CHAPTER 19. SPAIN PART ll, CONT.

After a late breakfast we drive to La Coruña and out to see the Hercules Tower near crashing seas in heavy wind, then south thru very green hills to Santiago. We park in an underground garage in Plaza Galacia, get a room at the Hotel Universal, rest a while, then walk up by the Cathedral and take a quick look at the adjacent Parador as skies clear.

It is cloudy with showers most of the day again. We walk up to visit the very impressive Cathedral, like nothing we have ever seen. The 12th century carvings at the entrance are quite expressive and not deteriorated; the altar is “busy” and pretty. We walk up behind the main altar, visit the treasury and museum, see the crypts, then walk out in the rain. We have a good lunch at the Alameda Restaurant and then return to the hotel to rest.

Cloudy with showers again today and some heavy rain as we check for mail at the correo, then check out of the hotel. We go to the laundromat and talk with two young American men, from UCLA law and New York, as our clothes are cleaned and dried by new equipment. A good lunch at the Alameda R. prepares us for the drive south thru Pontevedra where we stop at the nice little Las Islas Hotel in a room that is on the ground floor with a view of the bay.

Our last day in Spain comes with a storm from the Atlantic bringing heavy rain and wind. We wait to start until eleven so we can load the car without getting wet. There is some heavy rain, but mostly light, or none, as the wind continues. We stop in Tui and spend the last of our pesetas for gasoline, manchego cheese, and salami. The traffic is slow at the border but both sides wave us thru on seeing our US passports. We have lunch at the Pousada built new inside old castle walls in Vita Nova da Cerveira, then drive to Esposende and a pleasant room in the Suave Mar Hotel on the beach. Our trip continues in Portugal (#7) after this very enjoyable visit to Spain!