MM 4-26 Camino Santiago Kilometer Zero — In the Open Theme

You get a great view of the Praza do Obradoiro in front of Santiago de Compostela Cathedral from the upper level of the cathedral’s cloister. Multitudes of pilgrims and tourists gather in the plaza every day as well as local citizens and they are all out in the open. This shot is my entry for this week’s Monochrome Madness Challenge and Leanne’s In the Open theme.

Kilometer Zero on the Camino Santiago. The Camino route known as The French Way begins in St Jean Pied de Port in southwest France and ends 500 miles across northern Spain at the Praza do Obradoiro in Santiago de Compostela.

Click on the photo to see a larger version of the photo.

Also out in the open in the middle of the plaza at the intersection of those stone rays and below the reclining pilgrims and the one bicycle that is also reclining are two plaques. One commemorates the UNESCO World Heritage designation given to the cathedral and its surroundings in 1985. The other marks Kilometer Zero, the end of the pilgrim’s journey to Santiago de Compostela.

The building on the left is a former palace that now serves as Santiago’s city hall. The building on the right is the hostel built by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in the 1400s and is now a five-star hotel and part of the Spanish government’s Parador chain.

Australian photographer Leanne Cole hosts the weekly Monochrome Madness Challenge. Drop by her website on Thursday (Wednesday in Europe and North America) to see how Leanne and other photographers from all over the world have interpreted her In the Open theme.

I’ll have some more photos of the Praza do Obradoiro in my next posting.