Santiago Fiesta July 24-25, 2010

[HuskyNerd]

Hi pilgrims--

I want to share with the Forum community a report on the special Holy Year festivities here in Santiago de Compostela. On Friday (July 23) I finished a 266 km camino via Puebla de Sanabria on the Via de la Plata. My plan was to arrive in Santiago in time to celebrate the Holy Year/Holy Day confluence. This occurs when St James' feast day -- July 25 -- galleon a Sunday. Next time the calendar allows this will be 2021, so Santiago pulled out all the stops.

On July 24 I had a nice breakfast with Artur, my Estonian Forum friend, then wandered the streets, watching the various street characters, including giants, fire breathing dragons and grotesques, as well as marching bands and many street musicians. Needless to say the streets are jammed both with pilgrims and locals. I took a break in a cafe, plotted my week's strategy over a late lunch, then headed to Plaza Obradoiro to wait for the Fuego (fireworks).*

Lucky I did. I got there at about 19:00 for the 23:30 show, and at about 20:00 they closed the square. There were perhaps 10,000 people in the square and I lucked into a group from Seville sitting next to a Uruguayan mother-daughter pair who live in Vigo. The leader of the Sevillians is an Internist named Javier. The Uruguayan daughter just graduated med school. Since my wife is a doctor we had a great talk about the challenges and rewards of a career in medicine.

Then the fireworks started. I have never ever seen anything like these. The entire facade of the cathedral had been peppered with lasers and rockets and strobe lights. At times I worried for the cathedral building itself, which sometimes seemed to be exploding. My seat was spectacular-- too close possibly-- and we were showered many times by falling ash and debris. Truly an overwhelming multimedia cultural experience.

After all 10,000 of us pushed our way through the narrow streets I headed to the hotel for a few hours' sleep in advance of an early assault on the pilgrims' office for my compostele. I got to the office at 07:00 on Sunday, July 25 to find 75 people already there. By the 09:00 opening I would estimate there were at least 500 pilgrims in a line stretching more than 3 blocks. Still, the cathedral was well organized, with many stations. I had my Holy Year/Holy Day compostele by 09:30.

I checked my festival schedule just then and realized that the grand procession to the solemn cathedral mass would begin at 10:00. I headed back to the plaza and stood in a group of thousands to enjoy a procession of soldiers, clergy, nobility, governmental leaders, and finally the King and Queen of Spain. People around me shouted "Viva el Rey!"

Knowing the cathedral was already packed (the line was even longer than for the pilgrim office) I pushed through the crowd once again, got breakfast, got my backpack, and headed to my home for the next three nights, the Altair.*

People seemed to be enthralled by my film of the fireworks, so I'm going to put together a YouTube video of them today. Should be fun.*

On the way to the Altair I saw Kristina of Poland and the Italian from Modena who walked with Corrado and Pascal. He said they've both now gone home. Our thin stream of Via de la Plata pilgrims is quickly emptying into the ocean.*

I'm now laying low at the Altair and will venture out when the crowded streets have emptied. Beautiful, clear day, slight breeze, probably 20c degrees.*

Sandy Brown
Seattle Washington USA

[HuskyNerd]

Here's the link to my video of the unbelievable fireworks at Santiago. Buen camino.

YouTube - Santiago Fireworks

[Tanya Yaksich]

Hi Huskynerd,
I missed you by 4 days. I was supposed to be in Santiago till saturday the 24th, but my sister booked me on a plane to Alicante on the 19th. I should have refused, but my sister was important and i didn't want to dissapoint her.
I plan to do the camino again in a couple of years, so who knows who i'll meet.
Cheers Tanya.

[Alejandro]

Hi Sandy, I'm Alejandro
I was in Santiago too
We met you and Artur in the albergue de Lalin
Very graceful experience to be in Santiago on 25th july.

See you

[HuskyNerd]

Tanya, sorry to miss you in Santiago. Sounds like you had a super camino.

Alejandro, amazing to hook up again via the Forum. Are you the biker? I was very tired that day in Lalin after a 42 km walk. Yes, I agree, it was a wonderful experience to be in Santiago on July 25. Highlight was definitely the fireworks.

Blessings!

[Leslie]

Thanks Sandy, I hope you have had a great time.

[HuskyNerd]

Thanks Sandy, I hope you have had a great time.

I had a fabulous time, Leslie, thanks. And thanks also for embedding the video. Hope you're well, and sorry to have missed your birthday. A belated happy one to you. When are you going to hit the trail again?

[Maya2]

Thanks for posting the video. It was fabulous. Wish I had been there!

[Leslie]

Thanks for the birthday wishes - it didn't feel too much like a birthday - work life has been too busy - but this weekend I am away in Mayo right at the coast - next stop US - it is great, very peaceful.

Regarding getting on the camino again - that is something I want to do but I have to plan around my other halfs studies right now. So I have been thinking that we both get away next year and walk the via de la plata or I get away on my own and cycle it. But we will not know until next March, it is just the way life is.

However I am starting to cycle more often just in case, it is more likely that I will end up cycling.

I work for myself and one of the main things about that was the thought that I would eb able to do things like above more often - but it has not worked out like that.

[InOrlando]

I, too, was at the fireworks! It was absolutely stunning. But I couldn't help thinking about the fire they've placed against such a precious building. I mean, they spend millions in renovations, then set the place on fire! Sorry I missed meeting you along the Camino, Husky.