Final day in Santiago and probably last post until we’re back in Maine. After a huge Parador breakfast we walked over by the university to meet Ivar Rekve, who maintains the fabulous English language forum, www.caminodesantiago.me

After that we walked to the Igrexa de San Martín Pinario (PRS-88-8). The entire thing is Baroque from the 18th century and it just blows you away. Here is the main Retalbo from the front.

The statues above are of course Santiago and San Millán, busily fighting to thrash the moors many hundred years after their deaths. We went into the choir, behind the altar and here is the main Retalbo from the back.

While in the choir, here are some pictures of chairs, organ and back wall.

Here are pictures of the various side chapels. Incredible baroque art.

After lunch and a siesta, we went to the Necropolis tour under the cathedral. There were numerous Roman graves discovered around 50 years ago. While on the basement you can see multiple levels of constriction. The lowest is Roman, the middle is medieval and the top is 12th century. You can see the mason’s mark.

We saw several sarcophagi and one had a skeleton. Since the bones were much newer and he was very tall

We are now back at the hotel and will pack, have dinner and then leave for the airport in the morning.

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We had our last breakfast in Hospedería San Martín Pinario and fiddle a while with wifi. Here is the breakfast area.

We packed up everything and got ready for a walk down to the Parador. Just as we got to the door to leave, the heavens opened up, so we bundled into full rain gear and walked out. By the time we got bundled, it had pretty much stopped.
We went down to the Parador, and while the outside is not as impressive at first site as the one in León it is still pretty neat. The room is incredible.

We were given a room immediately and after removing packs and rain gear and relaxing for a little while, we went to the Pilgrimage Museum and read about St James the Greater and saw an exhibit of the stages of building of the cathedral. This is a statue of St Anne with Virgin and child.

Tradition holds that Saint Anne (Santa Ana) had three daughters, all Mary: the Virgin Mary, Mary Salomé, and Mary of Clopas. Salomé was the wife of Zebedee, and thus mother of James the Greater and John. Mary of Clopas was the mother of James the lesser and Joses.
After that visit we went to the Pilgrim Mass (still no botafumeiro), shopped, and went back to the hotel for some lunch and a siesta. We then did a tour of the hotel. It is the Hostal de Los Reyes Católicos, built as a pilgrim hostel and infirmary by Ferdinand and Isabel from 1501 to 1509. It has four separate courtyards, separated by gender and health: well men, well women, sick men, sick women. They were named for the Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Here are the four:

The chapel has incredible 16th century stone carvings, which have never seen weather and look like they might be plaster but are stone.

The ceiling and the rejas at the entry were impressive.

After that we decided to take a walk. We passed the Church if San Francisco, he is popular here since he did the Camino in the 13th century, and were in a minor sun shower with the inevitable result.

We stopped at a farmacia and then bought some chestnuts at a supermercado. Since we would be having a late dinner we stopped at a bar for vino tinto and some snack. Came back and has dinner at the hotel’s Galician restaurant.

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