Our day in Santiago
Trip Start
May 14, 2008
1
14
Trip End
May 30, 2008
Santiago de Compostela,
Spain
Thursday, May 29, 2008
The Botafumeiro (incense burner)
. Marguerina had told us it's the best place to sit for the Pilgrim's Mass, as today is one of the approximately ten days in the year that they swing the incense burner. Lucky us! In the old days, when people and animals lived in the Cathedral, the odour got rather pungent and overwhelming, so incense was burned to help mask the odour.Page 57 of "The Way is Made By Walking" by Arthur Paul Boers says "The Santiago Cathedral has one of Christianity's largest censers to dispense pleasing fumes in worship. In most churches these are carried and swung by one person, but the Botafumeiro in Santiago is the largest in the world and takes up to eight people to lift and wield it. All to mask the odours of pilgrims who had not bathed for months!" Marguerina told us that the original one was stolen by Napoleon Bonaparte in the 18th century, so the one we saw was a replacement. Jim said he saw 4 people maneuvering it, not 8.
The mass, spoken in Spanish, lasted for about 40 minutes and alternated between a nun singing hymns in her beautiful voice, and a couple of priests talking. They acknowledged all the pilgrims that had completed the Camino in the last 24 hours and we heard "Canada" mentioned several times. The Cathedral was packed, standing room only, so it was great for people-watching
Pilgrim's Mass at the Cathedral
. After communion, the incense burner began swinging to the oohs and ahhs of the crowd. It's an intricately carved silver urn-type thing, which is first lowered down and lit, then hoisted up by a series of ropes and pulleys tugged on by men dressed in crimson robes. They bent their knees, hoisted the ropes together, and gradually got the momentum of the incense burner going such that it swung back and forth across the transept for about five minutes, emitting puffs of smoke. Definitely worth seeing.Once all was said and done, the Church emptied and we regrouped to decide what to do next. Since it was still raining, we did a bit of shopping and then we walked to a restaurant recommended by Marguerina called "The Sixteen" (but in Spanish). It was in the basement of a building but there was a huge skylight covering the whole ceiling, so it was bright and airy. Clearly it was frequented by locals, not tourists, so the food must be good! And it was. We shared platters of salad, cheese pate on croustades, prawns with cuttlefish noodles, octopus (yes! I ate octopus, and it was good!) with potatoes, and more crusty bread and vino tinto. This drinking at lunchtime doesn't sit well with me - my head was spinning when we left the restaurant!
Between shopping and eating, it briefly stopped raining so we seized the opportunity to do our North Shore News photo in front of the Santiago Cathedral with Lynne, Nancy, Jim and I in the picture and Sandi being the photographer
Nancy, Linda, Jim, Lynne
.We made one more stop - we were looking for San Marcos Church and came across another one (the name escapes me). We went inside, and it was the strangest thing - it was a typical old Church, but it had been completely emptied out and, instead of the usual pews, etc., there was a multi-media art presentation inside. All the lights were out so it was freakishly dark in there, especially as we were the only ones present. The theme seemed to have something to do with endings. One huge screen counted down the seconds, but instead of getting to 3-2-1-0 it went 3-2-1-.5-.25-.125-.150 and so on. Another room had TV screens and every single one of them said "The End", taken from different movie endings. On a pedestal stand was a piece of sheet music entitled "The Ascension", but all the music notes were missing from the page. All the stained glass windows were boarded up too, so it was very eery....but intriguing.
Brad wanted to go to the train station to check the schedule as he's leaving tomorrow, so while the four of them did that Jim and I went to the Monasterio de San Martin Pinario. This is where much of the holy art is housed, including "the recently restored choir hall from the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela that is, without doubt, the most valuable jewel of the Renaissance sculpture in Galicia" (says The Lonely Planet book). My favourite piece in this museum was a book painstakingly written in calligraphy in 1499 by the monks of Saint Benito. The pages were so brittle and the writing so perfectly even - it was art in itself!
The museum also displayed a spectacular collection of architecture, altar pieces, scultures, paintings, holy jewellery, money, scriptures, liturgical clothing, a complete pharmacy and lab, and stuffed animals that were used, I guess, for pharmacological reasons?
We met the others back at the Palacio at 5:30 as we were trying once again to see the rooftops of the Cathedral
Our yummy meal of octupus
. This time we were told that you had to book ahead, and the first opening was tomorrow night at 6:00 but the tour is in Spanish. So, sadly, we won't be able to do this.After doing a bit more shopping, we finished the day back at the Parador for one last pitcher of Sangria. The conversation revolved around recapping the highs (scenery, Aurora) and lows (rain, injuries) of the week. At 8:30 Jim and I said goodbye with hugs all around, and it was nice to hear Sandi say "I haven't laughed this much in years!" Nancy, Sandi, Lynne & Brad hopped in a taxi back to their hotel, while Jim and I walked arm-in-arm under our umbrella through the rain, along the cobblestone streets, past stores and buildings that have stood the test of time, back to the Rosa Rosae for one last night before our journey home.
