- Time of past OR future Camino
- 1989, 2016, 2018, 2023, 2024...
This is posted here because it is more about Santiago than any particular route. Of course, mods are free to move it as appropriate and I wont be at all unhappy.
Days 43 and 44: Lavacolla to Santiago (Primitivo Day 14) and rest day in Santiago
about 10 km to Santiago and another 10 km in Santiago on Day 43 and about 11 km in Santiago on day 44
This is a continuation from my Camino de Madrid, my Camino de San Salvador, and my Camino Primitivo, which I posted in those sub-forums.
I was back to a relatively early start at about 6:15 in the morning, cool and dark when I left. Once again, the road was sparsely populated and it continued to take me through eucalyptus forests and small villages or satellite communities on my way into the city. It was a slow and gradual climb over the first 5 km until I arrived at Monte de Gozo. The Camino takes you past Monte de Gozo but it doesn't take you in. When I walked with Toby in 2016, we just followed the Camino and missed the huge monument to the visit of Pope John Paul II that you see in all the old videos. I had heard that the monument had been removed
and seen photos of the big illustrated plates that had been on its side laid on the ground where it used to be. I had also seen photos of a sculpture showing two pilgrims looking on towards Santiago and the cathedral. This time I did not want to just walk on by. I wanted to see these things.
So I headed into the big albergue campus in search of them. I followed the signs to the mirador (lookout point) and monument, figuring the mirador was where the sculpture would be and the "monument" would be where the illustrated plates would be. No such luck. There was a big circle in the ground where I think the monument used to be and a hill that I think was the mirador but that was it. I did see, on Google Maps, something down the hill and across the road that might be the sculpture I was looking for. And right by that road (not the road that the Camino goes on, but a different road on the other side of the Monte de Gozo albergue and across a field) were set up the big illustrated bronzes I was looking for. So I saw them, crossed the road and saw the sculpture (it was too foggy to see much of the Santiago they were pointing to), took some photos, and headed back.
I stopped at the albergue cafeteria for their breakfast buffet. I hadn't eaten and I wanted to get their stamp. I was planning my stamps pretty carefully. If I played my cards right, I would exactly fill my second credential with the last stamp at the pilgrim office. Then it was on into Santiago, finally entering the city, past the famous sign and through the streets. Rixa, one of Floyd's gang whom I had walked with for a few days was still in the city and we had arranged that she would be in the Plaza when I arrived, so I was timing my arrival for that.
It was pretty quiet when I arrived at the Plaza Obradoiro. The piper hadn't arrived in the tunnel yet and there were just a few people in the square, so Rixa wasn't hard to find and it was easy to get arrival photos without a background cluttered with other people. Rixa and I went for coffee and then headed to the tourist office, Rixa to ask about buses to Finisterre and me to pick up a Finisterre/Muxia credencial because there wouldn't be any space left in my Santiago credential for that add-on. We then went our separate ways. I went to drop by Pilgrim House and get a stamp there. Then I went to the Pilgrim Office to get my last stamp, close my credencial, and get my distance certificate (820 km) and Compostela (vicarie pro Judith Groeneveld). I think I was given number 103 when I got to the pilgrim office and they were calling in 101 when I joined the line, so you can see it wasn't much of a wait.
Then I headed over to where I was staying at Hospederia San Martin Pinario (seminario mayor). This is located in a large 16th century monastery right next to the cathedral. I couldn't check in yet, but I could drop off my backpack and poles which would allow me to visit the cathedral.
By this time it was about 11 and I headed into the cathedral to snag myself a seat for the noon mass. I got a nice front row seat in the transept, a perfect viewing spot should the botafumeiro be swung. I was hopeful because I saw a reserved sign on a couple of the front rows next to me. I figured that meant someone had paid for it and those pews were being reserved for them. But in the end, no such luck. I was, however, completely thrilled to see the Italian priests that I had seen over and over again on my Camino Primitivo, whom I had sung with in Samblismo, up in the altar area and participating in the mass. That was truly a heartwarming experience.
I had booked online in advance an unguided visit to the Portico of Glory and Museum at 2:15 and a guided tour of the cathedral rooftops and tower at 6:00. So I stuck around the cathedral after the mass, admiring the work they had done in restoring it. It was especially impressive where the nave, transepts and apse meet, where they had done a great job restoring the polychrome decoration, which I got to admire during the mass. In my self-guided tour of the cathedral afterward, I was using Ann Born's book If You Stand Here.
If you haven't been to the Cathedral in Santiago it is a very interesting construction. Essentially it is a Romanesque church, which is fitting as the culmination of a road that has so much Romanesque construction. But it is a Romanesque church with Gothic proportions, reaching high into the sky. To the side of this Romanesque cathedral is a Gothic cloister. And in front of this Romanesque cathedral is a Baroque facade, placed in fron of the original Romanesque one. Soon enough 2:15 rolled around and I was off to see the Portico of Glory, the original facade.
I have vivid memories of my first encounter with this masterpiece. In 1989 when you completed a Camino you entered the cathedral from the Plaza de Obradoiro through the Portico, placing your hand on the Central pillar into the deep grooves of the handprint worn by countless pilgrim hands before yours. None of that is allowed now, of course. But the Portico remains a masterpiece of medieval art with few rivals. The restoration as brought out its polychromatic nature without overdoing it and looking garish. It was well worth the time and price of admission.
After the Portico visit was a visit to the cathedral museum and cloisters. Then I arranged a quick meeting with Tomas and his girlfriend in the Plaza, after I settled myself into my little room. Tomas was one of that large group of young people I kept meeting (and occasionally eating with) on the Primitivo. I knew he had stayed an extra day in Lugo, separating himself from the rest of his group and allowing him to walk the last 100 km with his girlfriend instead. She had had a tough time of it, unfortunately being in the process of coming down with something when she started. I also met Tomas for supper at Casa Manolo at 9, which was just as good as I remembered it from my last visit to Santiago five years ago.
But in between was some time in the Plaza, where I once again met the Taiwanese family I had seen again and again on the Primitivo (Santiago is full of these unplanned reunions), and the rooftop tour. The tour was in Spanish and I could generally follow the gist of it, if not getting every detail. The stairs were not as bad as I feared. And the views were amazing.
I got to bed at 11, after the supper.
I slept in this morning and headed down for the breakfast buffet at 7:30 or 8:00. Today was mostly a chores day. But first I wanted to do the most essential activities to end a pilgrimage to Santiago: visiting the saint's relics and giving the saint a hug. I did this right after breakfast when there was no line at all and you could just walk in. And who should I see in front of me contemplating the relics but Peter, the religious pilgrim from day 4 of my Primitivo! It was great to reconnect and have a little chat, which we decided to do outside the cathedral. In the meantime, I had my time in front of the relics, which I spent thinking about my "vicarie pro" reasons for this pilgrimage. I dedicated its religious value to someone else, who cannot walk it herself, so I was thinking of her and my prayers for her. Then I went up, had my hug, and my chat with Peter.
Chores came next. Doing laundry. Shopping: for souvenir type things, some for me, some that friends asked me to pick up; and also for a cazuela, a shallow Spanish cooking pot of glazed earthenware but unglazed on the bottom, that I want to use to make some Spanish dishes I've been meaning to try; and also at the supermarket. I then went to the post office to post a bunch of this home. I'm not intending to carry a large cazuela with me as I walk for the next week! Buying the cazuela was very inexpensive, posting it was another matter.
Which brought me back here to write this. Tomorrow morning I head out towards Finisterre and Muxía. I'll be back here for one more day afterwards. Maybe I will have another try at a pilgrim mass. Maybe I will finish that self-guided tour of the cathedral. Maybe I will visit the pilgrimage museum again. We'll see.
Photos below:
- heading up to Monte de Gozo
- where the monument used to be?
- sunrise from Monte de Gozo
- what's left of the monument (2 of the 4 that are standing)
- pilgrim sculpture
- in the cathedral
- view of San Martín Pinario from the Cathedral rooftop
Days 43 and 44: Lavacolla to Santiago (Primitivo Day 14) and rest day in Santiago
about 10 km to Santiago and another 10 km in Santiago on Day 43 and about 11 km in Santiago on day 44
This is a continuation from my Camino de Madrid, my Camino de San Salvador, and my Camino Primitivo, which I posted in those sub-forums.
I was back to a relatively early start at about 6:15 in the morning, cool and dark when I left. Once again, the road was sparsely populated and it continued to take me through eucalyptus forests and small villages or satellite communities on my way into the city. It was a slow and gradual climb over the first 5 km until I arrived at Monte de Gozo. The Camino takes you past Monte de Gozo but it doesn't take you in. When I walked with Toby in 2016, we just followed the Camino and missed the huge monument to the visit of Pope John Paul II that you see in all the old videos. I had heard that the monument had been removed
and seen photos of the big illustrated plates that had been on its side laid on the ground where it used to be. I had also seen photos of a sculpture showing two pilgrims looking on towards Santiago and the cathedral. This time I did not want to just walk on by. I wanted to see these things.
So I headed into the big albergue campus in search of them. I followed the signs to the mirador (lookout point) and monument, figuring the mirador was where the sculpture would be and the "monument" would be where the illustrated plates would be. No such luck. There was a big circle in the ground where I think the monument used to be and a hill that I think was the mirador but that was it. I did see, on Google Maps, something down the hill and across the road that might be the sculpture I was looking for. And right by that road (not the road that the Camino goes on, but a different road on the other side of the Monte de Gozo albergue and across a field) were set up the big illustrated bronzes I was looking for. So I saw them, crossed the road and saw the sculpture (it was too foggy to see much of the Santiago they were pointing to), took some photos, and headed back.
I stopped at the albergue cafeteria for their breakfast buffet. I hadn't eaten and I wanted to get their stamp. I was planning my stamps pretty carefully. If I played my cards right, I would exactly fill my second credential with the last stamp at the pilgrim office. Then it was on into Santiago, finally entering the city, past the famous sign and through the streets. Rixa, one of Floyd's gang whom I had walked with for a few days was still in the city and we had arranged that she would be in the Plaza when I arrived, so I was timing my arrival for that.
It was pretty quiet when I arrived at the Plaza Obradoiro. The piper hadn't arrived in the tunnel yet and there were just a few people in the square, so Rixa wasn't hard to find and it was easy to get arrival photos without a background cluttered with other people. Rixa and I went for coffee and then headed to the tourist office, Rixa to ask about buses to Finisterre and me to pick up a Finisterre/Muxia credencial because there wouldn't be any space left in my Santiago credential for that add-on. We then went our separate ways. I went to drop by Pilgrim House and get a stamp there. Then I went to the Pilgrim Office to get my last stamp, close my credencial, and get my distance certificate (820 km) and Compostela (vicarie pro Judith Groeneveld). I think I was given number 103 when I got to the pilgrim office and they were calling in 101 when I joined the line, so you can see it wasn't much of a wait.
Then I headed over to where I was staying at Hospederia San Martin Pinario (seminario mayor). This is located in a large 16th century monastery right next to the cathedral. I couldn't check in yet, but I could drop off my backpack and poles which would allow me to visit the cathedral.
By this time it was about 11 and I headed into the cathedral to snag myself a seat for the noon mass. I got a nice front row seat in the transept, a perfect viewing spot should the botafumeiro be swung. I was hopeful because I saw a reserved sign on a couple of the front rows next to me. I figured that meant someone had paid for it and those pews were being reserved for them. But in the end, no such luck. I was, however, completely thrilled to see the Italian priests that I had seen over and over again on my Camino Primitivo, whom I had sung with in Samblismo, up in the altar area and participating in the mass. That was truly a heartwarming experience.
I had booked online in advance an unguided visit to the Portico of Glory and Museum at 2:15 and a guided tour of the cathedral rooftops and tower at 6:00. So I stuck around the cathedral after the mass, admiring the work they had done in restoring it. It was especially impressive where the nave, transepts and apse meet, where they had done a great job restoring the polychrome decoration, which I got to admire during the mass. In my self-guided tour of the cathedral afterward, I was using Ann Born's book If You Stand Here.
If you haven't been to the Cathedral in Santiago it is a very interesting construction. Essentially it is a Romanesque church, which is fitting as the culmination of a road that has so much Romanesque construction. But it is a Romanesque church with Gothic proportions, reaching high into the sky. To the side of this Romanesque cathedral is a Gothic cloister. And in front of this Romanesque cathedral is a Baroque facade, placed in fron of the original Romanesque one. Soon enough 2:15 rolled around and I was off to see the Portico of Glory, the original facade.
I have vivid memories of my first encounter with this masterpiece. In 1989 when you completed a Camino you entered the cathedral from the Plaza de Obradoiro through the Portico, placing your hand on the Central pillar into the deep grooves of the handprint worn by countless pilgrim hands before yours. None of that is allowed now, of course. But the Portico remains a masterpiece of medieval art with few rivals. The restoration as brought out its polychromatic nature without overdoing it and looking garish. It was well worth the time and price of admission.
After the Portico visit was a visit to the cathedral museum and cloisters. Then I arranged a quick meeting with Tomas and his girlfriend in the Plaza, after I settled myself into my little room. Tomas was one of that large group of young people I kept meeting (and occasionally eating with) on the Primitivo. I knew he had stayed an extra day in Lugo, separating himself from the rest of his group and allowing him to walk the last 100 km with his girlfriend instead. She had had a tough time of it, unfortunately being in the process of coming down with something when she started. I also met Tomas for supper at Casa Manolo at 9, which was just as good as I remembered it from my last visit to Santiago five years ago.
But in between was some time in the Plaza, where I once again met the Taiwanese family I had seen again and again on the Primitivo (Santiago is full of these unplanned reunions), and the rooftop tour. The tour was in Spanish and I could generally follow the gist of it, if not getting every detail. The stairs were not as bad as I feared. And the views were amazing.
I got to bed at 11, after the supper.
I slept in this morning and headed down for the breakfast buffet at 7:30 or 8:00. Today was mostly a chores day. But first I wanted to do the most essential activities to end a pilgrimage to Santiago: visiting the saint's relics and giving the saint a hug. I did this right after breakfast when there was no line at all and you could just walk in. And who should I see in front of me contemplating the relics but Peter, the religious pilgrim from day 4 of my Primitivo! It was great to reconnect and have a little chat, which we decided to do outside the cathedral. In the meantime, I had my time in front of the relics, which I spent thinking about my "vicarie pro" reasons for this pilgrimage. I dedicated its religious value to someone else, who cannot walk it herself, so I was thinking of her and my prayers for her. Then I went up, had my hug, and my chat with Peter.
Chores came next. Doing laundry. Shopping: for souvenir type things, some for me, some that friends asked me to pick up; and also for a cazuela, a shallow Spanish cooking pot of glazed earthenware but unglazed on the bottom, that I want to use to make some Spanish dishes I've been meaning to try; and also at the supermarket. I then went to the post office to post a bunch of this home. I'm not intending to carry a large cazuela with me as I walk for the next week! Buying the cazuela was very inexpensive, posting it was another matter.
Which brought me back here to write this. Tomorrow morning I head out towards Finisterre and Muxía. I'll be back here for one more day afterwards. Maybe I will have another try at a pilgrim mass. Maybe I will finish that self-guided tour of the cathedral. Maybe I will visit the pilgrimage museum again. We'll see.
Photos below:
- heading up to Monte de Gozo
- where the monument used to be?
- sunrise from Monte de Gozo
- what's left of the monument (2 of the 4 that are standing)
- pilgrim sculpture
- in the cathedral
- view of San Martín Pinario from the Cathedral rooftop
