Day 8 - in Santiago de Compostela

Today was our day off - we spent the entire day in Santiago de Compostela.  We awoke at different times and went in different directions.  

Last night, I collected the Credencial del Peregrino - or Pilgrims Passports - from ten of our group, and Karen B and I went to the Pilgrim's Reception Office to get our certificates of completion of El Camino.  We had collected stamps from hotels, restaurants, museums, and other establishments along the way.  There is a long line there to receive your certificate - but we were pleased to learn that since we had a large group, we could drop our passports and some other paperwork off and return about five hours later to pick them up.  While walking there, we went past a pond with these beautiful swans:

If you look carefully on top, above the sculptures of the figures,
you can make out the names of Ferdinand and Isabel

We left the Pilgrim's Reception Office and went back to the square in front of the Cathedral of Santiago.  There are some beautiful building on the square across from the Cathedral. 

This building is now a hotel, but for many
centuries was a hospital, originally built
by Ferdinand and Isabel.  The next picture
shows the writing above the arch.

  

 Another part of the plaza holds the University.   I have not learned much about it, but like the rest of the buildings, it has some magnificent sculptures:

 We then went into the Museum, which shares a building with the Cathedral.   The architect and builder was named Maestro (Master) Mateo, who began his work on the building in about 1075, under the auspices of King Alfonso VI.   Over the past thousand years, it has been a living building, with parts of it destroyed or changed and rebuilt.  Numerous outstanding sculptures have been chiseled into its walls, only to be removed during a restoration; sometimes the sculptures were moved to other buildings.  As seen in yesterday's posting, there is a renovation currently under way that continues this tradition.

The third floor of the museum is home to many tapestries, woven over hundreds of years.  The technique used was that the artist would create the design, and then the weavers would have to use yarns of many colors to weave the design.  To me, it appears that the weavers needed even more talent and harder work than the artists!

We were not allowed to take any pictures indoors.   From the top floor, we saw that the building is also used as a mausoleum - many of the royal patrons who financed phases of the building's construction or renovation are buried there.  We also got a good look at the clock tower and bell tower, shown below:

Clock Tower

Bell Tower

Close-up of the Bells

 We then went inside for 12:00 Mass.  It was obvious that there were huge numbers of tourists, but also quite a few locals appeared to be there also.  It was celebrated by a cardinal (I believe) with participation from about ten other priests, from a variety of countries.   Each priest appeared to have at least one reading, so the New Testament reading and one other were in English.   I believe that the rest was in Spanish, although some may have been in Galicean.   For large parts of the Mass, the cadence was exactly the same as it would be in an American church, but there were a few places where I was not sure what was happening.

At the end, a huge bell of incense was lowered and was swung transversely across the sanctuary.  Since we sat in the back, it did not come in our direction.   There were many men controlling the ropes as it was swinging!   The incense is now purely traditional, but was used hundreds of years ago to control the aroma of the pilgrims, many of whom had walked hundreds of miles without changes of clothes, or washing facilities.

After the mass, I noticed an interesting feature of the church I had not noticed yesterday.   They have about a dozen confessionals, staffed by different priests, and the priests are fluent in different languages.   Here is one:

After Mass, I walked around looking for a good lunch place.   I struck gold - an excellent pizzeria.   How sorry I am that I did not take their picture - for they fed me well!  Spanish food is not friendly to vegetarians, and it was a pleasant surprise to find good pizza!

Walking back to the hotel, I went past a drug store.   Perhaps its window display should not be a surprise - all sorts of products designed to help the sorest of feet after a walk of hundreds of miles!

 Later in the afternoon, I received my certificate.   I paid a little extra to get one in English and one in Latin:

I had planned to have dinner tonight with Vivianne and Heidi, whom I met yesterday.   Our group will continue travelling Eastward tomorrow, while they will be preparing to go home and resume their usual lives.  Unfortunately, we were not able to find Heidi, so Vivienne and I met and realized that we both had such a large lunch that we weren't hungry!   We shared some sangria and wine, and while walking back to the Cathedral plaza, we encountered some street musicians.   We tossed some coins in the fiddle case - and they played us a waltz so that we could dance together before parting!  Perhaps we could have asked for a hambo, but after the alcohol, that might not have been wise!