Pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela

Pilgrims come from all over the world to take one of the four trails that lead to Santiago de Compostela to see the box that holds the relics/bones of St. James, or Santiago in Spanish.  We've traveled over 60,000 nautical miles to get there but unfortunately can't get the stamp that says we made the pilgrimage.  The major trails that pilgrims must walk, bike, or ride a horse, start from France, England, Spain and Portugal.  There are points along the way where they must check in to get a stamp, certifying they have reached that part of their journey.  To qualify for the completion stamp they have to have walked at least 200 miles, ridden 300 miles on a bike, or 350 miles on a horse.  Just to be clear, I didn't see any horses entering the square today where the pilgrims finish.

Now for a little bit about Vigo, or "beegoh" as it is pronounced.  This city was our final stop in Spain and on the country’s northwest coast where a cooler, damper climate is found than in the rest of the country.  Now you can understand why it’s called “The Green Spain”.  The Muelle de Transatlanticos, where we docked, is Spain’s busiest fishing port and the largest in Europe,

As you could see from the map above we had to travel a bit to get to Santiago de Compostela from Vigo but our bus wasn't crowded, it was comfortable, and the guide didn't talk endlessly so it was a good ride as we journeyed the 55 miles to get to our destination.

Sometimes the different regions of Spain seem like they are their own little countries, it's not like a state in the U.S., each of these regions have their own language and customs.  Galacia is no exception with this, their Spanish has a Portuguese sound to it and this is a land with lots of streams and rivers meaning plentiful water, so different from the drought plagued south of Spain.  Pictured here is the house of the President of Galacia, not far from the cathedral.

Our first glimpses of the old city on a hill as we walked up from the bus drop off.

If someone could please, please tell me how to grow bountiful hydrangeas this color I would so appreciate it!  Our latitude today was about the same as at home so I can't blame my failure on that, sigh.  Maybe it's just getting more rain.

Before reaching the cathedral itself we walked past the St. Francis Monastery which dates back to the 17th century.  A monument to St. Francis stands in front.

The symbol of the pilgrims who walk the Camino de Santiago de Compostela is a seashell.  You see it all around the area here, on a balcony, set in the asphalt, even on a manhole cover.  The point of the shell is always pointing in the direction of the cathedral, the path pilgrims need to take.  We saw it in Porto as well, pointing the way to Spain.  No one really knows why it became a symbol of the pilgrimage.  Conjecture says that St. James's body came to Galacia via a shell-shaped boat, or maybe it was because the sea is so important to this area, or possibly it was because so many pilgrims in ages past used shells to drink from.  Whatever the reason you find it on t-shirts, magnets, jewelry, hats, every type of souvenir you can imagine, as well as on statues, architecture and art.

A vibrant pretty flower picture for today.

Not a pilgrim but a random bagpipe player whose music we could hear most of the time we were in Santiago.

The huge square in front of the cathedral is surrounded by imposing buildings and is known as Worker's Square in honor of all those who worked to create this spot where the city began.  The structure you can see that's opposite of the cathedral is the City Hall of Santiago de Compostela.  It's officially called Palacio de Rajoy and was built in the 19th century.

To the left of the cathedral is what's known as the Royal King's Building.  Today it's a five-star hotel but originally its construction was ordered by Queen Isabella, yes the Isabella who sent out Columbus, after she visited the site in 1492 and found that there was no hospital in the city.  The land and building were donated to create the first private hospital in Santiago.  At the time it was built there were no decorations on the walls, just the plain granite.

The massive Santiago de Compostela Cathedral.  When the bones of St. James, as in Peter, James and John, also, the son of Zebedee, were "discovered" here in the 9th century it was eventually determined that a church should be built here to keep them safe.  Now you may ask, "How did the bones get here", or "Why are the bones there?" or most importantly, "How do they know these are the bones of James?"  These are all good questions and the bottom line answer is "Because the Spanish King and the Pope said so."

St. James is beloved of the Spanish people because it is said that he brought the gospel to Spain and spent two years here proselyting and teaching.  Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims make the trek here each year to see the silver casket that is believed to hold his bones, making Santiago de Compostela the third most visited Christian pilgrimage site in the world after Jerusalem and Rome.

Atop the cathedral is a typical depiction of St. James as a pilgrim, with hat, staff and cloak.

Left of the cathedral is one of the oldest buildings on the square, built in the 12th century, simple, Gothic architecture..

The section to the right of the cathedral is a Renaissance structure that is now a museum.

Sun angle was wrong to get how pretty these pink petunias were all along the balconies of this white building.  This view looks down Franco Street, one of the most traveled in Santiago.  Here Franco doesn't refer to the Spanish dictator but to France, as this is the last street the pilgrims traveling from France take to get to the cathedral square.

The entrance to the cathedral is next to this tower which isn't considered a bell tower but a watch tower.  Fountains near the entrances were for the pilgrims to cleanse their feet and sometimes even their clothing before entering the church at the end of their journey.

Looking down the entrance steps toward what is known as Silver Square.  There are many little shops selling silver jewelry and other items nearby and it is has been that way for hundreds of years.  In the past they would have been making the silver items here.

We just stopped here for an little explanation about the doors, we would actually enter the cathedral later.  They have a mass at noon here every day for the pilgrims so the cathedral is closed from noon until one.  

The door on the left is called the Temptation Door since the carvings on it have animals and other images that are believed to represent the devil.  On the right, the door you actually enter, is called The Passion Door for its depictions of the passion and suffering of Christ.

Around the corner from those doors is another entrance, called The Holy Door.  This one is only opened on Jubilee celebration years which happen every 6, 5, 6, 11 years according to the Gregorian calendar.  The cycle last began in 2021 so the door won't be opened again until 2027.  Entering through this door is supposed to cleanse your soul.  The white canopies outside are in preparation for the annual July 25 St. James Day celebrations.  Many of the pilgrims time their arrival to coincide with that date.  Another sculpture of St. James sits atop this door and he is flanked by two of his first converts in Spain.

You can easily see the shell symbol all over this statue.

On the leftis  just an interesting view.  On the right the watch tower again.  It actually has a light in the top cupola that is turned on in the Jubilee years to light the way for pilgrims.

Also near the church is a convent.  I took the picture with this perspective so you can see how long the building is.  There are currently 12 nuns who live here.  I was hoping they have someone to help them clean!

A statue of Alfonso II, who was the king who certified the relics as the bones of St. James, stands in a nearby square.  Tradition says that in the 9th century he was the first pilgrim to Santiago de Compostela, walking from the then Spanish capital of Ovieto, a distance of around 185 miles.  It's considered one of the most difficult routes now to make the pilgrimage due to its many steep ascents and descents, can't imagine the difficulties he encountered over a thousand years ago. 

There always has to be a marketplace near a city center and Santiago is no exception.  This one had plenty of fresh meats and fish, along with some fruit and vegetable stalls.  We tried some cherries and they were delicious.

The area here is known as Cervantes Square due to the sculpture of the author located in it.  Formerly is was known as the Plaza del Campo and the market was located next to it.

Here is the end of the French Trail, the last buildings the pilgrims see before getting to the cathedral.

Yet another entrance to the cathedral, although not one in use anymore.  It's the one where pilgrimages originally ended and the square here is known as Acibecheria.  We listened to the cathedral bells chime here at noon.

A closer view of the original entrance.  Many of the statues and decorations that were on here have been moved to other places on the cathedral's exterior.

This was probably my favorite moment of the day, watching these young people who had made the pilgrimage descend the steps, then put their arms around one another's shoulders and enter the square together.  Once there they all hugged one another, their joy and smiles brought a tear or two to my eyes.  It's hard to know whether they made the journey just to say they had done it, or if it truly was a journey of faith.  Whatever the reason it has to be some kind of journey of self discovery.

I found that coming up these stairs here gave me one of the best perspectives for a photo of the cathedral. Unfortunately Karl wasn't with me but waiting nearby.

Another view of the tower and a closer shot of the vibrant petunias on that white building.

After having some lunch we were able to enter the cathedral.

It is relatively simple inside, nothing too ornate and fancy except for the altar area.

This large censer hanging in the middle of the cathedral used to burn incense to help cover the smell of the pilgrims whose travel weary bodies and clothing carried the odors of their journey.

These columns were all faux marble, the colors were painted on.

There were two long arched aisles like this on either side of the center of the cathedral.

The altar itself was covered with gold and silver, but not as ostentatious as some that we've seen.  Definitely Baroque though.

The organ pipes hang above and are covered with cherubs.

The exterior of the altar place and a bit of the painted ceiling above it.

These heavily decorated and spiral columns looked like Portuguese Baroque to me.  I wouldn't have known that unless I'd been to Porto!

We waited in a long line for probably 25 or 30 minutes to be able to go down below the altar to see the box with the relics os St. James.  The entrance is low so you have to duck your head and the way is narrow so that only one person can enter at a time.  When you come back up again you climb a few stairs to visit a silver statue of the saint that you can touch or embrace.  No photos were allowed in that part of the cathedral.  It seems like it would be a sacred experience for some so no photos is definitely the right call.

In the chamber below you look through this iron gate to see the small silver casket that holds the relics, or bones.  You can see that some people leave notes, probably prayerful requests inside.

The casket itself isn't too ornate but it is beautiful, a fitting resting place for a saint's bones.  It really is a peaceful little spot.

I only found one stained glass window as we made our way out of the cathedral, I'm guessing there had to be at least one more opposite this one.  Here again is St. James.

It was a really enjoyable trip to Santiago de Compostela, it was interesting to learn about this spot that so many have journeyed to throughout the centuries from an interesting guide, Ricardo.  It was also nice to just have some time to wander on our own without being rushed, something we haven't been able to do with recent tours.  It was a day I was glad we'd made the trip.