On Top of the World, At the End of the World: Galicia…

Posted on April 22, 2013

Although our official group excursions have ended, last weekend, me and some of my compadres went to the beautiful autonomous community of…

Photo Courtesy of static.consumer.es

…Galicia!!…

Now, if the title of this post seems kind of random, let me explain: As the most Occidental (Western) point in all of Europe, Galicia was once known as Finis Terrae (Latin for “End of the World/Earth”) because it was believed that, beyond this point, there was nothing else that existed–That is, until 1492 came around (and we all know what went down that year)…

We divided our time between 2 cities: Friday and Saturday, we were in Santiago de Compostela, the capital; we spent Sunday in A Coruña, a major resort town that’s pretty much their equivalent of Myrtle Beach…

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Photo Courtesy of 3.bp.blogspot.com

Santiago de Compostela:

La Catedral de Santiago de Compostela

Constructed between 1075-1211, it was built in the period of transition between the decline of the Romanesque and the beginning of the Gothic…Also, it is said that the remains of Santiago (a.k.a. James [yes, the apostle]) are buried here: After being decapitated in 44 A.D., his remains were later transferred to Galicia because he evangelized in the Iberian Peninsula…Given the Roman persecution of Christians, the tomb was abandoned and eventually rediscovered in 814–which prompted Alfonso II to commission the construction of a chapel over it (which eventually would become part of the Catedral)…Therefore it’s the destination for those who walk Camino de Santiago (The Path of James), a pilgrimage/hike that started around the middle of the 9th century after people across Europe got word that Saint James remains were there…Today, thousands of people from around the world walk the trail–not necessarily for religious reasons, mind you, but to simply take in the natural beauty one sees while walking the trail…

Photo Courtesy of http://www.arquivoltas.com/28-camino/CaminoSantiago.jpg

Photo Courtesy of arquivoltas.com

Betty J. Ogburn/Old Gold & Black

The roof–where I was truly “on top of the world, at the end of the world”…Note that on some (if not all) of the towers you can see the image of a shell…When people first started trekking the Camino, they often got lost and confused other cities for Santiago (Read: Before GPS)…Therefore, the shells on the towers were a way to help people know whether they were actually in Santiago or not, and to this day, every person who completes the trek gets a scallop shell as proof that they actually did it…

Betty J. Ogburn/Old Gold & Black

…The tomb of St. James…

Day 2-Cidade da Cultura

The next day we went to the Cidade da Cultura (City of Culture, in gallego [Galician]), an architectural, cultural, and entertainment complex that celebrates the heritage of knowledge, investigation, creation, and cultural consumption…Alas, this place hasn’t even been completed–As of the end of March of this year, construction has been stopped due to the lack of available funds…But, hey–what is there is pretty…interesting, to say the least…

Betty J. Ogburn/Old Gold & Black

And did I mention that Santiago’s lovely???…

Betty J. Ogburn/Old Gold & Black

A Coruña

Day 3- La Torre de Hércules (The Tower of Hercules)

We only had the afternoon to meander through A Coruña, so we went to this place, it’s most well-known monument…Known to have existed by at least the 2nd century, this is the only lighthouse from Ancient Rome that continues to be in use…It’s name has a mythological basis: According to legend, Hercules slew the evil giant, Gerion, after a grueling, continuous battle that lasted 3 days and 3 nights…Afterwards, he ordered that Gerion’s head and weapons be buried, and that a city be built atop that site, which was to be called Crunya…The lighthouse (supposedly) sits atop the buried head of Hercules’s slain enemy…From atop the lighthouse, we had fantastic views of the shoreline…