meal earlier in the day does not appeal to you, you have 2 options: starve until dinner time or find a shop selling food and buy something to help you make it until dinner time. 

     

    Today’s Spanish words

    For the pronunciation of siesta (and for an explanation of why siesta is usually not the answer), check 5 things you need to know about Spain.

    For the pronunciation and more info on what menú del día is and how it works, check Menú del día.

    For the pronunciation of tapa, check ¿Dónde vas a comer?

     

    Cena

    Domingo

    Sábado

    Festivo

    Panadería

    Buena suerte

    Tostada

    Galleta

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    ¡Buen Camino!

    Camino Portugués: Tui-Porriño

    Camino Portugués: Tui-Porriño

    by | Aug 19, 2022 | Camino de Santiago, Camino Portugués

    Camino Portugués: Tui-Porriño |

    Last week I got an early birthday present: a new pair of zapatillas de senderismo (hiking shoes). So, I decided to test them the next day… by walking a stage of the Camino Portugués: Tui-Porriño.

    That’s one of the advantages of living on the Camino. If you wake up and feel like walking, you can do it.

    I had walked from Porriño to Santiago before, at different times and in different company. I had also been to Tui several times in the past. But I had never walked the Tui-Porriño stage of the Camino. So that’s what I did.

    The plan: drive to Tui and leave the car there; walk to Porriño; take a taxi back to Tui (and the car) and drive back home.

    The weather has been quite hot and dry this verano (summer). The forecast for the day we walked showed yellow warnings: 50% risk of tormenta (storm) and 60% chance of light rain.

    Well, it was sunny and quite hot, like the rest of the summer. Not a drop of rain and no sign of storms either.

     

    Tui

    Tui is the first Spanish town after you cross the puente (bridge) over the river Miño, which serves as a natural border between Portugal and Spain.

    Tui has been inhabited since prehistoric time so, as you can imagine, it has a lot of history.

    In mediaeval times, Tui was an important trade centre, with a very active puerto (port) and a hospital for pilgrims. It was also the capital of one of the 7 provinces of the Kingdom of Galicia.

    One of Tui’s most iconic monuments is the Santa Maria cathedral. It has the appearance of a fortress and its construction began in 1120, although it has some later additions, like the main entrance or the organ.

    Not far from it is the Museo y Archivo Histórico Diocesano (Diocesan historical archive and museum). The building dates from the 18th century and it used to be a pilgrim’s hospital.

    If you keep following the yellow arrows through Tui, you will see the convent of the Poor Clares (or Clarisas, in Spanish). It’s also known locally as convento de las Encerradas (convent of the locked up ones), because this is an enclosed convent. You can buy delicious fish-shaped almond biscuits from the monjas (nuns).

     

    Tui-Porriño

    We started at the cathedral, walking through the old part of Tui, and passing by all the places I  mentioned above.

    We were soon leaving Tui, walking through a mixture of forest areas and roads.

    It is not a difficult stage. I was still half asleep when we left the house and I forgot to take bastions (hiking poles), but I didn’t miss them.

    What I missed was more places to stop for a break. And I mean bars and cafés. We saw one not long after Tui, too soon for us to stop. And then nothing until we were almost in Porriño, slightly off the Camino. We had plenty of water and some snacks too, so this wasn’t a problem. But it would have been nice to be able to stop sooner.

    At Orbenlle, you can follow the official route (through an industrial estate) or the Camino complementary, through the woods. You can’t miss Orbenlle because it has become a Camino landmark, thanks to 3 large paintings: the Pórtico de la Gloria, St. James and an elderly pilgrim.

    There are two milestones and a map indicating the 2 routes from Orbenlle. The riverside walk through the woods is the one on the left. Going right will take you through the industrial estate. As you can guess from the pictures below, we took the alternative route.

    The last section goes through residential areas, but it’s still nicer than an industrial estate, I think.

    Camino Portugués: Tui-Porriño

    We saw many chestnuts during our walk between Tui and Porriño.

    Porriño

    I read in a guidebook that there’s also an alternative route into Porriño, along the river, but we didn’t see that. So, we took the classic route, which was not particularly pretty. In fact, if there’s something for which Porriño is known locally, it’s for not being particularly pretty.

    It is an important logistic centre in Galicia and, as such, it’s quite industrial (remember the big industrial estate right beside the Camino?).

    But there are also some interesting buildings. The most important one is, by far, the ayuntamiento (town hall), built between 1919-1921 and designed by local architect Antonio Palacios. His most famous works can be found in Madrid, like the Palacio de comunicaciones (current town hall), and even the logo of Madrid’s metro.

    And that was the end of my adventures on the Camino Portugués: Tui-Porriño. Lunch in Porriño, a taxi back to Tui and drive back home… and no problems with the new shoes.

    Here are some of the pictures I took:

    Today’s Spanish words

    For the pronunciation of Tui and Porriño, check El Camino Portugués.

    For the pronunciation of puente, check El juego de la oca.

    For the pronunciation of tormenta, check Weather on the Camino.

    Por the pronunciation of Pórtico de la Gloria, check Santiago de Compostela.

    Zapatillas de senderismo

    Verano

    Puerto

    Museo y Archivo Histórico Diocesano

    Clarisas

    Convento de las Encerradas

    Monja

    Orbenlle

    Ayuntamiento

     

    Go to the next stage of the Camino Portugués: Porriño-Redondela.

    See inside book of Camino Portugues legends
    For a collection of legends and historical tidbits, check my book Historias tras cada paso. Leyendas y curiosidades del Camino Portugués.
    All the stories are about places along the Camino Portugués; many of them are directly related to the Camino or St. James.
    The book is in Spanish, for intermediate learners, and includes a vocabulary guide with English translation.

    Want more?

    Make sure you don’t miss any posts or announcements by subscribing for free here. You’ll receive a free Spanish vocabulary guide with your first Spanish words + cultural tips. And… you’ll get access to exclusive content too.

    Subscribe here

     

    ¡Buen Camino!

    The cathedral rooftop

    The cathedral rooftop

    by | May 30, 2022 | Camino de Santiago, places

    We’re going on a tour today. In Santiago. A tour of the cathedral rooftop.

    I’d been wanting to take this tour for a while. I was finally able to do it a couple of months ago and I was not disappointed. It was fantastic and I highly recommend it.

     

    About the rooftop tour

    Let’s start with the practical stuff.

    You can book your entradas (tickets) online in advance (up to 60 days), from the cathedral’s website. There are several visits available here. The rooftop tour is the one called ‘Cathedral museum, decks and Carraca’s tower’ in the English version of the website.

     

    The visit includes access to the museo (museum), Pazo de Xelmírez, Torre da Carraca and a guided tour of the cathedral rooftops. You need to choose a date and a time slot. This is for the guided tour. You can visit the museum in your time, either before or after the guided tour.

     

    When I took this tour, it was available in Spanish only. I heard there used to be English tours in the past, but I don’t know if they’re coming back.

     

    Pazo de Xelmírez

    The visit starts in the Pazo de Xelmírez (or Palacio de Gelmírez, in Spanish). You enter through the door that is located between the cathedral’s main staircase (in Obradoiro) and the arch to the left. 

     

    This building is named after the archbishop who ordered its construction and it’s one of the main civil constructions of the Romanesque period in Spain.

     

    One of the highlights of this visit is the big  ceremonial hall, on the first floor, built in the 13th century.

    The stone carvings on the arches depict a banquet. 

    part of the cathedral rooftop tour

    From this room you keep going up to the rooftop. There’s a total of 105 steps. La escalera (the staircase) is not super narrow, but the steps are higher than usual.

    You finally come out on the tejado from one of the towers, the one on the left as you face the cathedral from the square. 

    I was lucky to do this on a clear, sunny day. The views of Santiago are amazing! And you can also see all the plazas that surround the cathedral.

     

    A couple of interesting stories

    Did you know that the cathedral’s bell ringer used to live on the cathedral rooftop?

    Yes! Up until 1962, bell ringers and their families had a house in the area next to one of the towers, the one with the bells.

     

    The last bell ringer lived there with his wife and 3 children. They had a vegetable garden, 3 goats and some chickens too. That’s right, a family of cinco (5) with their goats and chickens living on top of the cathedral and growing their own vegetables up there too. Can you imagine?

    The house is no longer there but I would have loved to see it…

     

    The rooftop is made of stone slabs. There used to be ocho (8) torres (towers) and battlements. Out of those 8 original towers, only 2 are left, although you can still see where they used to be. A balustrade replaced the battlements. 

     

    What else is up there, apart from the amazing views?

     

    A big stone basin with a ram a a metal cross where apparently pilgrims used to burn their clothes.

    Some scholars think this may have originated during a plague, as a measure to prevent transmission of the disease. There are no records of how common cloth burning was or when it stopped.

     

    Berenguela

    The clock tower is known as Berenguela after Archbishop Berenguel de Landoira, who ordered its construction in the 14th century to defend the cathedral. That’s the reason why the lower part of the tower is quite sturdy. The upper part, where the clock is, is finer. It was added 3 centuries later.

     

    This top part has 3 main elements:

    • the main campana (bell).
    • the reloj (clock).
    • the lantern.

    The bell in this tower is also known as Berenguela and it’s the biggest in the cathedral. It weighs 7 tonnes. The bell we see nowadays is not the original. That one had to be taken down in 1990 because it was cracked. It’s kept in the cloister. 

    The clock was added in the 19th century and has one peculiarity: it has one hand only.

    The top part had a light that was kept on at all times to guide pilgrims to the cathedral. Nowadays, the light is on during Holy Years only.

    You can see the light at the top of the Berenguela tower on this picture. 

    Berenguela guiding pilgrims

    Torre da Carraca

    After the guided tour of the cathedral rooftop, you go up to the Carraca tower. If you stand on Obradoiro square, facing the cathedral, this is tower on the left.

    The one on the right has bells. This one has a carraca (rattle) instead. This huge rattle is used on Good Friday and Holy Saturday, instead of bells.

    From up here, you truly have a 360 degree view of Santiago. 

     

    You know what they say… an image is worth 1000 words. So, I’ll let the pictures speak. Enjoy the views!

     

    Today’s Spanish words

     

    *entrada means entrance too, as well as ticket.

    For the pronunciation of plaza, check this post on Santiago de Compostela.

    For the pronunciation of cinco, check this post on the Holy Year.

     

    Entrada

    Museo

    Pazo de Xelmírez

    Torre da Carraca

    Escalera

    Tejado

    Ocho

    Campana

    Reloj

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    ¡Buen Camino!