What To Do?

I had no real plan for today other than to sleep in.  The pilgrims from the Portuguese route got together in Obradoiro Square last night.  We had thought we would go out for a drink to celebrate, but there were way more people than we thought and not all of the cohort showed up.  There were 20 or more people and we had trouble finding a place to hold us all.  When we did it didn't have any vegetarian options and my Italian friends don't eat meat.  They were the ones I cared most about so we went elsewhere and had our own celebration.  It was a late night by camino standards, we were back at the hostal around 11pm.

This morning I got my Compostela.  The woman took my credential and the registration sheet, hit a few keys on the computer, asked the guy next to her how to put my name into Latin.  I couldn't follow his reply, but she hit a few more keys, wrote something, and asked if I also wanted a certificate of distance. I walked a combination of routes, the shortest was 258 km, I got lost and, when given an option, took the longer scenic route.  Any number I gave her would have to be an educated guess.  I declined the distance certificate.  I was, however, quite disappointed to find my name had not been converted to Latin.

I took my Compostela and started towards the Franciscan church to get their Compostela (2014 is the 800th anniversary of Francis of Assissi's walk, so this is quite a rare thing to have) and very quickly found myself hugging Giovanni, someone I met through Cate.  He had just been to headbutt the saint and say a prayer at the crypt.

He hadn't heard about the Franciscan Compostela.  He ran back to his hotel to get his credential while I went to headbutt a statute.  Tradition dictates that pilgrims thank the saint for successfully completing the journey (they hug or rest their head on a gold plated statue) then pay their respects to his remains.

Giovanni is from Umbria and was quite moved to receive the Franciscan certificate.  Here are my two Franciscan stamps, the Herbon monestery on the left and Francis of Assissi's on the right:

I stopped in for the pilgrims mass, but couldn't really get into it.  All the seats were taken so I was sitting on the base of a pillar.  I was standing when he congregation stood and sitting when they sat, but then someone moved into my seat during one of the standing bits, so I left to do this:

The roof tour is the coolest thing to do in Santiago.  A guide takes you up 115 stairs and gives you a tour from the roof of the cathedral.  It takes a while to get used to the slant.  If you are ever in Santiago this is a must.  Plus there is a discount for pilgrims.

I bought some bread and cheese and headed for a picnic dinner with a view:

Now I know that the ratchett tower is the one being cleaned and repaired. The bell tower and facade will be next, followed by the clock tower and aspe dome, and lastly the cloister towers.

It is kind of cool to walk around this city and hear the different churches chime the time.  I think it is something I will miss when I get home.

My home while in Santiago is here:

After climbing the hill it is only 70 steps up to my floor.