Camino Day 6: Santiago at Last
To reach Santiago by the noontime mass, the whole group of us left the albergue around 6:30 am, but soon split up into smaller groups by individual pace. I walked with a Spanish guy, and we navigated through the dark forest by the weak light of my flashlight. It was an eerie experience to walk in such darkness along an unknown path, always afraid to miss a yellow arrow and get completely lost. The woods seemed filled with the ghosts of other pilgrims who brashly started out in the darkness and lost their way, doomed never to see Santiago.
Finally, we reached the city limits and walked 4 more kilometers through city streets to reach the cathedral square and the pilgrims´ office, where we received our Compostelas, signed Latin certificates of completing the pilgrimage. The names of our native countries were taken down, to be mentioned at the Pilgrim´s mass.
We had just enough time to walk across to the cathedral, where the mass was about to start. The massive cathedral was filled with people (most of whom arrived by tour bus), and we found only standing room piling our packs next to one of the columns.
The mass was an impressive ceremony, with beautiful singing and a dozen priests in red-and-white robes standing at the altar. Several speeches and songs commemorated the pilgrims, or at least those those completing the voyage to Santiago for religious purposes. However, the climax of the ceremony was the swinging of a gigantic incense burner like a pendilum across the entire length of the cathedral. The smoking and rattling contraption was lowered from the celing and passed the lowest point of its arc trajectory near the altar´s floor, so I was grateful not to be standing too close to comfort to this siege weapon.
After the mass and after performing an odd ritual involving making a wet hand imprint on a column and hugging the nearby statue of Santiago, we went out in search of a hearty meal. Later, the Spaniards departed, while Carlos and I made our way to the city albergue. It was raining yet again, so I put off sightseeing to catch up on my journal and plan my escape to sunnier and warmer parts of Spain.
In the evening, I ventured out for a brief walk around the city and tried out some Galician-style octopus, a famous local dish. The octopus slices were quite tender, and served on a platter with oil salt and spices. The delicacy provided a welcome break from the head of blue cheese I had been carrying around from the Picos de Europa. The "queso de Cabrales" is a famous blue cheese from that region, made out of cow and goat milk and aged in limestone caves at a specific temperature. During my trip, the cheese continued through the aging and moulding process, so that it became what I call "queso del Camino," which admittedly needs some work before I could market it commercially.
Finally, we reached the city limits and walked 4 more kilometers through city streets to reach the cathedral square and the pilgrims´ office, where we received our Compostelas, signed Latin certificates of completing the pilgrimage. The names of our native countries were taken down, to be mentioned at the Pilgrim´s mass.
We had just enough time to walk across to the cathedral, where the mass was about to start. The massive cathedral was filled with people (most of whom arrived by tour bus), and we found only standing room piling our packs next to one of the columns.
The mass was an impressive ceremony, with beautiful singing and a dozen priests in red-and-white robes standing at the altar. Several speeches and songs commemorated the pilgrims, or at least those those completing the voyage to Santiago for religious purposes. However, the climax of the ceremony was the swinging of a gigantic incense burner like a pendilum across the entire length of the cathedral. The smoking and rattling contraption was lowered from the celing and passed the lowest point of its arc trajectory near the altar´s floor, so I was grateful not to be standing too close to comfort to this siege weapon.
After the mass and after performing an odd ritual involving making a wet hand imprint on a column and hugging the nearby statue of Santiago, we went out in search of a hearty meal. Later, the Spaniards departed, while Carlos and I made our way to the city albergue. It was raining yet again, so I put off sightseeing to catch up on my journal and plan my escape to sunnier and warmer parts of Spain.
In the evening, I ventured out for a brief walk around the city and tried out some Galician-style octopus, a famous local dish. The octopus slices were quite tender, and served on a platter with oil salt and spices. The delicacy provided a welcome break from the head of blue cheese I had been carrying around from the Picos de Europa. The "queso de Cabrales" is a famous blue cheese from that region, made out of cow and goat milk and aged in limestone caves at a specific temperature. During my trip, the cheese continued through the aging and moulding process, so that it became what I call "queso del Camino," which admittedly needs some work before I could market it commercially.
posted by Dmitri Evseev at 6:26 PM
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