Exploring A Coruña: Day 08

Meaningful Moment

A Coruña was such an interesting city. So much bigger and lively than I expected. Had a great time here, but looking forward to the quietness and solitude of the albergue at Ribadiso. 

This time tomorrow we will have our first first work day tending to pilgrims complete.

Date	30 Jul 2026 (Thursday)
Weather	Temperature: mid 70s. Cloudy in the morning, partly sunny in the afternoon. Some humidity, but perfect conditions for our long walk to Torre de Hercules.
Total All Caminos:	2450 miles
Lodging (Deb & I):	Hotel Alda Orzán € 338 for three nights (includes brkfst)
Total Lodging:	€ 700
Airplane(s):
Total Airplane(s) / Trvl Insrnc:	$ 1000 / $ 199
Buses / Trains / Taxis & Rides (Deb & I):
Total Transportation:	$ 227
Food (Deb & I):	€ 20 Tapas and drinks - Caveira € 10 coffees and party - Miss Maruja € 10 drinks - Invernadero € 10 pastries - Amaranto €40 - La Sastrería (Taking de Atún & Ensalada de Zamburiñas)
Total Food:	$ 494

Random Thought of the Day

Tomorrow we report to Ribadiso to learn about our duties and responsibilities at the albergue. The day after we are on duty helping pilgrims. 

Yesterday Deb got a notice from RENFE that due to strikes our train tomorrow may be cancelled.

Interesting how something as simple as a rolling strike on the rail lines can force us to have to quickly adjust our plans. 

I believe in the US, they rarely strike but when they do, it's total and lasts a long time. Here they use rolling strikes much more often, but they tend to be less dramatic, but still inconvenient. Rolling strikes are common in Spain and perhaps much of Europe.

So last night we changed our train tickets to bus tickets for Santiago for certainty reasons. We will take the bus which is slightly more inconvenient. The strike may not have affected us, but better safe than sorry. 

This also could affect our train plans from Santiago to Madrid at the end of our time in the albergue. For other reasons, we already booked plane tickets, but now we don't have to sweat being stuck in Santiago and unable to get quickly to Madrid.

On the Road / Notable memories

9:00 a.m. Up and awake. Breakfast at the hotel.

10:00 a.m. On the Promenade, walking to the Tower of Hercules, and ancient Roman lighthouse now restored. 

11:00 a.m. Tapas and Cafe Con leche at the Tower of Hercules sight. 

1:30 p.m. Tapas and drinks break on the way back to the hotel. 

The waiter is very interested in practicing his English and is talking about baseball, asking whether we are Yankees or Mets fans. He later shared his fondness for collecting old baseball cards. 

On leaving, I kidded him about collecting Vladimir Guerrero ball cards from the Toronto Blue Jays but he said he only collects old cards LOL.

2:15 p.m. Back at the hotel.

5:00 p.m. Out for a beer and a gin and tonic. Unbelievably cool when the wind is blowing. Wouldn't think it was Spain in July.

6:00 p.m. Chill out time in the room again.

7:30 p.m. Out for our last dinner in A Coruña. ... Turned out to be a super meal. See below.

10:00 p.m. Readying our bags for travel tomorrow. Early wake-up.

The Tower of Hercules (Torre de Hércules) 

The stunning 55-meter-tall structure is an ancient Roman lighthouse which stands as the oldest fully operational lighthouse in the world. Built in the late 1st or early 2nd century AD,  legend claims that the mythical hero Hercules built the tower after defeating the giant tyrant Geryon, burying the giant's head beneath its foundations.

The pillars are aligned so that one sees the lighthouse through the opening.

The view from the top of the lighthouse. Only 234 steps to the top.

Not quite sure who this guy is, that is, the statue.

View of A Coruña from Torre de Hercules

Dinner at La Sastrería, Rúa Emilio Pardo Bazán

Recommended by an employee of the Amaranto pastry shop

Scalloped salad with lettuce, scallops, grilled prawns, strawberries, fried pancetta and raspberry vinaigrette by an employee of the Amaranto pastry shop

Tuna tataki with pears in wine, onion marmalade and gelled soy

Tiramasu and Strawberry creme pastry from Amaranto Pastry shop

The Millennium Obelisk at sunset

 A large, modern monument, 46 meters tall, located on the seafront promenade of A Coruña. It was inaugurated on January 1, 2001, to celebrate the beginning of the 21st century.

Key Facts

Height: 46 meters of structure plus 4 meters of beacon and lightning rod.

Materials: Steel and rock crystal.

Origin of the glass: 147 rock crystals brought from the Netherlands.

First 13 meters: Engraved with the most important events and figures in the history of A Coruña.

Figures depicted: Includes King Alfonso IX, María Pita, and scenes such as the Battle of Elviña.

Lighting

Nighttime lights: It has 142 spotlights with a total power of 53,100 watts.