Santiago & Return to Madrid

Santiago & Return to Madrid

(Sept. 24, 1999 to Oct 10, 1999)
by J. Gaerlan

Gaerlan Custom Cycles

www.gaerlan.com

Plan to spend at least 2 full days to see Santiago. Some of the things we enjoyed are:

Putting your hands on the marble pillar (Portico of Glory) at the entrance of the Church. After millions of hand, there is now a deep permanent imprint on the stone pillar.

Hugging the statue of Saint James from behind the altar.

And visiting his crypt beneath the altar. The best time to go is early morning when the church opens at 7:00 AM. Any later and it becomes a circus atmosphere with the arrival of the tour bus crowd.

2) Attend the pilgrim's mass at noon. We are lucky enough to witness the swinging of a giant incense burner (Botafumeiro). At about 4 ft and over a hundred pounds, 8 men pull ropes attached to a pulley contraption and swing the burner almost the entire width of the church from one end to the other almost touching the ceiling.

3) Visit the numerous free museums such as the Pilgrim's Museum, the 3D interactive museum, etc.

Return Trip to Madrid
Finding return transportation to Madrid is another logistical problem. Being a Holy Year and a weekend, all trains to Madrid are full. A cheaper alternative to the train is the buses. Spain's bus system works efficiently and is bicycle friendly. The bus line from Santiago to Madrid is run exclusively by Alsa. Their website is www.alsa.es. One way fare is about 5300 ptas. We took the overnight bus which leaves Santiago at 10 pm and arrives in Madrid at 6:00 am. The buses are new. They are not completely smoke free as the rear seats are assigned to smokers. There is no on board bathroom but they make stops at least every 2 hours.

With 8 bikes and not knowing the load capacity, we decide to partially disassemble or fold the bikes and wrap them in plastic. Wrapping, we find out is not necessary since the drivers are accommodating. All bikes go in the belly of the rear of the bus. With all 8 bikes folded, we occupy about a quarter of the bus' luggage space.

$$ The Dollars and Cents
You can travel the Camino as cheap or as expensive as you desire. All our lodgings were hostals - most 2 star with some 3 and 4 star hotels. One meal was at least a restaurant menu of the day (menu del dia). To break the monotony, we sometimes picnicked or bought food to eat inside the hotel room.

How much did this all cost? This Sept.24 to Oct.11 adventure - INCLUSIVE of air fare, hotels, food, museum entrances, cabs, buses, trains, souvenirs, etc.- set us back about $1300 a person. Compared to commercial bike tours, this is a bargain!

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Plan to spend at least 2 full days to see Santiago. Some of the things we enjoyed are:
	Putting your hands on the marble pillar (Portico of Glory) at the entrance of the Church. After millions of hand, there is now a deep permanent imprint on the stone pillar. Hugging the statue of Saint James from behind the altar. And visiting his crypt beneath the altar. The best time to go is early morning when the church opens at 7:00 AM. Any later and it becomes a circus atmosphere with the arrival of the tour bus crowd.
2) Attend the pilgrim's mass at noon. We are lucky enough to witness the swinging of a giant incense burner (Botafumeiro). At about 4 ft and over a hundred pounds, 8 men pull ropes attached to a pulley contraption and swing the burner almost the entire width of the church from one end to the other almost touching the ceiling.
3) Visit the numerous free museums such as the Pilgrim's Museum, the 3D interactive museum, etc.
Return Trip to Madrid Finding return transportation to Madrid is another logistical problem. Being a Holy Year and a weekend, all trains to Madrid are full. A cheaper alternative to the train is the buses. Spain's bus system works efficiently and is bicycle friendly. The bus line from Santiago to Madrid is run exclusively by Alsa. Their website is www.alsa.es. One way fare is about 5300 ptas. We took the overnight bus which leaves Santiago at 10 pm and arrives in Madrid at 6:00 am. The buses are new. They are not completely smoke free as the rear seats are assigned to smokers. There is no on board bathroom but they make stops at least every 2 hours. With 8 bikes and not knowing the load capacity, we decide to partially disassemble or fold the bikes and wrap them in plastic. Wrapping, we find out is not necessary since the drivers are accommodating. All bikes go in the belly of the rear of the bus. With all 8 bikes folded, we occupy about a quarter of the bus' luggage space.		$$ The Dollars and Cents You can travel the Camino as cheap or as expensive as you desire. All our lodgings were hostals - most 2 star with some 3 and 4 star hotels. One meal was at least a restaurant menu of the day (menu del dia). To break the monotony, we sometimes picnicked or bought food to eat inside the hotel room. How much did this all cost? This Sept.24 to Oct.11 adventure - INCLUSIVE of air fare, hotels, food, museum entrances, cabs, buses, trains, souvenirs, etc.- set us back about $1300 a person. Compared to commercial bike tours, this is a bargain!
RETURN TO MAIN PAGE