Our last day on the Camino welcomed us with fog & cold. Nice temperature for walking in...if you can see where you're going!!
We started at the viewpoint near the Mountain of Joy, & as you can see...WE didn't get a wonderful view, but we could certainly imagine the jubilation that lifted the spirits of Pilgrims past as they gazed out & got their first glimpses of the Cathedral spires.
Up to this point, we had had extremely good signage as to where to go. All of a sudden our route was devoid of yellow arrows & strategically placed markers, we needed to keep glancing at our feet & following the bronze scallop shells cemented into the paving.
Only a short distance was walked in the company of trees today. Very soon our senses were assaulted with the sound of traffic, the smell of exhaust & a very different type of landscape...an urban one!
When the more recent buildings gave way to the medieval city, it was not only more visually pleasing, but our anticipation grew a notch or two. The Way of St James enters the city along the side of the Cathedral, so we were amazed when the side door was pointed out to us & we only had to go around the corner to be there! A busker playing the Galician bagpipes added to the atmosphere....
....and then MAJOR fizzing let down! Not only was the front façade of the Cathedral completely covered in scaffolding, the square had numbers of tour groups in it. There was even one of those little sit-on tour bus's. There were pilgrims too, but the atmosphere was lost. We stood at the point that marks kilometre zero (ie; no more walking!!) & all felt a little stunned & disappointed.
During the free time that followed, we had a stroll around the outside of the building. This portico is decorated with a patchwork of recycled pieces that once adorned the stone carved choir stalls inside the Cathedral. When they were replaced with wooden ones, some of the carvings were reused here.
One of our very smart moves was to go into the Museum of the Pilgrimage to The Cathedral. Inside was a model of the Cathedral, which allowed us to have a really good look at all it's features & see what the scaffolding was covering up. Also in this museum was a brilliant interactive computer programme, which allowed us to move a medieval pilgrim along the route of the pilgrimage & encounter people along the way; jet merchants, beggars, souvenir shell sellers etc. These interactions told us so much about the Cathedral, that when we later went back to the Cathedral we sought out some of those features.
We stood at the Fountain of Paradise, where pilgrims would have washed themselves before entering the Cathedral.
We entered under the scaffolding surrounding the portico of glory & craning our necks could just make out the arch of musicians. This was particularly significant because in the museum we'd seen before a gallery was showcasing the making of replicas of these instruments, including a harp even smaller than mine!!!!
Once entering the Cathedral, there are a row of confessionals available for the sin laden pilgrim to verbally relieve themselves to the ever forgiving priests (we skipped that part!). The next step was to embrace Saint James. The photo above shows him from the front, but what you don't see is a cleverly hidden corridor BEHIND him, where pilgrims (including us) line up to place hands upon the silver, jewel encrusted cloak worn by the Saint. Alas, no photos allowed in there...strictly quiet & serious contemplation only!! Following this was a trek down another little narrow passageway to gaze upon his silver coffin. It is more of a reliquary box as it holds only his bones minus the head, which currently resides somewhere in the Holy Land!!!!!!
Attending a pilgrims Mass was also part of the process. We didn't attend the day-time mass for pilgrims, as a little birdy had whispered in our ear that if we went to the 7.30pm Mass, we would see the censer swing. In these days, the censer swings when a large donation has been gifted to the Cathedral. However, on weeknights at 7.30pm, the local businesses all donate enough money to the Cathedral to pay for a censer-swinging Mass, because they want the Pilgrims to stay, buy their souvenirs & eat in their tabernas! In order to get our superb seats, we were there an hour before the service started...as were a number of other pilgrims! In case you think this is easy....let me assure you that sitting on hard wooden church pews is a PENANCE in itself...whether for 5 minutes or a couple of hours!
This photo was taken before the service started as we were requested NOT to take photos during Mass. About 10 minutes before the action started, a little old nun, got up & in a crystal clear voice taught us to sing the responses that would be needed during the service. Even if only humming the melody, all at once all present became unified & focussed & there was a wonderful sense of something special about to happen. I am not Catholic, nor do I speak Spanish, but it was a gift to sit there in a peaceful frame of mind & just receive the moment. By not understanding the language being spoken, I could enjoy the beauty of the human voice & marvel in it's ability to vary & communicate. The Censer is suspended by rope & 'swung' by 8 monks. It is 1.6 metres high & filled with charcoal & incense & lit alight. (I'm sure there is footage on You tube). It swung right over our heads & we were sure it was going to hit the roof of the cathedral. The incense smoke hovered in the air & then elegantly wafted down, to bathe us all in sandalwood sweetness! It is believed to have been used to cover the smell of the sweaty pilgrims who huddled in the pews. This was very special & at last we felt some of the pilgrimage magic that we had been anticipating.
Throughout the day we had valued the museum mentioned earlier & also the Cathedral museum, (where, again we weren't allowed to take photos) & these experiences, together with the relative pittance we had walked & the evening Mass, left us feeling very privileged to be in this special place. It's a good feeling!!
Congratulations on achieving this: despite your initial fizz you were inspired to go the distance on those hard seats & experience the censors spray of incense which would have had an eathereal touch.
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