We were able to sleep late today.  The ship was late arriving at our port because it slowed down for bad weather yesterday.  Our shore excursion that was supposed to start at 9:30 was rescheduled for 11:00.  Actually all the shore excursions were rescheduled for 11:00 so it was busy and crowded in the Cabaret Lounge, the excursion meeting point.  The staff members were prepared and ably directed the passengers where to wait and when to proceed ashore.

Our destination was Santiago de Compostela about an hour’s drive from the port.  Guide Richard spoke excellent English and used a large vocabulary during his talks.  On the drive down, he spoke about the region of Galacia where we were and much about the languages used there.  The regional language of Galacian is closely related to Portuguese. 

In Santiago de Compostela, we walked from the bus parking lot to the cathedral stopping in three of the four plazas that surround it to learn about the buildings.  There are about forty religious buildings in the town in addition to the cathedral—churches, chapels, monasteries, and convents.   After the guided tour, Philip and I went into the cathedral.  It is much more impressive inside than out.  There was a long line waiting to go behind the main alter to hug the statue of St. James, but we skipped that. 

After seeing as much of the interior as we wanted, we left and found an outdoor café for a break.  As soon as we sat down at the La Quintana café, a waiter arrived to take our order, and he brought our drinks quickly, too.  When we were finished I went inside to see how charming the facilities were.  I don’t have high expectations in tourist areas like this, but I couldn’t bring myself to use this one.  In the dark hallway opposite the bar, I found the doors marked by stick figures of a man and a woman.  There was a gap between the door and the jamb of the women’s room that was wide enough to give a direct view right to the toilet.   

Philip and I walked around outside and back to the meeting point to find the rest of our group for a walk to the bus.  The guide was quiet on the return trip.   Neither he nor the bus driver could regulate the temperature in the bus which was hot with the sunshine streaming in.  We had to go through port security before being allowed back on the ship.  I think that was their way of getting everyone to walk through the gift shop by it.  We went in one door, by the shop, through the metal detector, and out another door to board a shuttle to the ship. 

We ate in the dining room and had an interesting conversation with the other two couples.  Tommy, our waiter, said that there are another two people assigned to the table, but they haven’t shown up yet.  Zhanna is the assistant waiter.  Her photo was in the Princess Patter yesterday for winning a good service award.

After dinner, I did three loads of laundry.  It wasn’t busy then, but probably will be tomorrow on our next sea day.