Useful information about the Camino of Saint James Pilgrimage and Santiago de Compostela
The North Way in Galicia goes through a vast territory known as A Terra Cha (flat land), whose landscape is dominated by large areas of pastures where dairy cattle graze and San Simon cheese is produced.
Photo: Tamorlan
The genuine D.O.C. Rioja wines are cultivated on the banks of the Ebro River in northeast Spain. Production probably began with the arrival of the Romans who introduced the cultivation of vines to the Iberian Peninsula and developed cultivation along what would become the Camino de Santiago, where monasteries such as San Millan became responsible for wine-making .
Photo: Shaury
Arzúa is one of the most famous and important towns of the Way of St. James. Along with its heritage and history, the town has a gastronomic treasure that no pilgrim or tourist should miss: Arzúa cheese.
A variety of green pepper found in Galicia which is linked to the convent of San Francisco de Herbón, today a parish of Padrón, on the Portuguese Way to Santiago. The Franciscans adapted this cultivation on their return from America in the sixteenth century. The original product was from Chile and was also present in other parts of South America. Peppers of Padrón are small, green and their gastronomic peculiarity is that some of them are spicy (between 10% and 25%) and others are not.
Pimientos Padron - Foto Jessica Spengler
O Cebreiro is one of the most legendary places of the Camino de Santiago, famous for its historical past, legends and miracles ... but also for its cheese, which is one of the most famous in Galicia. This soft and grainy white cheese is made entirely from cow's milk, with no preservatives or additives.
If its flavor is distinctive so too is its shape, which has been compared to that of a toadstool or a chef's hat. But despite its long history, in the twentieth century it came close to vanishing altogether and was only remembered by a few village dwellers who made it for their own consumption. In 1991, however, its survival and status was assured when it was recognized as being a ‘Quality Product Gallego.’ Thereafter its production and fame have gone on increasing, while its exquisite quality has been scrupulously maintained. In the past, the fame of this cheese spread wide and far and this was due in large part to the pilgrims who talked of its excellence everywhere, so that the news even reached the ears of the kings of Spain.
