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| Oviedo to A Coruna to Santiago (and back to A Coruna) Spain - |
During the monotonous exercise of packing, I realised that the twink in his drunken state woke up at some point in the night and urinated on the pile of worn clothes. I shoved them all into a plastic laundry bag that the hotel provides after pulling my wet leather belt from the pile. Later I would put this on the back panel that covers the boot of the motorcar so that the sun would dry it via the rear window. After waking the twink from his slumber, it wasn't worth the effort to give him a hard time about pissing where he shouldn't have because we have all been guilty of drunken infractions in our life. I know I certainly have.
There wasn't much enthusiastic conversation during the three-hour continuous drive to A Coruña which sits on the northwestern tip of Spain on the Atlantic Ocean. We were both spent from the previous night's frivolities which caused me to get lost in the words spoken by Billy Corgan and the Smashing Pumpkins Greatest Hits album. After checking into the Ibis Styles, we drove to El Mirador de San Pedro which is located on the hill in some parkland that overlooks the city. Whilst intoxicated the previous night, I tried booking a table for lunch at this place but was placed on the waiting list. After presenting ourselves and explaining that we don't, in fact, have a booking but are on the sad list, we were turned away. Probably because I was wearing pink shorts and a t-shirt, but at least the latter was not soiled with bird shit this time around. The trip wasn't a waste though as there are awesome views out to the city and the ocean. There is a clear glass round funicular that will take you seaside, but it looked rather sketchy and we were happy to drive back down the hill and make our way to the beach.
I found a parking garage and ditched the car. It wasn't an automated car park which I quickly discovered when an older gentleman flagged me down and insisted that he would park my fine motorcar. At least that is what I think he said as he gesticulated and rambled to the point I could not even identify a verb that I understood. I reluctantly placed the car key in his outstretched hand and he gave me a ticket. We explored the centre of the city and then the beach before taking a table at "Beach Club" and ordering the menu of the day. I was really pleased with my melon soup, Ox tail main and ice cream dessert. The restaurant threw in two bottles of beer for me as part of the standard tariff which was nice. The waiter I reckon was just happy to be able to practice his English. After filling our stomachs, I felt like a normal human being once again after the spoils of the huge night finally left my system. I was grateful in a way that El Mirador de San Pedro was booked as I didn't have the energy for a proper degustation meal at the time.
After wandering the length of the long beach yet again and working off lunch, we retrieved the motorcar. The old bloke parked it in the corner of the garage which made it convenient for me to drive out but curiously he lowered all the windows, left the key on the dashboard and moved my seat. Why would they lower all the windows and need to move the seat only to move the car a few metres? I didn't want to stay around and query this nonsense as the parking charge amounted to a few coins and nothing was missing. We drove a bit further and explored the old roman lighthouse, The Tower of Hercules, which is a UNESCO site. Again, lovely 360-degree views from this lookout point which made for some great photo moments because of the great natural light.
Feeling energised after a good night of sleep and a very long shower, I motivated the twink to wake up and get his arse moving first thing on Sunday. With the roads deserted, we drove to Santiago de Compostela, which is an hour away from A Coruña. It is the capital of the Galicia region and is known as the culmination of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route and is the alleged burial site of the Biblical apostle St. James. His remains reputedly lie within the Catedral de Santiago de Compostela which was consecrated in 1211. There are quite a number of buildings that were built with faith in mind that are worth checking out. We popped into the monastery as a Sunday service was being broadcast live via some network cameras. Everyone looked happy hearing about Him and I took it as a cue to suggest getting desayuno breakfast. A couple of toasted sandwiches and coffees were a bargain for 5€. It is hard to find two decent coffees in London for the same price but this mob also included the toasties with fresh tomato. Yum. We didn't join the long queue to get into one of the cathedrals and instead wandered around town, avoiding the beggars that pray on the pilgrims to give their hard-earned after-tax dollars to them.
It was a great morning spent in Santiago de Compostela but it was time to get down the road at midday as whilst I was intoxicated in Oviedo, I was successful in making a booking online at Alborada, the other Michelin starred restaurant in A Coruña - the first being the one that didn't give us a table the previous day when I rocked up in my pink shorts.
After we were seated we were asked if we like raw fish. Is the Pope Catholic? The majority of the dishes starred seafood and I was delighted. I especially liked the lobster that was cooked in a consomme with its own head but the highlight was the barnacle that I read about some time ago. On the costa del muerte the local Galician fisherman risks their lives by hopping from rock to rock as the waves pound them, only to retrieve the aforementioned barnacles. I was so excited to try this mysterious beast of sorts and I was overwhelmed by the cornucopia of tastes as it danced with my tongue. Lobster meets prawn mixed with cod is how I can best describe this elusive delicacy. I raised my glass of wine produced by the local hero, Raul Perez, in honour of the fisherman that risked their lives so that we could eat, drink and be merry on this lazy Sunday afternoon. I certainly was not disappointed at Alborada, which featured only produce and wines from Galicia, and if you are in the area, do call in as we had a great time and was certainly the best meal that we had (we both agree) since starting this epic journey. You would expect so though when you pay a lazy £250 for the pleasure.
A lazy evening was enjoyed with a full stomach after a short nap. The hotel bar was closed which encouraged me to get ahead of my tasks for Monday with the hope that I can keep the fires from burning out of control and some additional time can be spent exploring Portugal by day, which is the next stop.
Next stop: Porto, Portugal
