What to Do After Walking the Camino de Santiago?

 

I know I’ve said I don’t want to talk about the Camino trip so as not to jinx it. But it’s hard not to especially if some people are asking us if we can ‘drop by’ their side of Europe should the walk push through.  (Yes, I’m talking about you, D and S of Cornwall 🙂 ).

So Hubby and I got to thinking about what we’d do after  (if ever) we finish our walk. After all, there’s no harm in visioning, right?

Since we’d be in the region anyway, one obvious option is to explore Galicia.  Of course, by then I’m sure we won’t have the energy to do any exploring on foot anymore! So the most practical and least tiring way to go around  would be to rent a car.  I’ve been told that it’s easy to get a car through car rental so at least that solves our problem. Once we’ve secured our ride (preferably a mini or compact car to save on gas) Hubby and I would be able to  enjoy the sights, sounds and tastes of Galicia ala Gwyneth Paltrow and Mario Batali.

It seems that there are so many things to do in this beautiful Spanish region. But given our limited time  (3 days at the most), we would probably just do the following:

 

First, we can do a little wine tasting and tapas eating preferably in the Ribeira Sacra.  Aside from its natural wonders and important historical landmarks, the region is also well-known for its wine and delicious food.

 

 

Another interesting place is Axeitos, Ribeira where we can go and see the prehistoric anta or megaliths. More popularly known as Dolmen de Axeitos, these are Spanish Portal Tombs dating back to 3600 to 4000BC.

 

 

If we find ourselves in A Coruña (also known as Coruuna) in June, we can participate in the Bonfires of Saint John or Noite de San Xoan. The celebration dates as far back as the Celtic period and was later Christianized as St. John’s Day Eve.  Hundreds of bonfires are set ablaze, lighting up the city like a gem in the night.

 

 

For our last stop, we can go see the Torre de Hércules, an ancient Roman lighthouse and a UNESCO World Heritage Monument. At 1,900 years old, it is the oldest lighthouse still in use today. There are a few myths that surround this lighthouse. And one of them involves the divine hero Hercules, after whom the lighthouse’s name was derived.

Through the millennia many mythical stories of its origin have been told. According to a myth that blends Celtic and Greco-Roman elements, the hero Hercules slew the giant tyrant Geryon after three days and three nights of continuous battle. Hercules then—in a Celtic gesture— buried the head of Geryon with his weapons and ordered that a city be built on the site. The lighthouse atop a skull and crossbones representing the buried head of Hercules’ slain enemy appears in the coat-of-arms of the city of Corunna. Source.

 

 

Once we’ve had our fill of Galicia, we can then cross over to Cornwall in the UK to see Hubby’s sister D, her husband S and our little god daughter T.  But what to do in Cornwall?  Well that’s for another post.;)

 

*All photos are from Wikimedia Commons.