Beautiful and Preposterous- a few days in Santiago de Compostela

There can be few cities in the world as beautiful as Santiago founded on so preposterous a story, so says the Lonely Planet.

The legend of St James was the impetus for the growth of this city since 12th century. Nowadays it has all the bustle and charm of a modern European city, with the characteristic historic centre, pedestrianised, throbbing woth people all day and most of the night, and full of such a range of architectural styles that every turning is charming.

We stayed at the Mapoula Hostel http://www.mapoula.com/, on the 3rd floor of an old building. It has a lift, free wi-fi, very comfortable ensuite rooms, and is in a brilliant location, 5 minutes from the cathedral and all the historic sights, and only 2 minutes from underground parking for the car. Each morning we crossed the narrow cobbled streets and walked into a cafe for breakfast- each evening we chose a different cafe or restaurant for a meal.

Spain is not expensive for Kiwis, wth most main meals costing us about $20 each, with wine.

The Catedral del Apostol was my first stop in Santiago- still with my pack on, I sat in the quietness and breathed my relief that the walking was over. There was a faint smell of incense in the air, and I could see the huge botafumeiro , or thurible, for dispensing incense, tied to the wall. The biggest in the world, it is now only used 20 times a year, and I assume had been used for All Saints. We returned for the Pilgrims Mass the next day at 12 noon, when the Cathedral was full in all three areas. At the beginning the priest read out a list of all the places Pilgrims had come from. We strained to hear Nova Zelanda, and smiled at each other when it came!

The sanctuary is probably the most ornately golden and sculpted I have ever seen but the bare simplicity of the rest of the church is a foil for the extravagance, and it is simply exquisite. I was happy to sit and let the Spanish liturgy flow over me and soak up the beauty of the surroundings.

In front of the Cathedral is Obradoiro Square, flanked by a Renaissance Hotel of the Catholic Kings- that means Ferdinand and Isabel, who 'brought Spain back to Christianity'- the Reconquista. They had it built for the poor, but it is now one of the luxurious state owned hotels or Paradors.

We saw some university students all dressed in flowing black robes, selling their CDs of traditional music, and promising to perform later in the evening if it stopped raining- it didn't!

Just off the square is Cafe Casino,with big Tiffany style windows looking on to the street, large armchairs while you drink your wine, or even your tea- one of the few places we found that knows what tea is!.

Another favourite is Derby at the end of our lane, Entremurallas. I arrived there at 5.55 pm after taking off my pack and wanted coffee and some tapas, while the others wanted wine and beer.The waiter was most unhappy because it was not yet 6pm, and tapas don't start till then, but he gave that gallic shrug and served us as though we were royalty, white table cloth and all.