Busing Into Santiago!
- hollandauctions
- Nov 9, 2023
- 2 min read
My last day on my camino starts, as most other days these last few weeks, with rain...
One of the churches in Fisterra...
Boats in the harbour...
Interesting advertisements for albergues, directly across from the cafe I am having breakfast at...
Cafe con leche and Tarta de Santiago! The skies will open up five minutes from now...
As I wait for the rain to pass and my bus to arrive, I purchase a new shirt at the store whose alcove I am sheltered under, and am thankful to have something different to wear for the first time in six weeks.
View from the bus... I am headed back to Santiago to get a proper tour of the cathedral and the town, as I basically ran through it yesterday to catch my bus to Fisterra...
Heading to get my certificate from the cathedral... My two companions from last evening accompany me on the bus to Santiago, and we run into Jean Paul, who I also met the first time in Ponzueta...
Backside of the Cathedral...
In the square of the Cathedral...
As we leave the cathedral area to visit the old town, we spot Anja at a cafe, who walked into town about 5 minutes before we saw her!...
As we walk along the ancient roads of Santiago, I am looking for places to eat this evening, and this display has me intrigued...
A neat way to get people to notice your goods for sale...
Beautiful old roads...
The pilgrims entrance for mass...
The architecture is over the top here..
A wider view of the plaza in front of the pilgrims entrance...
When I first entered, I thought to myself that the cathedral was much smaller and less grandiose than I would have imagined...
I quickly realized that I had entered from the side, and that, in fact, the cathedral was huge and stunning...
Altar and organ pipes...
The moment we've all been waiting for... aside from an hour of mass in Spanish, and the barely recognizable acknowledgment of where today's pilgrims have travelled from across the world, the main attraction is the Butofumeiro, a giant censer that flies over the crowd, with plumes of frankincense covering the general stench of all us pilgrims squeezed into such close quarters!
After an hour of work, these guys are done for the day... Miller time!
One last look, as my adventure comes to a close...
The last supper... Lorrine, Anja and myself are joined by two Poles and a German, and we enjoy a decent meal at a restaurant down the street from the cathedral...
Pan fried sardines for the table... I order mussels, and then veal shank...
I was expecting this bottle to be better than it was... good, but not great...
We go for drinks at an underground tavern bar near my hotel, but Anja begs off early as she has had a long day, and I have a flight to Barcelona in the morning, so the festivities end quickly, and the reality of the end of my experience begins to settle in...
Distance walked today- 7 kms
TOTAL DISTANCE TRAVELLED SO FAR- 935 KMS
You did a great job on the walk. You met some cows, horses, goats and sheep all friends of yours for life. The giant censer that was flying over your head at the Cathedral was their to keep you from leaving the ceremony. You really didn’t need another injury!!!
Wow wow wow, just great pictures!
The incense urn ritual must have been amazing to see and seems a fitting epilogue to your adventure.
It must have been somewhat bittersweet at the very end if this day: the closing moments of what is probably the most memorable journey of your time here and one of the most difficult challenges you've ever accomplished.
You did a pretty amazing thing and you really gave us dramatic insight into your trek and the trials and tribulations that you encountered.
Thanks, I guess. 😉