Semana Santa Part 5: Santiago de Compostela

While I’m on a roll with this blogging thing, I thought I’d finish my “Semana Santa Series”!

Early in the morning on Saturday of Semana Santa, I took the bus from Oviedo to Santiago de Compostela. While this was a very long bus trip, I was able to see a lot of the countryside and coast of northern Spain. What was interesting was how different this area looks versus what I’ve seen when I’ve taken the bus in Andalucía. The climate is very different, and it’s much more mountainous. Additionally, I was proud of myself because I successfully watched Gravity dubbed in Spanish and still understood everything that was going on! Even with all of the technical language about spaceships! haha. On longer bus trips, Alsa (the main national Spanish bus company) plays movies, cartoons, and travel shows, so I became very familiar with their selection on this trip!

I arrived in Santiago de Compostela and headed to my hostel, O Fogar de Teodomiro. It was a bit confusing because apparently I was traveling during off-season, so I had to check in at the hotel next door (I guess the same people own the hostel and the hotel?) But I got settled and left to start doing sightseeing! I didn’t have as much time in Santiago de Compostela, since I would need almost the entire next day in order to travel back to Sevilla, but I still fit in everything I wanted.

I first went to Santiago’s main attraction: the Cathedral. Probably the coolest thing about Santiago de Compostela is its association with El Camino de Santiago (or, The Way of Saint James). Santiago de Compostela, specifically the shrine of the apostle Saint James in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela (where Saint James is said to be buried) is a famous pilgrimage site. There are routes that lead all across Spain, France, and other parts of Europe that all end in Santiago de Compostela. It is one of the most important Christian pilgrimage routes, and people often complete the journey as a sign of religious devotion, in order to cleanse themselves of sin, as an act of penance, or even just for a kind of “personal achievement” or “LIFE Tile.” Pilgrimages began in the middle ages, and still continue today. The route is considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

People today travel on foot and even on bicycle! Not everyone travels for religious purposes; I’ve met several people who completed part of the pilgrimage as a kind of “get away”, or for sport (since it is technically hiking!), or even just for the adventure of visiting Spain. There are many different routes, but they somewhat convene in the north of Spain, and it’s possible to see the distinct trail markers in northern Spanish towns, and along the highways. The routes are marked with the symbol of the pilgrimage: a scallop shell, which for various (debated) reasons, is a symbol of Saint James. People completing the pilgrimage often wear scallop shells around their neck or on their backpacks so you know they are pilgrims. The shell also makes for a neat symbol of the pilgrimage itself! The grooves on the shell start spread apart but meet in one place, much like the various pilgrimage routes all convene in Santiago de Compostela!

Pilgrims obtain a pilgrim’s passport that gets marked with stamps at different churches and towns along the way. The trail is dotted with churches and hostels set up specifically for pilgrims, so I’ve heard completing the pilgrimage is a cool way to meet new people. People who complete a minimum of 100 km walking or 200 km cycling can get a “Compostela” certificate of accomplishment when they arrive in Santiago de Compostela (hence the name of the town!)

That’s just my short introduction to the Camino de Santiago, haha. I thought it was very interesting, and it was fun to see so many people with backpacks, scallop shells, and walking sticks going around the town. For many people, the journey can take weeks or even months, so when they finally arrive in Santiago, it’s a big celebration! (For example, there were some pilgrims staying in my room at the hostel, and I think they had a bit too much fun celebrating. One of them threw up in the room in the middle of the night. Hostel life?)

So, the first site I visited was the Cathedral. The first thing I noticed, unfortunately, was that one of the steeples/spires of the front of the cathedral was under renovation. (That’s always the case in Europe, I guess. Everything is old so constant renovations are necessary!) Apparently someone decided it would be a good idea to cover the scaffolding with a tarp that has a sketch-style drawing of what that part of the cathedral normally looks like? Like, “Yes…they’ll never be able to notice the difference!” I think I’d prefer normal scaffolding!

I got some pictures of the outside and then headed inside to check things out. I had read beforehand about lots of little traditions, like statues you’re supposed to bump your head against and things you’re supposed to tap/touch for good luck! It was very interesting. I also enjoyed looking at the Pórtico da Gloria, part of the façade of the cathedral with lots of intricate statues and carvings. It was under renovation when I was there, so it felt like it was inside of the building with all of the construction going on around it, but I was still able to enjoy it. As I went to find lunch, I walked by the office where they give out the Compostelas, so I was able to see a big crowd of people waiting in line for their turn.

I checked out some other cool buildings and plazas, and then headed to a park that was said to have good viewpoints of the city. The tourism office’s map was very helpful, as it included a “scenic” walking route that took you around the town to see all of the coolest spots.

I then went to the Museo do Pobo Galego (the Museum of the Galician People.) Galician is another language spoken in Spain! In the region of Galicia, where Santiago de Compostela is located, it is a co-official language along with Spanish. It’s part of the Romance branch of languages, and is similar to Portuguese. Just like when I was in Basque Country, the signage in Galicia was consistently listed in both official languages. The museum was interesting because I was able to see some of the cultural roots of Galicia. With Galician culture, as with the Basque culture, I was surprised at how not “stereotypically Spanish” it seemed to me. The traditional dress, the art, the music, etc. all seemed more central European. It makes sense, since the climate here is different and this part of the country had different historical influences than in southern Spain. This was very educational for me, as it showed the diversity of the history and culture of Spain.

After that, I went to the Museum of Pilgrimages. This was a great place to learn more about the Camino de Santiago, but also about other pilgrimages around the world! They had a lot of art and records that trace back the roots of these historic paths. There was also a temporary exhibit displaying photography by Steve McCurry, a photojournalist best known for his photograph called Afghan Girl. His works in the museum that I saw depicted scenes along the Camino de Santiago and demonstrated what a neat phenomena this pilgrimage route is.

As my day was coming to a close, I saw another Semana Santa procession! Like in Oviedo, this one was smaller than I had seen in Sevilla, but it was really fun to watch and notice the differences between different processions in different places.

The next day, I got up early and started my journey home. I took the train from Santiago de Compostela to a town called Ourense, also in the region of Galicia. I had a short break there, so I walked from the train station to go see the town’s Roman bridge (as well as their newer bridge!) Then, I took the train to Madrid Chamartin, then from Madrid Atocha back to Sevilla Santa Justa! It was a long day with over nine hours of train travel, but I made it back in time to get some sleep before class the next day! Phew!

 

 

Overall, my trip to the north of Spain was one of my favorite parts of studying abroad. The north was so completely different from Sevilla and southern Spain in general, and it was fascinating to learn about. I loved the towns I visited for their history, their culture, their architecture, their climate, and just their overall environment. As I’m writing this post, it’s been several weeks since this trip, so I’ve had the time to travel even more since Semana Santa, and I think I’ve decided that if I had the opportunity to live in Spain, I would love to live somewhere more towards the north.

I had an amazing adventure, and it was really fun to travel on my own. I didn’t have any major hiccups in the planning, and only a few awkward moments when I had to ask strangers to take my picture! On the whole, though, it was very fun, and to anyone who plans to travel in Spain, I definitely recommend making at least one stop in the northern part of the country, just to see something different.

Upcoming Blog Posts: Barcelona, Valencia, the Feria de Abril, Mérida, Salamanca, Lisbon, and Granada! I need to be studying for final exams and finishing up things here, but blogging makes for a nice break, so hopefully I’ll be able to write more soon!

¡Hasta luego!