Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela is a university town and the capital of Galicia but, more importantly, its catheral is purported to be the burial site of the remains of the apostle St James. Apparently, in 813AD a shepherd was guided by a bright star to St James’ burial site and, once the remains had been confirmed by the local bishop as being those of the saint, construction of a cathedral began and Santiago became a centre for pilgrimage. Over the years there have been numerous additions and improvements. The cathedral we see today is largely a Romanesque structure with Gothic and Baroque additions.

So, for over a thousand years pilgrims have travelled the Camino de Santiago (the Way of St James) walking from points all over Europe to end up at the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. The pilgrimage is growing in popularity and today over 100,000 pilgrims travel each year to the city. Many have walked for weeks or months, covering hundreds of miles, stopping overnight at small hostels and, typically, carrying a staff and a scallop shell. The scallop shell is the symbol of the Camino de Santiago; the grooves on the shell, which come together at a single point, represent the various routes pilgrims travel before they eventually arrive at the tomb of St James. Even as I write this 2 of our friends are walking one of the longer Caminos. We had hoped to meet them at the end of their pilgrimage but sadly we are unable to do so as we have found that we have to return to the UK for a few days.

Our journey to Santiago de Compostela from Vigo was much less virtuous than the pilgrims’ as we travelled by train, but then we were visiting as tourists. We are very impressed by the Spanish trains in this area. They are modern, clean, punctual and good value with the return trip (1½hrs each way) costing €14.30 per person. With such an efficient service we had no excuse not to visit Santiago before going home and then moving south into Portuguese waters.

There is definitely grandeur about Santiago. Walking up through the narrow streets from the railway station the buildings become more and more impressive and it is clear that looking after the needs of the pilgrims, both over the years and now, is big business. Sadly there are also significant numbers of beggars in the streets seeking charity.

Praza do Obradoiro

The focal point, for pilgrims and tourists alike, is the cathedral, with Praza do Obradoiro seemingly a rallying point. Many weary pilgrims sat beside their backpacks under the shadow of the cathedral quietly contemplating their achievement. Some had arrived by bicycle rather than walking; apparently 100km is the minimum pilgrimage distance by foot whereas there is a 200km minimum qualifying distance by bicycle.

During our visit Praza do Obradoiro was also hosting a Portuguese classic car rally with most being old English Triumph and MG sports cars; an unexpected reminder of home. The Parador de Santiago overlooks the square providing very much more upmarket accommodation than I suspect the average pilgrim enjoys.

Parador de Santiago

Santiago is filled with convents, monestaries and university and government buildings, most with elaborately carved decoration. Our travel guide suggests that these buildings shine when it is raining and, perhaps, look their best that way (or is that just a sop to the percentage of rainy days in this area of Spain?). We, however, were grateful that it neither rained nor was too hot as we walked around the busy streets. Maybe we missed the city at its best but it was still a great place to visit with far more to see than we were able to fit into our one day visit. Everywhere we turned there was something new to look at and we just didn’t have time to go into the museums.

We made sure, though, that we visited the cathedral. The canopy above the altar is  covered with gold leaf and incredibly decorated with figures and carvings; perhaps bordering on the ostentatious, but certainly designed to impress. Hanging in front is the famous Botafumeiro.

The Botafumeiro, measuring about 1.6 m in height and weighing around 80kg, is one of the largest containers for burning incense in the world. Whilst the incense smoke has other religious overtones, historically the Botafumeiro also, very practically, acted as a huge air-freshener for the services that were attended by numerous tired and unwashed pilgrims hot from their trail.  The current pulley mechanism was installed in 1604 and this Botafumeiro dates from 1851 (restored in 2006). The previous, more ornate Botafumeiro, was stolen by Napoleon’s troops in April 1809.

The Botafumeiro

During important religious services and the Pilgrims’ Mass on Sundays (or if you make a large enough donation), the Botafumeiro is filled with about 40 kg of charcoal and incense. Suspended from a pulley mechanism in the dome on the roof of the church, it is then swung in a wide arc dispensing thick clouds of incense. Reaching speeds of 68 km/h as it swings, it can achieve a maximum angle of about 82° which puts it quite close to the ends of the transept. You can see library footage video of the Botafumeiro here which makes you wonder why there are not more accidents during the swinging (the last time the hot coals and incense were spilled is recorded as July 1937).  Unfortunately, we did not see it in action – maybe next time? After all we still have the museums to visit!