Beautiful rendition of The Sound of Silence.
Each day a special mass is held in Catedral de Santiago in Santiago de Compostela for the pilgrims who have completed El Camino de Santiago.
Archive for the ‘Santiago de Compostela’ Category
The Sound of Silence
December 25, 2020El Camino de Santiago
April 18, 2015
Abbey Road – Imágenes del Camino de Santiago
El Camino de Santiago is a mediaeval pilgrimage route that runs along northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela.
Botafumeiro
March 26, 2015
misa para los peregrinos
catching sunbeams
setting Botafumeiro in motion
setting Botafumeiro in motion
catching sunbeams
Botafumeiro is a censer that is swung at special services in Catedral de Santiago in Santiago de Compostela.
It is swung at the special Friday evening mass, and occasionally at other masses too.
I witnessed the occasion at Friday evening mass last week. It takes place at the end of the mass. The censor is lowered, filled with burning charcoal, then with eight men pulling on ropes, it swings into the transepts, almost to the ceiling.
It is quite dramatic when first seen, accompanied by loud organ music.
Each day at midday a special mass for pilgrims.
Saturday midday mass, the censer was swung, as it was at the mass following the midday mass on Sunday.
The clergy in attendance were robed in purple not green. Those pulling the ropes robed in claret.
Friday and Saturday, the censer was stopped. On the Sunday it was allowed to swing and slowly slowly come to a halt.
The description on Wikipedia, like most things on Wikipedia, false. No way was 40kg of charcoal and incense shovelled into the censer. Nor did the swinging censer fill the cathedral with smoke or produce large volumes of smoke. Botafumeiro is normally found suspended at the end of the rope, not kept in the cathedral library.
The Botafumeiro is suspended from a pulley mechanism in the dome in the centre of the cathedral, the entire mechanism flexes as it is swung.
Aeropuerto de Santiago de Compostela
March 24, 2015
Aeropuerto de Santiago de Compostela
I arrived a week ago at Aeropuerto de Santiago de Compostela, late at night and tired. I took the airport bus which passed through the ugly part of town.
My return to the airport, pressed for time, I took a taxi.
A far more pleasant journey, through open countryside.
Why did I not change my flight, stay longer?
Airport bookshop had interesting best-sellers, books from Paulo Coelho and This Changes Everything / Esto Lo Cambio Todo from Naomi Klein.
best-sellers Paulo Coelho
This Changes Everything from Naomi Klein
Bodeguilla de San Roque
March 23, 2015
tasted as disgusting as it looks
Bodeguilla de San Roque
What was described as warm pork with peppers.
In reality thin slices of cold, poor quality ham, with rather disgusting green peppers, plus potatoes.
I ate the potatoes which were quite good, left the disgusting peppers and left about half of the ham.
Not ordered, but served before the main course, a plate of chips with a fried egg on top. This I waved away.
Santiago Apóstol
March 23, 2015
Santiago Apóstol
Santiago de Compostela, is one of the most important sites in Christianity, and the destination for pilgrims, because within Catedral de Santiago lies the remains of Santiago Apóstol, the Apostle James, brother of John the Baptist, and follower of Jesus.
Apostle James travelled far, as far as what is now Spain and Portugal. On his return, he was executed by Herod, and his body dismembered. Two of his followers, gathered up his remains, and set sail in an unseaworthy boat. They somehow traversed the Mediterranean, passed through the Straits of Gibraltar, and were shipwrecked in Galicia.
James was entombed, later by his side, his two followers.
Several hundred years later 820 AD, the hermit Pelagius discovered the tombs and conveyed his finds to the Bishop Theodemir. News reached King Alfonso II who ordered a chapel be built, now Catedral de Santiago.
The remains of St James are now in a niche in a casket in a tiny crypt.
Each day at midday a special mass in Catedral de Santiago for pilgrims who have walked El Camino de Santiago.
A Coruña
March 23, 2015
el tren a A Coruña
My advice on going to A Coruña, don´t.
I was going to a major Picasso exhibition in A Coruña, only not open on Monday.
Having decided to go, I decided to go anyway.
An expensive mistake, a waste of time, a waste of money.
Not knowing where the station was, and to save time, I got a taxi.
No timetable, half an hour wait in the cold for a train. I was asked what time was I returning. I had no idea, other than sometime in the afternoon. Ticket office gave me a ticket for the last train.
A pleasant train journey, countryside very similar to heathland in south of England, gorse in flower.
At A Coruña, half an hour wait for a bus to the centre on a very busy, polluted junction. No 5 bus. 1.30 euros.
Hopped off the bus, traffic, ugly, cut through and caught the bus back. Same bus.
Live update at bus stops. Not only how long to wait for bus, but map showing where the bus is.
On the bus next stop shown, and announced.
At station unable to get through the barrier, apparently ticket only valid for the last train. Man manning the barriers shouted at me to change the ticket. Luckily was possible to change, at no cost. But what a bloody stupid system. And luckily I had the time, otherwise I would have missed the train.
Had I not known the time of the train, I would not have known what train to catch, as only shown final destination. Yet another example of bloody stupid system. And expensive. 10.80 euros for return ticket, 6 euros single.
Interesting feature of trains. Seats recline and between the seats, two power points.
No wifi.
Forty-five minutes return as slow stopping train.
From station, walked to old part of Santiago de Compostela. About 15 minutes walk.
Illegal to erect rooftop solar arrays
March 22, 2015In Galicia, the system used to be, generate your own renewable electricity, instead of selling it to the big energy company, supply them, they supply you, and all you pay for is the difference.
That was the system, it worked. it encouraged the installation of rooftop solar arrays.
That was the system, but it was scrapped. Not only was it scrapped, but the regional government at the behest of the big energy companies who cannot compete with rooftop solar arrays, has made it illegal to install rooftop solar arrays.
Time for Podemos, time for local, community controlled grids. Fair price for suppliers, fair price for consumers. Only the surplus from the local grid would be fed into the national grid.
Local, community controlled grids put local communities in charge, put out of business big grids, big power companies.
Tarta de chocolate en O Paris
March 22, 2015
tarta de chocolate
Excelente tarta de chocolate.
Quality tea, though they had not a clue how to make tea. They allowed me to show them.
They appeared to know how to make coffee, though I did not try.
Almuerzo en Monasterio de San Martín Pinario
March 22, 2015
Refectory
vino tinto
The church of the Monasterio de San Martín Pinario is now a museum.
A much larger building facing Catedral de Santiago has its doors wide open, open times displayed, and yet when you walk in, told it is not open to the public.
There is though another entrance.
This leads to a vey impressive hotel, and yet only a one star Pension.
Leading off from the cloisters, the Refectory, now serving food.
- caldo Gallego
- escalope de cerdo con ensalada
- manzano asado
Galican broth (potatoes and vegetables), escalope of pork with salad and chips, with baked apple as dessert.
The broth was a meal in itself. An alternative starter octopus and potatoes, portion size sufficient for a main meal.
Served with bread, a bottle of red wine and a large bottle of water
Followed by coffee or tea.
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