San Xiao (in Galician; San Julián in Spanish) is a small, intimate church 20 kms outside Santiago…read morede Compostela, in Brión. It is from the 18th century, built on the site of a former Romanesque church, and is in a tranquil setting. Aloft from the broad valley below (hence the name Bastabales or vast valley), the church has a quiet yet still used cemetery of the typical rural Galician sort, a couple of stone houses of considerable elegance and simplicity, and a few interesting trees, vines, and some other vegetation that come together to make this a spot for reflection. There is currently a curious family of geese in one of the nearby edifices, and there is water flowing from a spring into a stone fountain. The valley has has some marring of its natural air due to modern speculation, but the church remains very important in Galician culture and is part of the ruta rosaliana, comprised of sites associated with the writer Rosalía de Castro. Many Galicians visit and revisit the little church for this reason, even if not entering (it is often closed). San Xiao was made famous by Rosalía's poem to its bells, installed in the early part of the 19th century. The poem can be taken to refer to the emigrant forced to leave Galicia in search of work, some going to America never to return: Campanas de Bastabales, cando vos oio tocar, mórrome de soidades. Cando vos oio tocar, campaniñas, campaniñas, sin querer torno a chorar. Cando de lonxe vos oio, penso que por min chamades, e das entrañas me doio. The bells really do have a vibrating tone that resonates within the listener. An especially good time to go is at the end of the day, just before dusk.

One word of advice: Get there early! They open at 8, so be sure to start queueing by 7, at latest…read more You'll be glad you did! Not only will you meet fantastic Peregrinos from all over the globe, you'll also get the chance of scoring a free lunch at the Parador if you're one of the first ten in line. I got one! The people manning desks were friendly, but be ready to answer questions about your journey and provide your documents. They mean serious business! After all was said and done, we got our certificates (with our names in Latin), received our final sello on our credenciales, and took some fantastic pics. Oh yeah, they also sell certificate scrolls so you can bring them home safely. It was a Buen Camino!

After hiking 11 days I arrived in Santiago de Compostela in the afternoon and decided to avoid the…read morerush and get my Compostela (finisher certificate) when they opened the next morning. Located a block below the cathedral, at 730am there was already a long line outside. I waited about 45 min but after that it went pretty fast. You go downstairs past the courtyard pictured and pull your number. Highly recommend downloading the QR reader to monitor when your number is approaching. This allows you to leave and do something else vs waiting there. It took about 2 hours for my number so I had breakfast and explored the village. Watch out that the volunteer spells your name correctly. They often times Latinize it i.e. Michael = Miguel.

Rolled into Sarria after almost a month on the Camino and made out way to the church to get new…read morecredenciales since we filled up our previous two along The Way. This 13th century Gothic church was just lovely. Be sure to spend some time and admire the Romanic features. Oh yeah, the lady manning the Pilgrim center was also very helpful. ¡Buen Camino!