Just in case you thought we might be snowed in, I’m happy to tell you that we have not seen one single snowflake here in the Pontevedra area….. yet! They say that we might see a bit of snow tomorrow, so I wait with baited breath and camera poised, just in case.

No, the reason that I have not posted for a while is simply that we have been closed for a few days around the Reyes holiday that falls on the 6th January. I must confess that our brains are still in ‘relaxation mode’ and as always the first day back is a tough one.

So what is the Xacobeo I hear you ask? Well, to cut a very long story short it is a special religious year in Galicia, with festivities centred around Santiago de Compostela, and it’s wonderful cathedral.

It has been celebrated since the Middle Ages, and occurs whenever the feast day of the Apostle Saint James (Santiago), 25th July, falls on a Sunday. Owing to leap years this does not happen at regular intervals, and can be every 5, 6 or 11 years….. I think (the maths are a little complicated). For example, the last three celebrations were in 1993, 1999 and 2004, and following 2010, the next will be in 2021.

If you feel the need to study the whole story then there is a website (Spanish, English and Galician), although it is perhaps not the easiest in the world to find what you are looking for.