Day thirty nine El Camino: rest day

It POURED during the night and rained all day, which put a damper (yeah, not so funny) on our activities for the day. Despite the weather, Tan and I decided to get our "compostela." (Ian did not feel like filling out the required information), so.... we had to find the office that issues the certificate that attests to our having completed the walk. It is like a little university diploma, in Latin and everything! And it is free except that donation boxes are strategically placed, plus, it costs a euro for the cardboard tube in which to put it, so maybe not exactly free. Oh--to EARN your "compostela," you have to present your "passport," a little booklet purchased at the beginning of the walk, and which you have to have stamped at every town in which you stop.

On our way to the pilgrim office, we saw this dog, which, like another dog we saw several times, was walking with his person (a very strange person, whose picture I really wanted to take, but it seemed too rude). Anyway, the poor dog seemed tired, and why he was wearing only half a pair of booties, is anyone's guess:






After taking a good look at the cathedral--I am not even going to attempt a description, but let that not deter you from looking for some images on line. Truly, it is beyond beyond all---anyway, after that, we took a taxi to a Corte Inglés where we looked around for an hour or so.

Taking advantage of their gourmet shop, I bought some delicious items for dinner. First, a piece of cheese, then some King Solomon (yes!!) dates:




and a huge peach:




The guy assured me that these were the best peaches in all of Spain. That would not be a difficult promise to make because the few I have tried up to now have been throw aways.

Walnuts and a most tasty roll bought from a very old, very little lady in a very small shop, and a drink rounded out the meal, every bite a treat.

After our look-around, there was still a bit of afternoon left, so we took another cab to "The Commercial Center," advertised as having 150 shops, movie theaters, and food courts. Our expectations were high!

It was a very strange place, almost abandoned. Maybe a dozen stores at most were open. So much for the expectations.

There were a few objects of interest, for example, this fat man:





just as "wow-ing" from the rear:





And a big, sad woman:





This shopping/commercial center was surrounded by buildings that were actually part of the complex. We could not determine whether they were apartments or what:





It wasn't so bad for a rainy day!




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Location:Rúa de Ourense,Santiago de Compostela,Spain