July/August 2026


www.nitravelnews.com


EXPLORING THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO | 17


de Los Reyes Católicos still offers a six- course meal which featured such delights as Country Cockerel with Cabbage and Pickled Oysters. santiago@parador.es Then it was time to complete what had been for me a most agreeable pilgrimage. Crossing the Plazado Obradoiro I joined a long line of pilgrims at the Cathedral waiting my turn to walk up and embrace the Tomb of St James.


In doing so I was following in footsteps of many famous pilgrims – Pope John Paul the Second visited twice. Whenever St James's day (the 25th of July) falls on a Sunday, the Church declares a Holy or Jubilee Year. Depending on leap years, Holy Years occur in 5, 6 and 11 year intervals. The most recent were 1982, 1993, 1999, 2004, 2010, 2021. The next will be 2027, and 2032.


I am sure this part of Spain – a few degrees cooler than the rest of this destination – will appeal to many of the more mature readers of Northern Ireland Travel News - those seeking peace, culture, a great cuisine, and a quality of tourism. GETTING TO GALICIA


There is so much to see in Galicia that it is best to tour by car.


walled medieval fortress perched on a hill overlooking an old port and the Atlantic. Here the set menu boasted Sautéed Octopus and Spinney Lobster,


Zamburins


baked (like


scallops) with Chive Vinaigrette, and the wonderful Franciscan (fish) Stew.


parador.es)


Enroute to Santiago de Compostela I also


(baiona@


enjoyed similar such hospitality at the Parador de Pontevedra - which occupies a palace at the historic center of this small city. (pontevedra@parador. es) and the Parador de Cambados - set in an old country house next to the Ría de Arousa – one of a series of striking fiord like bays to be found along the Galician Atlantic coast. (cambados@parador.es) Before completing my pilgrimage at the Tomb of St James there was just time for a spot


of lunch – this time at the fabulous Parador Hostal de Los Reyes Católicos in Santiago de Compostela.


Considered the oldest hotel in the world and with a guest book reading like a Whose Who of history, this fine and ancient building stands on the Plaza do Obradoiro at the city centre less than a minutes walk from the Tomb of St James. Despite


being the


most luxurious of the Paradores,


the Hostal


Brittany Ferries service takes just 24 hours from Portsmouth to Santander - offering the fastest direct ferry service to


Northern Spain from Portsmouth.


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