Another excellent day, with the weather showing its best! Early in the morning, after breakfast, we arrived at La Coruna harbor, docked, and disembarked. Comfortable buses took us along a lovely promenade following the seaside and up to Hercules' Tower. This is the only Roman lighthouse standing in the world, and legend has it that a monster was killed there by Hercules and buried under what became the lighthouse. On we traveled to Santiago de Compostela, where we first visited the Hostel of the Catholic Kings (Ferdinando and Isabella), and went into the famous cathedral of Saint James of the Starry Fields.
According to legend, the body of the apostle James, who had been preaching in Spain and returned to Rome, only to be crucified and beheaded there, was brought back to Spain, and buried in Santiago de Compostela. His relics were supposedly discovered there in 813AD, where the cathedral we visited today was built in his honor. The fame of the city grew, and by the Middle Ages half a million pilgrims a year flocked there from all over Europe, the French Road being the most important route taken. They would dress in the traditional dress of Saint James (or San Diego, or Jakobus are his other names in the church), which consisted of a cape, long staff and curling felt hat adorned with scallop shells. The various different routes used today are the traditional ones, from town to town, church to church.
The cathedral consists of a majestic building with two baroque towers, built in the 11th and 12th centuries. It stands on the original site of the 9th-century basilica built by the orders of Alfonso II. We entered the cathedral through the carved Portico da Gloria, one of the great wonders of Christian art. We visited the interior of the building, and shortly thereafter attended a mass, where the sad happenings of September 11, 2001 were remembered, and then we watched as the famous gigantic botafumeiro censer, made of bronze and weighing 110 pounds (golden bell in center of photo) was put into action by eight men. It swung from one side of the apse to the other, gaining speed and altitude, untill it almost touched the roof on either side.
Shortly thereafter, we had a small reception with music from a local "tuna," and then had an excellent lunch, both at the Hostel of the Catholic Kings. After this we had some free time, and began our short walk back to our waiting buses. On these we traveled south towards Villagarcia, with a stop at a Natural Preserve of the Rias (inlets) of Istmo de las Lanzadas and a small natural history museum, and then at an elegant hotel/restaurant for "tapas" and wine in Isla Toxa. From there to our awaiting ship at Villagarcia was not long, and soon we were aboard the MS Endeavour again for dinner!
