Among Pilgrims and Gargoyles

A quiet, slow morning. All the pilgrims are resting from their journey to the Apostle James' grave. They've arrived.

They’ve left the green hillsides and small villages behind, and are resting on the cobblestone. Santiago is built of stone. Stone, from the cobblestones plazas, all the many stone-masons' buildings and fantasy figure gargoyles. There are churches, convents, and the cathedral filling the whole Old City. Enormous heights, huge squares. Still the car-free, pilgrim-filled city is quiet. No stress.

The legend here tells of a hermit, Paio, who saw strange lights over the old Roman fort, at Libredon, like a field of stars (Campus + stellae= Compostela!) And, lo and behold, a local bishop discovered the Apostle James' and two of his disciples' graves right there. It seems James had been active in Galicia, preaching, but was killed and beheaded in the Palestine. His remains were returned to Galicia by boat, then by oxen-pulled cart. Churches built on the very spot have grown in size and prestige since.

In the middle-ages Santiago de Compostela was one of the three major centers of Christianity second only to Rome and Jerusalem. From cobblestone lanes to tiled roofs there's history and culture imbedded in each stone in Santiago! The Cathedral museum ticket lets you into three different entrances, out to colonnaded balconies and inner cloister courtyards. We discover a long line winding around behind the beautiful "Portico de la Gloria". Pilgrims in search of greater wisdom or with a wish to fulfill can place their hands on David’s feet, then knock their head three times on the statue of "Santo dos Croques". Knocking sense into their heads? Smart enough already, we didn't join the queue.

We say farewell to Santiago and all its pilgrims and return now to tiny Camariñas and "Babette".