Then we got lost

The saga of our car continued this morning when we checked out of the hotel and walked to the car park. The electronic lock would just not open. The garage attendant told us that the lights had been on all night so, guess who made a boo-boo and left the lights on when she parked the car! We went back to the hotel and the concierge very kindly phoned the Road Assist who came and charged the battery. We finally left Lugo at 11:15 so went straight onto the National road and instead of going south headed up north to to Oviedo - about 300kms away. No problems! Easy-peasy with the Michelen maps I'd downloaded before we left home and posted ahead to myself in Santiago. We arrived, headed into town and - then we got lost. We drove around and around looking for our hotel but could not find the road even though I stopped to ask a number of different people for the way. I finally hit on the idea to put Marion and Anneliese in a taxi and follow them to the hotel. It was such a short distance that the first taxi driver refused but luckily the next one agreed and so we followed them around the corner to the hotel. It actually wasn't a proper road - almost like a passage where cars can come down, off load and then have to drive off again. But that wasn't the end of the saga because Finn and I then got lost again for over an hour trying to find the parking garage, which was actually just around the corner. After shouting at each other and building up a bit of road rage I spotted the garage name and drove in through a one-way and parked the car. We spent the rest of the afternoon sightseeing and visiting the Sudarium in the Camara Santa at the Oviedo Cathedral. The Sudarium is a dishcloth sized piece of fabric and is the 2nd most important Christian relic and is one of the most tested of all relics after the shroud of Turin. This relic was the cloth used to wipe Christ's face when he was on the cross and after he was placed in the tomb. Recent studies have shown that the blood on the Sudarium and the Shroud are the same type. It has been kept in a rather modest underground chapel called the Camara Santa - Holy Chamber - since the 11th Century. We were all quite awed in it's presence. We then walked up and down the boulevard with all the smartly dressed Spanish ladies and gents and had dinner in a little restaurant off the boulevard. Most restaurants have 3 prices next to the list of dishes - the cheapest being if you eat at the bar, the 2nd one if you eat at a table inside and the most expensive if you eat outside. The difference can be as much as R15 so we ate inside at a table. Tomorrow we drive down south to Leon and then to Castrojeriz where we will spend the night. I think I will drive the car out of town and then Finn will take over on the highway. The weather has been great - sunny skies and warm sunshine. Hope it continues till we leave for home on Sunday.

Love to all,
S A M and Finn