I am taking a cruise next October and one of my ports will be La Coruna in Spain.
From what I am reading, this seems to be the final leg of. a spiritual walk which some call The Way.
I am thinking of a movie that I saw some years ago called The Way.
Am I correct?
Yes. The Camino De Santiago, as it’s more commonly known. A pilgrimage to the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
A Coruna is quite an attractive city itself, but there's relatively frequent rail service to Santiago de Compostela, with most trains taking about 30 minutes. That would be the obvious destination if you don't want to simply stay in A Coruna for the day. Note that there are no trains to Santiago de Compostela between 9:30 AM and 11 AM on weekdays; I didn't check the weekend schedule.
I also liked the much smaller nearby town of Betanzos (with bus service).
Yes, it's known as the Camino de Santiago, a 1000+ year old pilgrimage trail to one of the most holy sites in Christendom, the supposed tomb of the Apostle Saint James in Santiago de Compostela. The part of the trail you're thinking is the extra bit some people do after reaching Santiago de Compostela to see the ocean.
The Way is a good movie. In it, after reaching Santiago de Compostela the characters continued on to Muxia (as directed by the Roma/Gypsy gentleman they met in Burgos), 74km west of Santiago, where Martin Sheen’s character threw the remainder of his son’s ashes into the ocean. The coast there is beautiful and the Santuario da Virxe da Barca chapel is worth a few minutes as is the lighthouse. There’s little of interest in the town itself. La Coruña is part of the English Camino. The characters in the movie walked the French Camino. Betanzos, as acraven mentioned, is also worth stopping in to see the enclosed balconies.
And there are at least 21 different "Caminos", if not more, each one covering different areas of Spain, Portugal and France...and even other countries. The most popular is the French way, and all of them end in Santiago de Compostela ("compostela": "field of stars"). My uncle (now 79) has just finished his 21st Camino, all of them different.
Thank you all for your responses.
I have discovered that I asked about the wrong port as far as the Santiago de Compostela is concerned.
I will be going to Vigo after La Coruna and from there, the ship offers excursions to Santiago de Compostela.
Your information has been very helpful but I am momentarily confused.
Is Santiago de Compostela the city? What is the Cathedral called or a pilgrimage to the church? And it is believed that St James's bones are buried in the. church? Am I correct?
I hope that God has blessed your uncle many times over, Mike.
A Coruña is a lovely city, I would stay there for the day.
And yes, Santiago de Compostela is the city. Santiago = Saint James in Spanish, and the cathedral is named, well, the Catedral de Santiago de Compostela (how original!), where St. James is believed to be buried.
Vigo is a comparatively dull city, so definitely make plans to get out of town when your ship docks there!
The city is Santiago de Compostela. The cathedral can be seen from miles away and is the focal point in town. Inside the cathedral is the alter with a statue of Saint James. One can walk up a few steps behind the alter to touch the statue. One gets to the crypt beneath the alter using a different set of steps. The bones are in a silver box.
The cathedral is Catedral de Santiago de Compostela, the walk is the Camino de Santiago.
The name is Cathedral de Santiago de Compostela. Pilgrims arrive in the plaza in front of the Cathedral, Plaza de Obradoiro, to complete their journey.
We picked up our rental car in Vigo and quickly left for the Parador in Baiona and then later up the coast towards Santiago de Compostela.
