The Journey of the Picanto: The Two Cities

“We're innocent travelers.” – Samwise Gamgee

In the morning we woke in La Coruna and I could tell that I was in a different Spain. It was cold, green, and raining outside, all things far opposite of the south. We had decided to sleep in the car the night before, which was another thing that I noticed when I woke up. Since the car was at its max capacity, I was not able to recline my chair, and therefore I slept in the upright position for the night. This caused substantial soreness the next day, but when I awoke and saw the rain, I could only think of more sleep. A few hours later I woke up and everyone else was up just starting to eat breakfast. It was about 815 then, and that was when I was really able to take in my surroundings.

For starters, we parked next to a restaurant, and many people were staring at us, but we just went about our daily business, as we had parked in a free spot. After breakfast, we got a change of clothes, and our tooth brushes and headed in the direction of the McDonalds signs. Strange as it is McDonalds it turns out doesn’t open up for business until around noon in Spain, so we were forced to go to a café and buy a few coffees so that we could start our day off right. After patting down my three days without showering hair with some water, and brushing my teeth, I was ready to set out on my day. We headed back to the car, dropped off our stuff, and took in the sights. We had parked in a good spot, although it was next to some archaeological construction, we were also next to the bay and had a nice view of the city. La Coruna is far different than any other Spanish city that I have visited, for one because of the architectures, as the buildings have closed in balconies with windows, due to the high frequency of rain. The state of Galicia in general has many differences than the rest of Spain as the Moors were never able to penetrate all the way north into this area, and for that reason it has many traits of other cultures including England and Ireland as there is a love for the bagpipes there and these architectural designs are much more consistent with northern Europe.

After admiring the view, we then walked along the water towards a castle/fort and then on to the breakwaters area. There I sat and just enjoyed the view as you were able to see the waves crashing, the endless ocean, the green cliffs and just a beautiful day.

It was around this time that the rain stopped, and then the sun came out. Some time passed here and then we went on and walked along the ocean, did some rock scrambling, and eventually ended up at a beach on the other side of the city.

There I did some running in my jeans as I attempted to bridge the gap of the beach between some rocks without being hit by the waves. It never worked out, and I got soaked, but we had a good break from walking. Later, the evening began to set in and we all decided that it was time to move on from La Coruna, because although it was a beautiful city, we had felt that there was much more to see nearby. It is also a very industrial/shipping city, and I think that our choice to move on was a good one.

We then headed south to Santiago de Compostela. Along the way we stopped at a grocery store, and had our best car moment of the whole trip. It all started as we were stopped on a hill, and as the light turned green the car stalled numerous times, I counted 12, and during this time I was able to wave at many passers by as they gave us mean looks and gestures. In particular there was an old woman in a small car that passed us, that one moment seemed to have both her eyes open at me and a half grimace on her face, and then the next second, one of her eyes was shut, and she was showing off one of the evilest stares. I just laughed. The police were also not far away, and they were able to joke at our expense, but eventually we got on our way, and arrived in Santiago around 11pm, and found a parking spot a ways after. We split ways with our friends at this point, and Shawn and I then decided to sleep in the car once more. This location was much more conducive to sleep as we parked on a hill, and after reclining our chairs it felt like we were almost at a level angle. The sleep was about the same as the night before, although I slept for many more hours, and I woke the next day very sore once again, but the soreness subsided as the day progressed. Now, for me to explain the reasoning for us sleeping in our car, it is very complicated. For one, as young lads, we felt that most of the year we shower daily, and sleep in fine circumstances. The idea to sleep in a car for a few days was logical to save money, and also to use the resources that we had been given, and to not shower, we were again using our resources. If I would have been given a chance to shower I would have, but I never got that chance. The Picanto, although small, was quite roomy with only two people, and it was an adventure I will never forget.

After waking up on Saturday in Santiago, we walked the hundred or so meters that it was to the bus station, and there I washed my hair a little with some soap and water, and brushed my teeth. My hair took on a Mohawk style from this wash, and it remained that way for the next three days. When we decided that we were as clean as we could be, we walked back to the Picanto and then began our day.

Santiago is a pretty amazing city. History first : Santiago de Compostela is a famous city throughout the world because it is the destination of a famous religious pilgrimage. The pilgrimage began long ago because of the burial location of James the Apostle, or Saint James. It was revealed to a man hundreds of years after Saint James death of its location, and through the guidance of the stars, and a star field, Compostela, he was able to find the burial location of Santiago, or so they say. On this site they built a church, and later a much grander cathedral which now stands today, in all its beauty and glory.

On this day I attended mass in this church, and sat in its square admiring the beauty of it.

Also, I was able to view a fish market, and enjoy the small streets and the great views that Santiago has to offer.

It was a very easy day to say the least, and one that I enjoyed very much. In the evening we went out to dinner, and I ordered fish, since I was in a region known for its fish. This Dorado, or Sea Bream that I ordered was quite good, although the total price ended up being about 16 euros, which was a bit hefty on this trip, since I had been averaging half that price a day on food. Upon finishing our meals we then decided to call it a night and we retired to our auto. Our time in the north had come to a close. Then there was part three...