Santiago in the Mist

Friday 23rd September

We woke up to a misty Santiago with all the graniter and stones glistening with dew.  Christine was the first to leave us on her way back to Sweden. We were sad to see her go as she kept us smiling with her great sense of humour.  Christine was our senior lady and she shared  her wealth of knowledge about the Camino, and especially about Santiago, with us.  She speaks a number of languages and as such was a an angel to a Hungarian in distress who had to return home but couldn´t speak a word of English.  Christine speaks perfect Spanish and was able to help the pilgrim sort out his problem. 
We made an early start up the hill to the Market - a daily open market which supplies all of Santiago with fresh produce ranging from eggs, fish, meats, vegetables, fruit etc etc.  The girls were able to find a few souvenirs and t-shirts at the market as well.  Next stop was the flea-market, the internet cafe, the tourist office and lunch. 
Last night we had dinner at the Casino. The group surprised me with a gift of a lovely hand sewn bag that I had admired at the flea-market, plus a lovely silver cross from Angels, one of the best silver shops in town, and a box of chocolates.  I was very touched and thank them all again for their generosity.
Then we went to Bar Fuco-Luis for a queimada.  (Google the word - it is a fascinating incantation involving arujo, sugar, orange and lemons rinds, coffee beans and fire!) Pepe set the queimada bowl up on an outside table and we were soon whoopìng and ooohing and calling out to all the ´brujas´(witches) out there.  A Portuguese couple from Brazil joined us and a few Aussie pilgrims we´d met along the way joined in the at the end. When the last drop of cooled fire water was drunk we strolled down to the sqaure where Tunas (musicians in medieval minstrel garb) were entertaining a crowd of people.  We boogied a little, laughed a lot and took dozens of photos which I´ll try to add to the blog when we get home.