Arrival Part 2

Our first action after our initial visit to the cathedral was to go to the Pilgrim's Office to collect our minders' final Cathedral stamps and their Compostellas. Our ones will come through a special bears' Pilgrim office. If you use the link to our minders' blog, you will see them with their Compostellas.

We then went to find our accommodation and here we really had landed on our paws. It is very like a nice English B & B and our host is a very charming and amusing man and he is keen to practice his English. Our room really does have a great view of the cathedral, it is much more than a mere glimpse.

We went to find some lunch, a tasty Spanish hamburger, then returned to the cathedral for a proper look round ...





... and to observe some of the traditions including going behind the statue of St James to give him a hug. His neck was a bit big for me (Gio) but I put my paws round as much as I could.

We then went down into the crypt to see the remains of St James and 2 of his disciples in a silver reliquary. It was quite a thought that we could have been in the presence of the remains of someone who went about with Jesus.

We also saw the famous botafumeiro (censer) hanging above the altar. The keen eyed might have noticed it hanging above me in yesterday's, inside the cathedral, photo. Someone pointed out the ropes controlling it and I was lucky enough to be allowed a small swing.





We spent the rest of the day strolling round and sitting in cafes soaking up the atmosphere. At 10.00 pm we went to hear local university musicians, dressed up in medieval academic dress, playing and singing traditional songs. It was a fantastic sound and a great end to a special day.

Love from the Compostella bears xxx