Walk on the roof of a famous cathedral

It appears that we missed our window to continue sailing south along the atlantic coast, as the wind now constantly blows from the South (sometimes very strongly due to depressions). Never mind, this gave us the opportunity to enjoy A Coruña and make an interesting trip to Santiago de Compostela.

Port city since Roman times – A Coruña

A Coruña is one of the 3 main cities of Galicia (Northwest Spain) with Vigo and Santiago de Compostela. It is an important historical port and economic pole in the region which features fashion garments (think Zara), automobiles, ships and timber.

A Coruña is well known for its pedestrian streets with terrasses and tapas bars that get lively in the evenings.

The city is the site of the Roman Tower of Hercules, a lighthouse which has been in continuous operation since possibly the 2nd century AD. It has been declared a World Heritage Site (UNESCO). It was restored around the stones of the initial lighthouse.

Contaminated Water

As we were set to leave, we discovered that our water tanks were contaminated with algae. During the crossing, we noticed a drop in the water pressure and cleaned deposits in the strainer. Once settled in A Coruña, Yan checked the tanks and saw the contamination. This is not uncommon when you take water from marinas, but we did not expect it to happen in France. Fortunately, nobody got sick from the water. Yan took care of the tedious job of cleaning and sanitize the tanks. We now also acquired a filter that will clear the water before it goes into our tanks. This was the occasion for a bus trip to Leroy Merlin (pronounced completely differently) in the outskirts of A Coruña. Hopefully, it will reduce the risk.

Trip to Santiago de Compostela

The number of pilgrims completing the way of Saint James (camino de Compostela) increased to 300 000 in the years just before the pandemic. This pilgrimage started in medieval times, to pay a visit to the shrine of Saint James (reliques de l’apôtre Saint-Jacques). Beyond religious believes, the walk now also attracts people in search of spirituality, introspection or a challenge. We witnessed the pleasure of achievement of the pilgrims who arrived on the square in front of the Cathedral.

The highlight of our visit were the amazing views from the roof of the cathedral. It was renovated last year to retrieve the initial purpose of allowing people (soldiers) to walk on the roof and watch (defend) the surroundings.

Santiago the Compostela is the capital of Galicia and home of an important university that traces back to 1495. We loved strolling through the streets of the old town and concluded our visit with a delicious plate of jamón ibérico.