Part 9 El Camino: Pilgrims Celebrate Arrival!
Expect the Unexpected
"To journey without being changed is to be a nomad. To change without journeying is to be a chameleon. To journey and to be transformed by the journeying is to be a pilgrim." - Mark Nepo
After many days of trudging it out on the Camino, my first awe-inspiring sight of the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral was like a surreal dream.
Is this REALLY it? Am I dreaming, or have I FINALLY arrived?
The atmosphere was vibrant and teeming with excitement as pilgrims from all over the globe mingled in the squares surrounding the famous 11th-century cathedral.
After a LONG restful sleep and a LUXURIOUS warm shower, Hubs and I headed to the Pilgrims Office, to show our credentials and received our Pilgrim’s Compostelas. The maze of narrow streets and squares surrounding the Cathedral was a navigational challenge.
We could have used just a few more of those yellow arrows that had conveniently directed our path along the Camino. Finally… the familiar directive!
Starting in the 10th century, pilgrims arriving in Santiago de Compostela were accredited with badges in the shape of clam shells. Pilgrim badges conferred social and religious considerations upon the bearer, so they were highly valued. It didn’t take long before enterprising hucksters seized the opportunity to mass-produce the clam-shaped badges and sell them for a bundle of money. Ultimately, the badges became worthless and the Catholic Church went back to the drawing board to initiate a more accountable system for accrediting pilgrims of the Camino.
Modern-day pilgrims have the option to receive either a Pilgrim’s Compostela or a Certificate of Distance.
The Pilgrim’s Certificate of Distance simply recognizes the pilgrim for the distance walked without stipulating any other criteria.
To qualify for the Pilgrim’s Compostela, the following criteria must be met:
Make the pilgrimage for religious or spiritual reasons, or an attitude or search.
Do the last 100 km on foot or horseback or the last 200 km by bicycle.
Collect the stamps on the “Credencial de Peregrino” from designated places along the Camino.
Last year, 446,035 pilgrims registered at the Pilgrims Office. That DOES NOT count all those who walked but DID NOT register! Statistically, one-quarter of the pilgrims walk the Camino for their own personal reasons and the remainder report they are walking for “religious or spiritual” reasons.
The Pilgrims Office anticipates over 500,000 pilgrims will walk the Camino de Santiago in 2024!
Holding tightly to our hard-earned Compostelas, Hubs and I were barely out the door of the Pilgrim’s Office when we heard a familiar voice, “Hey you two! You made it! It’s me, Tex!”
If you have accompanied us throughout this series, you will recall Tex was the self-designated Camino expert who generously shared his experience and wisdom with all the “newbie” pilgrims our first night on the road. He had a loud booming voice and he commanded attention. The message he stressed? “Push through the pain and don’t give up!” Turns out Tex had NEVER walked the Camino himself, but his deceased wife was the experienced pilgrim. Tex and his son, Tex Jr. were carrying her ashes on one final pilgrimage along the last 100 km of the Camino.
Perhaps you also recall we ran into Tex a few days later. Apparently, he forgot his own advice and decided not to push through the pain and to give up for a day while he lounged in a hotel. He planned to take a taxi to catch up with his son the following evening. We bid him “Buen Camino” and went on our way.
Here was Tex again, waving his COMPOSTELA in the air while yakking about arriving in Santiago two days earlier. Grinning from ear to ear, the man was prouder than a punch of his accomplishment. It was a bit perplexing. He didn’t pass us on the Camino and he arrived a DAY BEFORE we did?? I’ll let you figure out how many taxi cabs he took. Bottom line - his taxi shenanigans made him ineligible for the Compostela. Well, to each his own. I’m not Tex and that’s his business.
I walked every single inch from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela, and that is ALL I needed to focus on.
The Pilgrim’s Mass is the BIG EVENT in the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral. Each day the pilgrims who have completed their Pilgrimage are individually acknowledged, along with their country of origin.
Oh, before I go any further, I feel inclined to mention that I am not of the Catholic denomination. My experience in attending Catholic masses has been limited to the few Catholic weddings I have been to in my lifetime. The Pilgrim’s Mass is open to people of all walks, faiths, and denominations.
Every pilgrim hopes to see the famous BOTAFUMEIRO at their Pilgrim’s Mass. In case you aren’t familiar with the botafumeiro, here’s the scoop on it. In its most simplistic terms, the botafumeiro is a large - very large - incense burner. The container of the botafumeiro holding the incense and coal is called the thurible.
The smoke rising from the thurible is symbolic of the prayers of the people, while the fragrance of the incense falling upon them is symbolic of God’s adoration.
The botafumeiro has been a tradition in the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral since the 11th century. However, throughout Medieval times the botafumeiro was used primarily to quelch the stench of the pilgrims - many of whom had traveled for weeks or even months without bathing or washing their clothing. Frankincense, the incense burned in the thurible, is especially noted for its purifying qualities, so it was used to kill the diseases and ailments brought to Santiago by the multitudes of pilgrims. No doubt the priests appreciated that!
The current botafumeiro, made in 1971, stands 5 feet in height and weighs 120 pounds empty, 240 pounds full. It is hoisted by a pulley system by eight men, called tiraboleiros, who pull on 195 feet of rope, to raise the incense burner 72 feet in the air and send it swinging in a pendulum motion, back and forth 17 times through the cathedral, at speeds up to 43 mph!
Hold on! Think about that! A HOT incense burner, weighing 240 pounds, dangling on thick ropes tied in sailor’s knots, hurls back and forth over your head at 43 miles per hour, dispensing the subtle aroma of frankincense and smoke! It whips back over to the opposite ceiling of the cathedral, reaching a height of 82 feet - where it is momentarily suspended in time - then it catapults back like a pendulum repeating the action.
There is only one way to get the IMPACT of this phenomenal ceremony. It is a very memorable and touching recognition of a long Pilgrim’s Journey.
Don’t skip the video. This is one of the only places in the world where the botafumeiro is still used. And this is one of the largest on the planet. Enjoy!
Although I may have traveled all the roads,
crossed mountains and valleys from East to West,
if I have not discovered the freedom to be myself,
I have arrived nowhere.
Although I may have shared all of my possessions
with people of other languages and cultures;
made friends with Pilgrims of a thousand paths,
or shared albergues with saints and princes,
if I am not capable of forgiving my neighbor tomorrow,
I have arrived nowhere.
Although I may have carried my pack from beginning to end
and waited for every Pilgrim in need of encouragement,
or given my bed to one who arrived later than I,
given my bottle of water in exchange for nothing;
if upon returning to my home and work,
I am not able to create brotherhood
or make happiness, peace and unity,
I have arrived nowhere.
Although I may have had food and water each day,
and enjoyed a roof and shower every night;
or may have had my injuries well attended,
If I have not discovered in all that the love of God,
I have arrived nowhere.
Although I may have seen all the monuments
and contemplated the best sunsets;
although I may have learned a greeting in every language
or tried the clean water from every fountain;
if I have not discovered who is the author
of so much free beauty and so much peace,
I have arrived nowhere.
If from today I do not continue walking on my path,
searching far and living according to what I have learned;
if from today I do not see in every person, friend or foe
a companion on the Camino;
if from today I cannot recognize God,
the God of Jesus of Nazareth
as the one God of my life,
I have arrived nowhere.
Fraydino
Four years later, I returned to the Camino and walked 50 miles of the Routa Plata with my beautiful Red Headed Friend. Then we hung up our walking sticks, rented a car, and explored the Galicia Region of Spain.
When I told Hubs I was going to walk the Camino again, he simply said, “You must have a very short memory.” Some things are worth doing more than once!
If you haven’t walked the Camino, I hope this series will encourage you to go to Spain and start walking!
Note: If you are a new reader, this is the final part of my El Camino Series. Make sure to also read Parts 1-8 of the El Camino Series. Buen Camino!
You were right--don’t skip the video!
I loved the poem/reading at the end!