Sept 28: we made it!!

Today, we hiked into Santiago.  In order to make it in time to attend the 12 noon Mass (which is the Pilgrims Mass), we decided to set our alarm for 4:45am.  We got on the road around 6:30am, so it was still very dark out.  Just as we were about to leave the road at the end of O'Pedrouzo and enter the woods, we met a woman from Ireland named Mary.  Between her handheld flashlight and the one on our cell phone, we were able to negotiate our way through the woods, avoiding the roots and large stones while also keeping track of the markers telling us which way to go.  Sometimes we could see the lights from other Pilgrims, so we would follow those, but always we were looking for the yellow arrows to confirm that we hadn't inadvertently left the trail (and thus were acting like a bunch of lemmings).  Once the sun came up, Linda and I both agreed that we preferred walking with some daylight, but it was interesting to try hiking in the dark, as we had heard about so many other people who'd done it.

We arrived at our hotel in Santiago around 11am.  You're not allowed to bring backpacks into the Cathedral, so we wanted to drop our stuff off before going to the mass.  We arrived at the Cathedral around 11:25, and it was already packed.  I found a ledge for us to lean against.  Some poor unfortunate souls who had found a primo spot on the stairs were later told they needed to move because it was a fire hazard for them to be there.  The whole reason we were pushing so hard to make today's mass instead of just waiting until tomorrow is that we had heard that the botafumeiro (swinging incense-burner) would be used on Sunday.  That is one of the things we really wanted to see, and from some research on the internet a couple of nights ago, we found out that there are only certain days when the botafumeiro definitely swings (typically only holy days).  However, if there is a large enough tour group and they are willing to pay, the church will swing the botafumeiro for them.  The group of girls Linda talked to were seniors in high school, and every year their school scheduled this trip just for the seniors. They said they their school had arranged for the botafumeiro to swing on Sunday when they were there, so we hustled to ensure we got to experience this very cool event.

The first picture below is of the outside of the cathedral in Santiago.  As you can see, it is undergoing some restoration.  The church dates back to the 12th and 13th centuries. It has a fabulous door with amazing carvings called the Door of Glory that was built in the 1100's.  Tradition was for people to place their hand on the central column of this entry way when they first arrived, but the marble has been so worn down over the centuries that they no longer allow it.  The doors were undergoing heavy restoration, too, so we don't have any really good photos of them.  In the picture, you can also see all of the people (particularly Pilgrims) hanging out in front of the church.  It was the main meeting place for everyone.  After Mass, we sat and had lunch in the square, and saw several people come in from their hike that day that we had met along the Camino.

The second photo is of the botafumeiro swinging from one section of the transept in the church to the other (so it swings perpendicular to the long part of the church).  It requires 6 men to pull on the ropes to get this thing going, but when they get it going, it really swings high.  It is filled with incense.  It's said that the practice of using the botafumeiro started centuries ago because of all of the smelly pilgrims attending the service, and I can attest to the fact that we did not have time to take a shower before going to the Pilgrim's Mass.  The final photo is of the relics of Saint James.  They are in a silver casket, which is underneath the altar.  In the church, they keep the area behind the altar open for people to visit, even during the service.  But the people are pretty much blocked from the view of the rest of the church, so you only notice them when they are being ushered into the back as they enter from the sides of the church.  

After our early morning departure, we are going to need a nap this afternoon, but we are staying 2 nights in Santiago, so I'll post some more pictures of the city in tomorrow's blog.