Exploring Santiago de Compostela

Thursday 9 June 2016

Santiago de Compostela

A fun start to today with a taxi ride out to the big Decathlon outdoor store. Jackie and Steve joined me as they needed to purchase 'normal' clothes for the remainder of their trip, Prague and Croatia for 3 weeks. Had a great time and we were there for ages.

Just got back in time for me to zoom into the cathedral for the noon pilgrim Mass. I raced in the door at about 11.30 and was very lucky to get a seat pretty much where I wanted to be. We were squashed in like sardines, with many people standing.

Right at the end I noticed a few fellows heading for where the botafumeiro was tied. The botafumeiro is a giant incense burner, and it's believed to have been originally used to fumigate the smelly and perhaps diseased pilgrims.

I was SO excited as it was released, filled and then raised. There were 6 or so attendants/tiraboleiros needed to man the rope... and it was sensational.

It flew so high at the extremes, that I thought it might hit the ceiling way above. This is the view from me looking straight up. I do love the smell of incense.

It really was a treat to see it in action, as it doesn't happen at every pilgrim Mass. These days it happens if someone has paid for it, usually a tour group all putting in some money. Even knowing that, it was amazing to see in action.

Still full of excitement, I took myself off to an Italian restaurant recommended by Simon from my Camino group. My pesto gnocchi was fantastic and just what I wanted after the excitement that came before. I had a table on the upper floor, with a view to the tops of the cathedral. Chatted with two American ladies preparing to catch the bus to Sarria, excited about starting their Camino.

Took time off to loll about in my room this afternoon, after a stroll through the streets. Hoping to get a few trinkets tomorrow.

Here's my compostela, supposedly using the Latin form of my first name.

It's now late and I'm just home from a fantastic night, a 'last supper' of sorts. Had an explore and found the t-shirt shop I was looking for and then met Jackie and Steve for drinks at a lovely garden bar. We were to meet with other friends but their buses were very delayed. Eventually Lindsay, the young Canadian woman I met way back in Pamplona, turned up. She had walked out to Finisterre and Muxia, where I'd caught the bus to yesterday.

Late to arrive were Tessa and Miles, whose bus trip in from Finisterre was an adventure in itself. My day walking with Tessa and Miles in the mountains is special in my memory. Eventually we found our way to a restaurant where we had lots of wine and an enormous paella... fantastic fun!

I shed a few tears as I left, as these wonderful folk meant so much to me on my Camino journey. This experience seems to overcome the usual barriers of race, age, nationality and occupation. Walked home, close to midnight, in the rain... streets a bit deserted tonight.