Food, Fiesta and Farewells: Santiago de Compostela (6 to 9 November, 2015)

Santiago de Compostela is the third-most important site in Christianity after Jerusalem and Rome.  Until you've actually walked to Santiago, however, you can't imagine the spell this city can cast over you.  For us, the privilege of completing our 3.5 month walk amongst friends is exciting enough - add to that the architectural splendour of the city in its cathedral, churches, palaces and medieval alleys; the fiesta-like atmosphere that pervades its streets, including buskers, street performers and live music seemingly around every corner; and the unexpected surprise of running into recognizable pilgrims whom we haven't seen in some cases for weeks and months.  Such a long and storied pilgrimage, it must end in dramatic fashion.  And so it does, with plenty of emotion wrapped up in there - there are goodbyes and farewells mixed in with feelings of exultation, exhaustion and relief...

Just as we enter Santiago, Bo runs over to a playpark and David follows...

...watching this group of pilgrims make their way towards the center.

Entering the historic center...

...Andres, Eve-Marie and Dalia are savouring their final steps.

How cool is this?  Bodhi unleashed in the famous Praza do Obradoiro.

Mammy, Bodhi and a celebratory cuddle.

Eve-Marie helps Dalia take some of her first steps.

Katy, Bo and Jeff gathered in front of the Cathedral (which is tragically smothered in scaffolding whilst it undergoes cleaning).

The whole crew: (L-R: Katy, Jeff + Bo, David + Dalia, Andres, Eve-Marie).  Plus two chariots, a balance bike and a guitar.  

Hugs...

... jubilation...

...smiles...

... and a sense of the magical.

St. James - Santiago - St. Jacques is omnipresent as expected...

... Matamoros...

... and peregrino.

The unbelievable 16th-century facade of the Hostal dos Reis Catolicos - ordered built by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1496 to serve as a pilgrims' hospice.  Ferdinand and Isabella made the pilgrimage to Santiago in 1486 and again in the 1490's.

Inside the Hostal dos Reis Catolicos, a 5-star hotel considered to be the oldest continuous-use hotel in the world.  This is the hotel restaurant, where the pope has dined, various Spanish royalty, and now, thanks to some miracle beyond words, US!

Yes, miracles happen.  Andres and Eve-Marie had made the acquaintance a few days earlier of a pilgrim from Montreal (Carole, above) - who instantly recognized the monumental nature of the task they were about to complete: walking from Lourdes, France to Santiago with a baby!  1000km.  She immediately invited them to lunch, and then extended her offer to include us and David as well... 



pulpo galego.  The most delicious octopus dish in the world, perhaps.

Carole gave us full freedom in our ordering, and David and Andres both chose the seafood parrillada, a selection of lobster, clams, mussels, crab and shrimp.

Dalia cashed out on the waiter's tray...



... while Bo explored the 5-star environs. 

Back at the table...

...cracking into crabs...

... and ice cream.

A well-fed pilgrim crew.  Thank you, Carole!!!  One of the most generous gestures we have ever witnessed from a stranger.  And another example of the inexplicable humanity that exists along the Camino.

The next step: finding a hostel.

We learned that there was a folk music fiesta happening in Santiago this weekend....

... and stopped to hear some buskers, playing Irish pipes and drum.

The Cathedral as seen from the Praza da Quintana.

Inside is nothing but gold and splendor...

... and more of the Catholic Church's bizarre hypocritical mix of Jesus-teachings and glorified violence.  

St. James, spangled with gold, observes the ceremonies ...

... and seen from the back, where pilgrims stop to embrace him.

We had timed our arrival perfectly to witness one of the most mythical rites of the whole pilgrimage: the raising of the botafumeiro (incense thrower) at the evening mass in the Cathedral.  It takes 6-8 men to operate, and involves tremendous high-speed parabolic swinging from ceiling to ceiling over the heads of most of the congregation, with flaming incense inside!

When the mass finished, the streets erupted into a festival atmosphere with groups of musicians wandering around and performing loud folk music, amplified off the high medieval walls of the plazas.  



This troupe was quite obviously Mexican and were playing loud mariachi-style songs.

As if the 5-star lunch hadn't been enough, Carole and friends also invited us to a buzzing tapas joint for dinner!

More of Galicia's first-rate seafood offerings.

A nocturnal view of the Cathedral from our hostel, Roots and Boots.

At the hostel we ran into this French family, cycling with their two daughters.

We met David and Rita (Canada) for some drinks outside the Cathedral...

... and collected our Compostelas at the pilgrims' office.  

David, Dalia and Andres celebrate their Compostelas.

In Praza das Praterias we met up with Bo's mates Molly and Zaydee...

... and together we chased giant bubbles blown up by a street performer.  Note the Cathedral reflected upside-down in the bubbles...

... bathed in golden afternoon sunshine.

Silhouetted figures backed by twilight skies...

... and a painting of Saint Francis of Assisi completing his pilgrimage in the year 1214.

Classical music on a Sunday morning.

Jeff and Bo chilling with a local.

Exploring the mysterious alleys of Santiago.

A look at the Cathedral from Parque Alameda...

... where we come across this pilgrim folk art.

Santiago would be a scene of many goodbyes: Pirata y Princesa would walk no further.  David would walk to Finisterre but on a faster pace than us.  Many pilgrims had already walked to or been to visit Finisterre and were back in Santiago to catch their flights out.  As for us, after resting for three nights, we made the decision to carry on to Finisterre - only 90 more kilometers...