October 3, the morning after a late night…
I left you with the pilgrim having his photo taken in front of Santiago’s cathedral. Unfortunately for the pilgrims, the cathedral, at least as of October 2014, was under renovations and didn’t make the greatest shot.
But, go through the door of the cathedral, featuring scallop shells, the symbol of El Camino de Santiago…
…and you enter another world, one with huge arched ceilings,
and light streaming down through the stained glass windows.
The story goes that in the olden days, when the pilgrims gathered in the cathedral after their long pilgrimage without access to amenities such as showers, they were perhaps a bit ‘whiffy’. Enter the huge incense burner. This was swung like a pendulum, back and forth, to cover up the odour of the pilgrims.
A saint stands in one of corners.
One last view of the cathedral as we leave for a stroll about the town.
I leave you with a note from Jessica, a long-time resident of northern Spain: the Cathedral, obviously, but you can also visit the roof (cubiertas) for 10€ through a guided tour in English, and while it is under construction you can also visit the andamios (scaffolding).
More on our October 2014 trip to Spain.
Albatz Travel Adventures 
Beautiful dramatic shots!
The pilgrimage is still on my bucket list.
I didn’t know this but there are half a dozen major routes to get to Santiago and another half dozen minor routes. If you decided to go try and find a scenic route as some of them are alongside highways.
yes! I know one goes through Brugges 🙂
ooh, that sounds good – with a stop at the Cambrinus!
Oh the sunlight streaming in from the windows above is so lovely!
They were very clever with the lighting in the old days – I can just imagine it all smoky with incense with a powerful organ music booming through the pews and an angelic choir. No wonder the pilgrims thought they had arrived at heaven when they finished their long pilgrimage…
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