Uh-oh. Watch out world. I got home yesterday, and am now on a PC, and not my phone with a folding keyboard, so using Buttondown is a BREEZE now! Ugh, I suffered trying to get pictures to load on the Camino. So what this means for you the reader is that I think (since this is now soooo much easier) I will add one more wrap-up newsletter after this one… I plan to get feedback from my Amigos so it might be a few days yet before it is compiled. Stay tuned.
Now to the Cathedral that has been our destination for the past 34 days!
The cathedral is free to enter, and as a Romanesque cathedral it it’s not as “showy” as say a Baroque one, but it is powerful all the same.
The long viewThe altar. Two items will be shown closer up… the statue of St James in the center of the silver altar, and the “cherubs” holding up the baldachino These cherubs were each about 20 feet tall! And they effortlessly held up the baldachino.If you were patient, and knew where to look (because you read 5 guide books) you found this stairway under the altar to see the crypt where St James’ bones are.Through a barred door you can see his crypt at the end of the hallway. Note the prayers (and thank you notes?) thrown through the bars by pilgrimsAfter you came back out of the crypt on the other side of the altar, you found this stairway going up with some really worn steps. While certainly not a good picture, I took this one before I learned I was not supposed to take pictures. There’s a small area at the top, with room for you and a security guard.Those steps lead up behind the statue of St James on the altar. You’re allowed to come up and hug him from behind (I did three separate times as I was showing some of my friends how to get there) . I waited in front of the altar until I saw a random guy give him a hug and snapped this picture. In the 1800’s they gave the saint new silver mantel, because the old one was wearing out. Big hugger that St James.Here is the first church from 900 that they built when they realized “hey we got a saint here!” That’s even the original doorway. They ended up building the whole cathedral around this church, so now it is simply a chapel off the main nave!Carving as you enterI pay attention to tour groups. I would not have noticed this carved roof in one of the side chapels if a group of Koreans were not pointing to it while on tour. Sadly, there were no tours in English the days I was there.Another picture of the altar, but notice the hanging silver incense burner or botafumeiro hanging on the left side.Here it is in a close up. It is almost 6 feet tall, weighs 180 pounds, and carries 80 pounds of charcoal and incense.It is pulled on a winch by 8 men known as Tiraboleiros who get to wear snazzy red robes. The incense burner swings back and forth, eventually reaching speeds of 50MPH! This process started in the middle ages during mass, to cleanse the soul of the attendees, but I have to think that a church full of sweaty pilgrims wearing wool also reeked to high heaven (pun intended) so this incense had another purpose. It is mainly “swung” only on holy days, so to see it in action must be real treat. I think Tiraboleiro would look awesome on a resume!
The real highlight of visiting the cathedral was viewing the 12th century Portico of Glory… the original entrance to the cathedral started in the 1100’s and completed by Master Mateo in the early 1200’s. Someone decided in the 1700’s to build a more fancy facade to the cathedral, and thus this main entrance is now behind another entrance, which protects it from the weather. Once again, no pictures were allowed, and I’ve attached a few I found on the internet. You can only visit it for 25 minutes, and in groups of 15 or less to control humidity. The detail and vibrancy of the colors was just amazing. From 1200!
All original colors! Try to zoom in on the angels across the top archway… they are playing instruments. Scholars and musicians used these carving as the only known source to recreate 11th century instruments!!This is a close up of a guitar like instrument at the very top (I took a picture of a book in the gift shop) The detail is great!And here’s a wooden recreation an artist made of it.I think restoring statues would be an awesome job.
Up until about 20 years ago, pilgrims would put their hand on the center pillar under St James, as a way of thanking him for protecting them on their journey here. You can see the imprint in the marble of 4 fingers and a thumb (right hand) that 900 years of “touching” has made. Wow.
When I asked the guard where the imprint was, she explained that I could not touch it. I knew that, but I still wanted to see it, and she finally showed it to me. Then, over the course of my 25 minutes of viewing time, she kept a close eye on me, and would put herself between me and the pillar everytime I came within 10 feet of it. i guess I had “that look” to me.
Later in my visit, I was able to take these few pictures from inside the portico, and they give you an idea of the size and colors.
I think my favorite part of the Portico is the one about judgement day. If you look closely, you’ll see angels on the left taking/holding good people up to heaven. However on the right, sinners are not going to heaven, but instead are being eaten by demons! So. Better get right with god soon.
… he knows if youve been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.
To close out this somewhat lengthy newsletter, I’m including a picture of “The mystery pilgrim”. He’s on the East side of the cathedral, and only can be seen when the street light comes on at night:
It’s a perfect rendition of a pilgrim with a hat and a walking stick, and maybe a gourd full of water attached to his walking stick. Designed that way, or some divine influence? You decide.
