The Rest of Santiago

The rest of Santiago seems to most be about food in that during the three days in Santiago, we had set up reservations at three Michelin restaurants. We so enjoy fine dinning with a Chef’s menu and all we have to do is eat each serving. The meals take over two hours and for us it is pure bliss, the perfect reward after completing the Camino.

The first dinner was the day we arrived at Restaurante A Tafona, with our very good friends, Terry Lundeen and Sally Patterson. They had organized their Spain trip to meet up with us on our arrival day. Our celebration dinner started at 8:30 and after seven courses, where each course has multiple items, we left the restaurant at 11:00 pm fuller than these two pilgrims had been for a long time. The service, atmosphere, food, and wine were spectacular.

Dnner the next night was more low key but just as special. It was focused on seafood which included mussels, razor clams, butter clams, octopus, and the catch of the day which was cod. Galicia is known for it’s seafood and Abastos 2.0 did not disappoint.

Our bodies couldn’t handle three late night dinners in a row so we scheduled the last restaurant, Simpar, for an late afternoon feast. The Head Chef and owner of Simpar is a 28 year old superstar that continues to win award after award for his dishes. The first course through the last were unique both visually and from a taste standpoint. At the end of the dinner we congratulated Chef Alex and his team for hands down providing the best food experience of the three perfect meals.

Besides touring the Cathedral and eating amazing food, our other highlight was our search for a piece of art to signify our Camino. We decided we needed to find a statue of Saint James. We wanted a unique piece and started our search at an antique store. They had a nice wood statue but it didn’t sing to us. The quest continued at gallery after gallery till we happened by a silversmith shop where we found our piece. Chris was instantly sold on it but John wanted to continue to look around town. But when John asked Alfonzo, the proprietor, who was the artist of the Santiago and he said he was. The shop contained only his work that was it. A beautiful craftsman. He had a photo commemorating when Pope Francis visited his shop and Alfonzo created a silver cross for him.

There is another special place we found; of course it was another church. It fleshes out the legend about the hermit Pelayo following the stars to the place called Sanitago de Compostela- literally “Saint James in the Field of Stars”, where the Cathedral now stands. The church we visited is called Igrexa de San Fiz de Solovio. It is purportedly the oldest church in Santiago. It is said that Pelayo was praying here when he saw the stars in the sky indicating where the remains of the Apostle James were hidden. Chris was very moved when she saw the place. Since 2025 the church has been ceded by the Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela to the Spanish Reformed Episcopal church to provide access worship for Pilgrims who are Anglican.

The two and a half days were the perfect way to celebrate our thirty-eighth day Camino de Santiago. We felt so blessed that our minds and bodies preformed so well and rewarded us with a memory of a lifetime, blessings to serve us the rest of our lives. The feeling we had was mystically serene. Everywhere we went we had participated in a common purpose with almost everyone we saw: on the street, in the churches and in the restaurants. We all said Buen Camino to each other with tears in our eyes.