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| Early Morning in Vigo Spain |
This was our big chance. To finish the El Camino in one day,
and so we did. We had been at sea for several days, sadly missing Casablanca because of gale winds in the forecast. Today, our ship moored in Vigo, Spain for an opportunity to see St. James Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela.
Loading Bus #10 we drove north through Vigo. In the estuary of the river were platforms for mussel farming...about 3000 in all, each privately owned. Vigo is the world's second largest mussel producer after China.
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Note the Horreo Found in the Glacia Region of Spain
Symbol of Spain |
The freeway
was smooth and modern, and the bus clean and comfortable. The condos and
apartments of Vigo gave way to neat concrete houses, surrounded by small
vineyards. In many back yards were 300-year-old elevated concrete granaries, most with crosses to protect the produce being stored. An ancient tradition, these are considered the symbol of Spain and are protected by law.
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| Vigo |
The hillsides were covered with huge sycamore trees.
These had been brought over from Australia for the paper industry, planted in dense
groupings and have taken over the landscape. Locals don't like them because they use too much groundwater and they can explode from their high oil
content if they catch on fire. We were surprised at the water concern in this northern
part of Spain called the green country. The average number of sunny days here
is 50.
We had partial sun for two hours and
it was considered a beautiful day.
Santiago de Compostela is also called Santiago or just Compostela.
Santiago is Spanish for St. James. Of the two St. James, Santiago claims St.
James the Greater (Jesus’s brother) as its patron saint. He had come to this
area of Spain spreading the gospel, but when he was not terribly successful, he
returned to Rome where he was beheaded. According to tradition two of his followers collected his body
and brought it back to Spain. It was then buried in a Roman graveyard and
forgotten about for 800 years until a monk noted a light while walking
in the woods, and came upon the old graveyard. Two bishops certified that
the bones, now more like ashes, were those of St. James and a church was built
at the site, later growing to become the St. James Cathedral.
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Santiago de Compostela with
Many of the Pilgrims Behind Us |
This site is one of the major destinations of Christian pilgrimages. There are two main routes, the “French” route going west
along the northern edge of Spain, and the Portuguese route, shorter and
less well known. It takes about 30 days to walk the 500 mile “El Camino” (the French one).
When finished, pilgrims
register their accomplishment at the office in Santiago. It
was decided that one had to walk at least 100 kilometers to qualify as officially completing the pilgrimage, or 200
kilometers if riding a bike. Then, realizing that some people have disabilities, this has eased and one can register if he/she has good intentions in their
heart, regardless of how far they went. What has not changed is that if one finishes the pilgrimage
on July 25
th, of any year, their sins will be forgiven. But in a year that July 25
th falls on a Sunday, sins are forgiven no matter when the finish day is. This happens
at 5, 6, and 11-year cycles. The next forgiving year will be 2021, and Santiago is
hoping to have the restoration of the Cathedral done prior to that time.
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Hiker Completing
El Camino |
Driving into town, we began seeing pilgrims walking with
backpacks and walking sticks, some solo and others in groups of
2-5.
We walked the narrow cobblestone streets with granite houses
and buildings around the four plazas surrounding the cathedral and were offered samples of the traditional almond cake with the sword of St James. The plazas were bustling
with tourists, pilgrims, bicycle groups
posing for pictures, and throngs of school kids, some sitting at the steps
for a program, others marching down the streets with banners, and some just
blowing on whistles in celebration of literature, or just for fun.
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| Throngs of Students Celebrating Literature |
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| Charming Streets of Santiago |
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| Lunch in a Beautiful old Hospital...now a Hotel |
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| City Hall |
Lunch was in an old hospital that had been built by King Ferdinand
for pilgrims and was now a five-star hotel. After being served crusty bread, a
tuna tart, potato quiche, and cheese, we were satisfied and ready to go when a second
course arrived… a big bowl of paella….and then a third… pork, potatoes, and
vegetables. Luckily dessert was light…a big bowl of fresh fruit.
Spain, like Italy, has its biggest meal at lunch followed by a 2-hour siesta. For us, a siesta was not an option.
After stuffing ourselves, we toured the museum of the
cathedral and then the cathedral itself. In the museum, we saw not only the
library of ancient books only the privileged could read, but also the room of
relics, nearly 140, of all sorts, the main one being the ashes of St. James the
lesser's head, (Jesus’s cousin), which had accidentally been brought to the cathedral
thinking they were of the greater. These were kept in a silver-lined box in the shape and coloring of James' head. Other relics were not quite as striking. Inside the actual cathedral, parts were
closed due to renovations. The golden altar was draped in netting. We were able to go in a narrow hallway under the altar to see
the urn of St. James’s the Greater's ashes, and then up through another narrow walkway to the
back of the St. James statue where one could touch or hug him in private and ask him to
grant a request.
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| St James's Ashes |
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| Taken from between Scaffolding |
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| Interior is Under Construction |
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| New Cultural Center in the Shape of a Scallop Shell |
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| Melody's Trophy Horreo |
Then it was time to leave this beautiful old city and enjoy the drive home through the green rolling hills. Melody and Carol sat the whole time with cameras cocked trying to get pictures of the horreos as the bus zoomed by...a horreo safari! They got the giggles as they spotted and snapped and Melody told Mark it was the most fun she had had on the whole cruise.
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| A Horreo Safari |
All day we thought of our friend Christy who had walked El Camino a few years ago. Carol has been reinspired to make the pilgrimage next April while we’re still in relatively decent shape. Mark says he did it today in his heart.
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| Scallop Shell... the symbol of Pilgrimage |
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