14.10-18.10.2013
There are two rituals that you follow when you arrive in Santiago. Two in addition to the Compostela you can receive from a pilgrim office. They are the hug of the apostle and a visit to the tomb of Saint James. The first one is when you go up the stairs behind the altar and you can literally hug a statute of Saint James if you want. The second is when you go down the stairs behind the altar, although from the other side, and stand in front of the tomb of the apostle. You can simply be there, say a prayer, reflect, do really whatever you feel like. I followed those rituals a day after I arrived in Santiago. On Tuesday I continued my pilgrimage further to Finisterre which a thousand years ago, before the Camino de Santiago became a Christian trail, used to be the end of the pagan pilgrimage to the end of the world. Back then the existence of the Americas was an unknown fact for the majority of Europeans and Finisterre together with its Costa da Morte was as far as you could go. I arrived there in a car with one of the Lithuanian girls I have met before and we hiked the last 3.5 km from the city to the lighthouse. It was raining heavily so to see the ocean you had to go down the rocks next to the lighthouse. I did. The awareness of the fact that you are in this place, at the end of the world, was worth getting soaking wet. Even if you could only see what was as fas as 10 metres in front of you. After coming back to Santiago I have been walking around the city, meeting people I have met before who just arrived or who were having a lunch or a dinner somewhere around. I have tried the octopus which is one of the most traditional Galician dishes. One of my favourite things to do in the last four days was to sit in front of the cathedral in the main square (there are four squares around the cathedral) next to a shell on the pavement. A shell is a symbol of the Camino de Santiago and it is also where the arriving pilgrims come first. I have seen some of the friends I have made before in this square. On the next to last day I went to the Museo de las Peregrinaciones y de Santiago fulfilling the last remaining part of my expedition. In there you can find out a lot about the history of the Camino de Santiago and pilgrimages in general. You can also see an exhibition that might help you reflect on your efforts. Having done that, the next day early in the morning I went to the airport and after 40 days of my pilgrimage, which has been an experience impossible to fully describe with mere words, I flew to London and then to Lublin.
There are two rituals that you follow when you arrive in Santiago. Two in addition to the Compostela you can receive from a pilgrim office. They are the hug of the apostle and a visit to the tomb of Saint James. The first one is when you go up the stairs behind the altar and you can literally hug a statute of Saint James if you want. The second is when you go down the stairs behind the altar, although from the other side, and stand in front of the tomb of the apostle. You can simply be there, say a prayer, reflect, do really whatever you feel like. I followed those rituals a day after I arrived in Santiago. On Tuesday I continued my pilgrimage further to Finisterre which a thousand years ago, before the Camino de Santiago became a Christian trail, used to be the end of the pagan pilgrimage to the end of the world. Back then the existence of the Americas was an unknown fact for the majority of Europeans and Finisterre together with its Costa da Morte was as far as you could go. I arrived there in a car with one of the Lithuanian girls I have met before and we hiked the last 3.5 km from the city to the lighthouse. It was raining heavily so to see the ocean you had to go down the rocks next to the lighthouse. I did. The awareness of the fact that you are in this place, at the end of the world, was worth getting soaking wet. Even if you could only see what was as fas as 10 metres in front of you. After coming back to Santiago I have been walking around the city, meeting people I have met before who just arrived or who were having a lunch or a dinner somewhere around. I have tried the octopus which is one of the most traditional Galician dishes. One of my favourite things to do in the last four days was to sit in front of the cathedral in the main square (there are four squares around the cathedral) next to a shell on the pavement. A shell is a symbol of the Camino de Santiago and it is also where the arriving pilgrims come first. I have seen some of the friends I have made before in this square. On the next to last day I went to the Museo de las Peregrinaciones y de Santiago fulfilling the last remaining part of my expedition. In there you can find out a lot about the history of the Camino de Santiago and pilgrimages in general. You can also see an exhibition that might help you reflect on your efforts. Having done that, the next day early in the morning I went to the airport and after 40 days of my pilgrimage, which has been an experience impossible to fully describe with mere words, I flew to London and then to Lublin.
Photo: Finisterre, the Camino de Santiago
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