Day 8 : O Pedrouzo to Santiago

Today was grueling--there is no other word for it. I started out at 5:30 a.m. which should have allowed plenty of time to walk the 18.5 km to Santiago, plus an extra 1/4 km since the albergue was off-route.  I  had both my headlamp on and the flashlight mode on my cell phone activated, and there was a long winding route through the woods in the dark.  The trees appeared to be all eucalyptus and pine, and very tall.  Very spooky. 

An hour and a half later, at a break in the forest, I stumbled upon a lovely hotel restaurant in the village Amenal and had some breakfast, as I had only had hot chocolate from my auberge vending machine. I met a couple of American women from Arizona in the restaurant as I was leaving. Sometime later I was joined by a Mexican couple but lost them along the way when more Spanish-speaking people appeared. Unfortunately the were no photos for about 3 hours, due to the pre-dawn hours, but the terrain was mostly wooded, anyway, which I've photographed before.

Santiago bas relief in the dark

 

little crosses woven into the chain-link fence along the way

The frustrating thing is that the markers with the city names and mileage petered out at some point making it difficult to judge distances. It may be because the trail was re-routed 6 km out of the way when the Santiago/Lavacolla airport was constructed.

I stopped at a cafe/albergue near the little church below and noted the coins (mostly Euro 1,2 and 5 cent pieces) wedged in between the stones.  When finally in Santiago I  visited two more restaurants with the same phenomena.  I asked if it was done for luck, and was told it was just done for remembrance sake.

After passing through San Paio, I arrived at the village of Lavacolla. I understand that the meaning of the word "Lavacolla", put politely, meant to wash your backside.  Medieval pilgrims didn't bathe very often, but would stop here and wash up before their final journey to the cathedral.

I continued on through the villages of Villamaior and San Marcos trudging uphill towards the Monte de Gozo--"Mount Joy."   Here pilgrims once had a panoramic view of the city, perhaps even seeing the Cathedral. Today it has been flattened somewhat and is dominated by an immense statue commemorating Pope John-Paul II's visit there in 1993.  At the same time an enormous albergue/pilgrim complex that can accommodate up to 3000 people was built with shops, restaurants, cafe/bars, etc.  Unfortunately there is a lack of albergues between O Pedrouzo and Santiago, and this location would have been perfect as it is just some 4.5 km from Santiago, but I couldn't see myself staying in such a place.

The monument at Monte de Gozo

View from Monte de Gozo

Since I had been walking uphill for a considerable distance, I considered the medieval pilgrim of custom of walking barefoot from here to Santiago, thought about switching from hiking shoes to my more sandal-like shoes, but decided to just continue on instead, limping into the outskirts of the city, counting the minutes.  It was several kilometers to the city center and there was no way I would make the pilgrim mass at noon.  I finally reached the Cathedral at 12:30 pm.!

Heading down toward the city form Monte de Gozo

Pilgrim knight

Don't know what this means, but these effigies were outside a house on the way into Santiago

And here it is--the Cathedral--I tried to block out the scaffolding!

Saying that the Santiago Cathedral is ornate is an understatement--part Romanesque, part Baroque--it is quite imposing.  Since I was too late for the pilgrim mass, I inquired about accommodations at the Seminario Menor (too expensive) and settled on a cute albergue called The Last Stamp in the old quarter around the Cathedral.  I had spotted the albergue I had reserved on the way into Santiago and there was no way I was going to hobble back two kilometres to where it was located.

Galician bagpipes (Gaita)

After dropping off my packpack, I headed for the Cathedral to greet the statue of Saint James and check out his alleged remains, and went next door to the Pilgrim Office to pick up my Compostela certificate.

 

As you can see, the blank pages are now filled with sellos (stamps)

And here is the precious Compostella, still written in Latin

The main altar of the Cathedral

The huge botafumeiro--the world's biggest censor

 

At 6:30 pm I was ready for dinner, planning on making it for the 7:30 pm mass, but was told that dinner wasn't served until after 8 pm! Not even the special so-called pilgrim meals.  Disappointed, I had coffee and the almond flavored tarte de Santiago, and waited until I heard the chimes announcing the mass, finally eating around 8:15 pm.  The mass I attended was in Castilian, not that I remember very much Spanish, but the only other option was the 6 pm Galician one, so at least I had a fighting chance.

 

Living pilgrim "statue"

Much is made of the Botafumiero, the huge censor that is used on important religious days, usually about 30 a year, with the exception of special Holy Years. There is a lengthy article in Wikipedia for those interested in reading about it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botafumeiro

In the Old Testament, incense was an offering pleasing to God, and in the fifth chapter of the apocalyptic book of Revelation in the New Testament, it represents the prayers of the saints, an aroma pleasing to God. Because of its extreme popularity, some groups are willing to pay the EUR 250, needed to pay for the charcoal, incense and the salaries of the 8 men needed to operate it,

Medieval pilgrim garb was for sale

A life-size replica of the Botafumiero in a silver shop

Santiago alive at 9:30 pm with people still checking out restaurants

"I had always believed, and continue to believe, really, that there is no more beautiful square in the world than the one in Siena.  The only place that made me doubt its authority as the most beautiful square is the one in Santiago de Compostela.  Its poise and its youthful air prohibit you from even thinking about its venerable age; instead, it looks as if it had been built the day before by someone who had lost their sense of time."

 --Gabriel Garcia Marquez