architectural elements and things that strike my fancy as I travel
"Gargoyles & Graffiti"chronicles architectural elements that I find interesting or unique in my travels. Gargoyles are my passion, but today graffiti (which I hate but am learning to love as it is everywhere) is as much a part of architecture as the gargoyles and decorative railings that thrill me.
Continuing in a gargoyle frame of mind - on my cruise from Barcelona to Dover, I scouted out architecture with faces in stone in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela was started in 1077 and has been added on since then up until the 18th century. It is a treasure trove of medieval artifacts and architecture, including gargoyles. But there are also a ton of stone faces that are absolutely fascinating. I took a bit of time to locate as many of the different faces as I could. Many are from medieval times.
More stone faces in Santiago de Compostela, Spain Cathedral grounds
St. James the Elder, Santiago de Compostela Cathedral
Virgin Mary on one side of statue
Virgin Mary on Cathedral wall, Santiago de Compostela
Controversial information can be found on Santiago de Compostela here
Santiago de Compostela is located in a beautiful, green part of Spain so unlike Madrid or Sevilla. The people of this area, Galicia, are said to have Celtic roots like the Irish. I can not wait for my return to this wonderful area of Spain. We reached it on the cruise from Barcelona to Dover at the port of Vigo. It is the third most important pilgrimage site in the world. I strongly recommend a trip there. It does not disappoint.
On the cruise from Barcelona to Dover, we toured a few small towns outside of Vigo, Spain with funny names like Poio (pronounced like chicken in Spanish, pollo) and Combarro. Combarro is a sleepy fishing village with the most amazing grain storage facilities. It is also famous for witches and a special pomace brandy called orujo. But for me, Combarro felt like a mystical, magical place where anything could come true. Witches rode on broomsticks in the shops and people gathered in the narrow streets speaking in whispers and laughing.
It is a place where time stands still. I relished the few hours we spent in Combarro.
Combarro, Spain
Grain storage houses called horreos
As I stepped from the minivan, I felt the warm sun on my back and gazed out on a perfect scene with small, colorful boats. Walking slowly through the town, I felt as if I was in a trance. I gazed at the granary houses made of sparkling granite. I snapped a photo of a plastic table and chair set with a perfect view and thought to myself, “a room with a view.”
My room with a view
I yearned to sit down but didn’t dare as witches in the form of dolls and statues hung everywhere, from every surface in the shops to sprawled out on the sidewalks. I found a stone staircase to nowhere.
There were two reasons why I took the cruise from Barcelona to Dover. The first and most important was that we did an overnight in Lisbon. I thought it would be the highlight of my cruise, but in reality, I enjoyed so much more the three places I didn’t even care if we visited – Cherbourg, Brussels and Gibraltar. (Just goes to show our expectations don’t always match our realities.) The second reason was to visit Santiago de Compostela, the third most important pilgrimage site of the Catholic world. It did not disappoint. This blog covers my observations and enchantment with this lovely city in Spain.
Santiago de Compostela Cathedral
Protesters or pilgrims?
Our group: Brendan, Tiara, me, Yvette & Neil. Ray took the photo.
Walking on to the plaza of Santiago de Compostela, I entered a surreal world of hundreds of years ago. There was a mist in the air and it was chilly as we stood in front of the Cathedral. Our group of five, two couples I met through Cruise Critic (I got so lucky meeting them) and myself traveling solo, had the most wonderful guide imaginable. Brendan of Guided Galicia drove us to Santiago and the remaining area in a lovely new Mercedes van. I assumed I would bone up on my Spanish on the drive, but to our amazement, Brendan hails from New Zealand, so he speaks wonderful English! He told us that he and his lovely Galician wife and their two children live in Vigo, Spain.
Brendan could not have been more cordial and knew so much about the surrounding area, but let me not digress.
Santiago de Compostela Cathedral
The Mass was going on when we arrived at the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. Three priests performed the Mass and it was beautiful. The scent of incense was heavy in the air as we wound our way around the different areas of the Cathedral. I did not feel right about taking pictures inside, even though many people did. I would love to have the memories but it just didn’t feel like the right thing to do.
There are some wonderful youtube videos of the Mass at the Cathedral. Here is one I especially like:
Outside Brendan showed us the marker for the Way of Santiago de Compostela, and there are so many routes to get there. I also saw a marker in front of the Godiva shop on the main square of Brussels.
Marker for the Way of St. James in Santiago de Compostela
You can walk the way of Saint James from England, Portugal, Brussels or even closer locations in Spain. There are hundreds of websites and blogs devoted to the pilgrimages of the young and old that make their way to this religious city, the capital of Galicia.
wall outside the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela
Me in front of one of the sweets shops
And if you happen to find yourself in this area, either arriving by cruise ship to the ports of Vigo or La Coruña, or by pilgrimage, contact Brendan from Guided Galicia. You won't be disappointed.
On our cruise from Barcelona to Dover, we spent one day in Galicia, Spain. We made a stop at a graveyard that was the site of a Church that had burned down hundreds of years before. As most everything is made from stone in this area, much of the outer walls of the Church structure remained. The graveyard was then placed in front. I thought is was an ingenious use of the space.
Definitely a gargoyle post - the graves were so beautifully decorated and there were flowers everywhere!
Burned down Church made of local stone
I loved walking around the reading the names of the deceased. Spanish names are so beautiful anyway, and in such a tranquil setting ...
My friend Neil photographing the graveyard
One wall also had Christ on the cross and a place to say a prayer. This was one of my favorite spots on the cruise.
